Sweden is nine hours ahead of California, which means by the time you read this I should be on my way from Stockholm to the town of Falun, which is about three hours by car, to cover this weekend’s Dalarna Poker Run. Dalarna, for the record, is one of 25 provinces in Sweden.
Back-to-back poker run weekends in Scandinavia? How could any self-respecting reporter say no to that? (Click image to enlarge.)
I didn’t know Sweden even had provinces, much less 25 of them. Then again, you could fill a library with books on things I don’t know about Sweden, much less its high-performance powerboating scene.
Which is why I’m going there more or less totally blind.
These are the kinds of far-flung, out-of-your-everyday-comfort-zone adventures you live for as reporter, and I’ve been blessed to have more than a few of them in my career. I’ve covered 24-hour tunnel-boat endurance racing in France and offshore powerboat racing in Malta and Norway. But I’ve never had the chance to experience and cover any organized recreational go-fast boating events in Europe.
and then