Maybe it's the 2008-2009 Whirlwind Scrabble Tour?

Oh, the universe is definitely leaning toward my 2008 Whirlwind Scrabble tour becoming reality. In fact, with the addition of the Players Championship in Dayton, Ohio next year, maybe my tour will be extended! What better way to end a year-long Scrabble extravaganza than with a five-day Scrabble marathon?

Guess what else? Eric has taken a part-time job that seems to secure this destiny of mine. He's going to be working with an airline while he finishes up his degree...meaning that I can fly for free to wherever the airline flies (and at a reduced cost on other airlines). Now guess where the airline's nearest hub is from Charlie West? DE-troit, Michigan! Detroit (and its surrounding area) seems to be the Scrabble capitol of my (regional) universe. At right about six hours away, though, it sits on the very border of the area I had been looking at for my Scrabble tour. Now, though, a trip to Detroit is likely to take more like an hour-and-a-half and, at most, cost me a rental car for less than the gas money and not nearly as much time. Although airline employees and their families fly standby, CRW is not the busiest airport in the world and I'd have three chances to make a flight any given day (and could zip back down the hill if I had to wait four hours for the next flight). The worst-case scenario: I get in my car at 4:00 in the afternoon (right before the last flight of the day leaves) and drive the same six hours I would have in the first place.

And since Eric's new job is so perfect for me, I'm thinking about foregoing the Durham tournament in favor of South Lyon, Michigan in October. The Durham tournament would offer a few more games and the chance for some trivia or poker after-hours, but...as you are well-aware by now, the South Lyon tournament would give me a chance to fly instead of drive. And that would put me at being away from home no more than two weekends in a row (instead of three).

So...my shiny, new preliminary schedule goes a little something like this:

Rocky River, Ohio on July 12th;
Pontiac, Michigan from August over Labor Day weekend;
Fenton, Michigan on September 13th and 14th;
Hudson, Ohio on September 20th to the 21st;
South Lyon, Michigan on October 11th and 12th;
Elyria, Ohio on October 18th and 19th;
Lexington, Kentucky on the first weekend in November;
Strongsville, Ohio on December 6th and 7th; and,
the Players Championship in Dayton, Ohio from August 1st through the 5th, 2009.

Of course, if I make a big year of it, there will probably be other tournaments from January 2009 until August. And I guess, if I get that used to playing a lot of Scrabble, it will probably go on from there! If that be the case, then I sure hope to see some results from all this studying!!

Want to make a contribution to my
semi-worldwide Scrabble tour?
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Just click here!!