Peterborough

It had to.

And it was.

You don't want to know how early we got there. Let us just say, it was in plenty of time. Of course, before we left, we called to see that there WAS ice and that the arena had not been destroyed by the overnight tornandos that were all over the news. No, all was fine and they even removed the hockey glass.

I think all the skaters were really energized to skate well after Kitchener. From the opening number, the place was alive. The audience was loud and completely into the skating and everyone was skating great. We saw Sandra Bezic attempt to slip in unobtrusively with Brian Boitano in tow. He was having a great time too, perhaps until Kurt covered him with ice shavings in Moby Dick.

I'm not sure anyone knew Jayson when he came out for Jukebox Medley. I started to clap and then realized I was clapping alone. But, by the end I was by no means alone. They loved it. He skated it really well and even Brian Boitano had fun. I think this is a great number for Jayson because he really enjoys playing to the audience. He even got a teen scream "We love you, Jayson." It got the evening off to a great start.

Yes, of course, others skated. I took 4 rolls of film and I only have two hands so I didn't take notes. Everyone was really on. Catherine says that Kristy and Kris look great and I agree. How she lands any throw so huge is beyond me. Actually, she had some trouble with them in the first half but nailed a gorgeous throw double axel in the second number. The number we really enjoyed in the first half was McDonald and Smith's Crush. It had great choreography that was very unique and well performed. Kurt's Elvis Presley number was very well performed and the double axel move is breathtaking but it's just not my fave number from him. I guess everything can't be Lightining Crashes and Radar Love.

The second half started with the muses putting on their skates. Anyway, Angela says it makes time for everyone to get back to their seats. Otherwise, not that exciting.

Reet Petite was not quite as good as London. Partially it was that the triple axel didn't, a slightly wonky double instead. But also, he didn't look into the audience as much, or at least not at us! But, it was still well recieved, esp. the backflip. I also was fond of the camel-jump-camel and I hope I see it again in a long program. Nice skating.

Everyone was still on and Josee skated her sweater routine spot on. She must have been helped by that Muse who gave her her sweater. Oh, it was JAYSON!! (Angela spotted him first, I must admit.) She landed a HUGE triple lutz that was so smooth, really fast spins and so much charisma. She was just beaming all the time and a joy to watch.

And Kurt. Talk about beaming, he had a grin on his face all night. Antares was superb. Triple-triple and so much footwork. It was spellbinding and the audience was standing before it was even done. Kurt seemed to really appreciate it, he stayed and bowed for awhile. TV does not do Antares justice, Kurt was flying around the rink and the whole place was flying with him.

The closing number still seems to confuse a few people. The opening was really well done but maybe everyone was tired by the end. There were still a few times when people ended up in their own lines separate from everyone else. Catherine says she saw Kris Wirtz making up his own steps. But, what is a group number without totally random shameless mugging? We got that and a bit extra. After the final bows, everyone came back out for one more bow and Brian and Jayson nodded to each other and started to skate down the ice. I nearly knocked Angela over nudging her that they were going to do side by side backflips. And they did and it was great fun, even if they do scare me to death. They even landed them perfectly together. Catherine says any pairs team would be proud of such unison.

So, a few more hours and we get on our planes and no more Skate the Nation for this year. If I went to 2 shows last year and almost 3 this year, I don't want to know about next year. Stay tuned.