Alright, I’ll bite (pun intended). Prepare for massive wall of text!
For standard events, our team has always done pizza for lunch. Usually Dominoes, but every so often we get the massive slices of Costco pizza. I like to fold two pieces together, make a sort of calzone I guess. One tournament there was a baseball game going on behind the gym and our team watched for a little bit.
Our tradition is always In-N-Out on the way back from the tournament. I really missed it during Change Up, but we’ve been able to have In-N-Out this year. We always sit outside. Always.
To me, In-N-Out is a staple of existence that the entire world should know about, but I am aware that the East Coasters at least, do not, so I will take the burden of describing it.
I’m a teenager, so I go all in, getting delicious piles of food. In-N-Out is famous for their secret menu, which of course is prioritized in my purchasing. I get a 4 by 4, which is insanely delicious. 4 burger patties, 4 slices of gooey American cheese. The bun is toasted, and it crisps the slightest amount as you take a massive bite out of the burger. Man, my mouth waters just thinking about it. Of course, I add on an order of cheese fries, because burgers and fries are kind of a thing. I can see them pour the fries out straight from the fryer onto a tray, then throw on cheese slices and melt them. When I get them, I instantly start cramming my face with the crispy and salty sticks, occasionally taking a slight detour to dip them into ketchup, or my chocolate shake. Mmmm chocolate shake. Thick and delicious.
But if I really have to talk about food, I have to talk about Vex Worlds 2018-2019. Back when it was in Louisville (back when it actually happened every year!)!
Hotel breakfast was interesting, but every table was full in the hotel, crammed with roboteers who were wolfing down some nutrition to make it through an exercise-crammed day of scouting. Let me tell you, if you haven’t scouted at Vex Worlds, you have not had a good workout. The tables were full, so our entire team ate in one of the meeting rooms.
Our mentor had been to Louisville, like a lot. Around 10 times maybe? So he knew the drill.
He brought us some pizzas from Derby City Pizza Co., which was really close to the Kentucky Exposition Center. Oh man were those pizzas good. Ultra-thin crust. Lots of small slices. Some cheese. Oh man. I couldn’t believe how good it was.
I managed to convince my parents on our way back there the next day that we needed to stop and get a pizza. They agreed, and we ate the entire pizza in the car. I was gobbling up piece after piece. Mmmm. SO GOOD!
Dinner, we found a BBQ place. Chicken, brisket, ribs, lathered in BBQ sauce, with some form of bread to soak it up. Delicious.
Then after worlds ended, we got to go into Kentucky Kingdom, the amusement park next door. We were obsessively going over the new game, Tower Takeover. We had no idea what was going to happen that same time next year.
At Kentucky Kingdom, I passed a funnel cake stand, and I knew I had to get one. I ordered, and they fried it up fresh. Gave it to me on a flimsy paper plate, with some plastic forks. It was crispy and looked absolutely perfect. Coated in powdered sugar so much that I positively choked on it. The flimsy fork could barely penetrate the fried outer shell, but I managed to anyway, chowing down on sugar.
Ok. Now I’m hungry.
