IT'S SAND IN MY CRACKS SEASON AGAIN!

One thing I knew I would miss from T.O. would be my weekly ritual of burying myself in sand, more often than not as a result of chasing a Wilson beach volleyball. Well, to console myself, I searched the internet to see if there was much beach v-ball action in Calgary. There's only 2 organized leagues and not that many venues to play at. I didn't really have much expectation because this city does not sit close to a lake. Hence no beaches. I stumbled across the Calgary Beach Volleyball Association, a non-profit league that plays out in SE. They host league games throughout the week, but Friday is reserved for "drop in". Well, I decided to drop in and check it out. I was a little reluctant at first because I didn't know anyone and most courts were already filled with people who seemed to know each other or were already playing a game. There was a couple that was just hitting around on an empty court and I asked if I could join. Before I knew it, others joined and, by the time I left, 2.5 hours and 4 games had passed. As I was standing in the parking lot, toweling off as much sand as I could, a strong sense of deja vu hit me. Except, in this instance, I knew that these feelings HAD happened before. The individual grains of sand grinding against my arms as I brush them off. The smell of sunscreen still lingering even after a couple of hours since its application. The sweaty top that acted as a magnet for sand. The dry gritty feeling between my toes as I walked from the courts in my sandals. SAND IN EVERY CONCEIVABLE PART OF MY BODY! It was amazing!

Although the venue is nowhere near a body of water (it's a field that has been designed specifically for beach volleyball, housing 10 courts - on one side sits a church, on the other side a school field), it's an amazing place. The wooden poles that support the net are straight and have nice metal brackets containing hooks at different heights, allowing the net to be adjusted depending on what competitive level is being played. Gone are the days when a net had to be secured by ratchet tie downs and having to use water coolers as stepping stools to reach the hooks: each pole has its own crank and a wooden block nailed to the pole that serves as a step! In fact, gone are the days where you even need to bring your own gear: at the entrance to the courts sits a shed where they keep the court kits, each one housed in a large canvas bag. Each bag contains a thick-taped heavy duty net, line tape, bungee cords and a Wilson AVP ball! As I was laying out the line (the net took less than 2 minutes to put up and can easily be done by one person), I noticed that there were ropes anchored to the ground at set spots near the boundaries. This is where you secure the bungee cord, which is connected to one of the 4 corners of the line tape. No hammering required, no having to shift the court because one side is longer than the other! And the best kicker: each pole had a speaker secured to it, so we enjoyed great music all evening as we played. It was awesome! Did I mention that drop in is free?

I was "high" as I was driving back when I realized what time it was. The car's clock said 9:05 (p.m.) But I was still wearing sunglasses. And it wasn't because of a fashion statement based loosely on a Corey Hart song from the 80's; the sun was still at a high enough angle that it was blinding my view of the road. In fact, it doesn't really get dark here until after 9:45 and we're not even in summer yet. JUST AWESOME!!