Great weekend and an odd question

I'll start with the question first, otherwise, I might forget. I have to ask because it bugs me each time I hear people say it. What's the difference between an over-the-road truck driver and a truck driver? Aren't they one in the same? Or do truck drivers not drive "over" the road? Maybe it's a southern thang, I don't know. I lived in the South for a few years and some common phrases just cracked me up. Not the typical y'all's or fixin' to's that people throw around, but phrases like hind catcher (catcher in baseball/softball) and hot water heater. Isn't it common for the catcher to be situated 'behind' the plate? Isn't the water in a water heater 'supposed' to be hot? Maybe someone else can enlighten me, I don't know.

Okay, onto my great weekend. In reality, it was an awesome end of the week, capped off by a fabulous weekend. I flew off to Portland, Oregon last Wednesday for a softball tournament. The weather was perfect.

We arrived, got situated in our hotel rooms and hit a local seafood restaurant for a nice dinner. Man, was that good. We were able to get a tour of the Nike campus on Thursday morning. As if that wasn't cool enough, we each got passes to the Nike employee store and made good use of it. I spent just over $100 and it was well worth it. After the Nike visit, a small group of us drove to the coast and then had dinner at beachside pub that had fabulous clam chowder. The same small group hit Mount Hood on Friday, me included. And walked briefly up the mountain. We then made our way, by car, to the Columbia River Gorge and hiked up a handful of waterfalls, Horsetail, Triple, Multnomah, Wahkeena and Latourell. The river itself was beautiful as well as it's surroundings. I will definitely have to come back for a much longer visit.

The weekend was dedicated to why we came to Oregon in the first place, softball. More specifically, the national tournament. We played well up until our last 2 games and finished 3rd overall. I've been on this team for only 2 years and I think this is the most fun I've thus far. Our 3rd baseman made 1st Team All-Tournament, and 4 of us made 2nd Team All-Tournament. Yup, I made it. I also got an award for having the best batting average of the tournament, finishing up with .667. I knew I got on base a lot, but had no idea. Especially with all the great hitters at the tournament. It certainly capped off a wonderful trip to Oregon and I look forward to returning with my husband for an extended vacation.