A Drive to Ottawa: Capturing Matisse’s First Game of the Season
Saturday was busy. Chores, tasks, preparations—the usual pre-game chaos. But by 1:30 or 1:45, we were finally heading out to Ottawa for Matisse’s first soccer game of the season. Two hours on the road, and I was tired from not sleeping enough the night before, but we made it.
About 30-40 minutes before the game, I dropped Matisse and his friend off at the field. Then I drove around looking for a parking spot. Here’s the thing: when we first arrived at the address, there was no soccer field visible. We drove around the parking lot a bit confused until someone pointed us in the right direction. Turns out the field was off-campus, not directly connected. Once we figured that out, I parked the car and sat for a minute to make sure my visitor knew exactly where to find us.
As soon as they arrived, I grabbed my camera—my trusty digital SLR—and headed back down to the field. I’ve been trying to get a variety of shots lately, not just action photos of Matisse running around. So I focused on capturing different moments.
Before the game started, I got a shot of the boys and coaches in the huddle. Then some of Matisse on the sidelines, waiting to get in—there was this focused look on his face, thinking about what was coming next. Once the game started, I got plenty of action shots of him on the field. And after it was over, I caught the team in the post-game huddle during the coach’s talk.
The Unexpected Dinner
After the game wrapped up, the coach had a good talk with the team. Then, out of nowhere, the coach invited us all to go to a lobster restaurant. I wasn’t planning on it, but Maggie convinced me to go. So we did.
We ended up at a place called Red Lobster with about six or seven kids and five adults. Everyone went a bit crazy with the food. Most of the kids got shrimp—some did the all-you-can-eat, others got the fish-in-a-bag thing where they toss everything together and coat it with seasoning. My son, myself, and the other adult who came with us had shrimp tacos. The kids had unlimited pop; I had water and clam chowder (which was delicious), plus the grilled shrimp tacos.
The all-you-can-eat folks didn’t go crazy—they had maybe two plates at most. When they bring it out, you get three choices with four or five shrimp of each flavor, plus rice and salad. Unless you really push it, you can’t do more than two or three plates anyway.
Around 8:45 or 9, I looked over at Matisse and said we needed to leave in the next five or ten minutes. I was tired and we had a two-hour drive ahead. About ten or fifteen minutes later, I asked for the bill. The coach came over and said, “No, no, no. I’ll take care of it.” I was genuinely surprised and grateful.
The Drive Home
We hopped in the car and headed back. True to form, I was tired the whole way. I hadn’t slept much the night before, and I was coming down with a cold. But I managed to stay awake better than I have in the past—not falling asleep at the wheel. Once we hit the city lights about 30 minutes from home, I perked up a bit.
We got home around 11:20 or 11:25. I was dead tired. Changed into bed clothes and collapsed. It was a long day, but a great one.