Programming Notes

I don't own a Westfalia camper van as seen in the image, but there will be some changes to the programming here on HBIC next week as I'll be on the road at times. Honestly, anyone who owns a Westfalia-Werke converted camper bus and uses it for road trips might be automatically cool, but I digress as work has me heading out for some work at branches that I don't normally visit. I'm excited to visit some new places, but HBIC will certainly have a different look as I'll be writing about those towns and cities that I'll be visiting along the way. Hockey is played in all these communities, so why not look at some of the history and stories from those communities, right?

Everything happening at The Hockey Show will continue as Jason and I have produced shows away from the office before, so we'll do that for the shows that may be affected by my absence. Nothing will change there as we continue to discuss the stories in hockey that need discussion, but it just won't be live. If we can handle the pandemic and a few illnesses, a night off from being at the university shouldn't be too much trouble.

I won't give the full details of where I'm going and what I'm doing, but there will be updates on the radio show. I can tell you that I will be seeing three hockey games from three different leagues, and I am excited for all three. Two games feature teams that competed for the high honour in those leagues one season ago, so I'm being treated to what could potentially be some incredible hockey. I'll fill in those details on The Hockey Show coming up in the next weeks.

A number of the articles have already been written so that I don't have to spend my entire evenings slaving away over a laptop in a hotel room as I do plan on exploring a few of the communities. If I can find a rink with a game being played, I may stop just to check it out. Either way, it's a road trip that will ultimately take me through one province, three arenas, six states, seven cities, countless towns and commuities, and will add approximately 5000kms to my odometer in the trusty HBIC mobile. In short, it's going to be quite the road trip that will see me in various spots on the map!

As for The Rundown, that will still happen on Sundays as well as I have some time to watch hockey and keep abreast of what's happening, so expect to see it some time on Sunday. The preview for The Hockey Show will also appear on Thursday, so that won't change either. The normal stuff will remain normal on HBIC, but the other articles will be more long-form writing as I dig into some fun stories from the communities I'll be in expect for a story abouy Florida. That's just a fun story that I needed to write.

Beyond that, there will be someone looking after HBIC Headquarters in Winnipeg as HBIC mascot and supporter Meg the Cat will have a companion while I'm gone. If anything shows up there that's hockey-related, it will be received as per normal, so expect that business to remail as is. I will make an effort to read a couple of books I'm meaning to review while I'm gone, so having the pre-written articles ready to go will help that effort as well!

For a guy who doesn't take holidays or time off, this break from my daily routine combined with giving me an opportunity to see hockey in other places combined with exploring new towns, cities, and communities should be a blast. I'm excited to hit the road next week and discover everything that's planned, so hopefully things will go well, the weather remains good, and the drive is incident-free. Updates will be given on The Hockey Show, but I expect this adventure to be incredibly fun!

HBIC hits the road next week, so we'll see what that has in store!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!