California Part One!

California bound! This pre season, our team had the wonderful opportunity to travel to California to play two non-conference games.

Our first destination was at the US Olympic and Paralympic training site in Chula Vista, California. We were lucky enough to be able to practice and stay at the facility where some of the greatest athletes in the world have trained for both the Paralympics and the Olympics, how cool?!

We immediately had our first practice as the sun set over the mountains, not something we see everyday in St. Peter. It was a surreal experience ending practice and then going to the dining hall where we were treated with great food surrounded by plaques and pictures of some of the greatest athletes who have trained there in Chula Vista. As we walked into the dining hall we saw a woman who was sitting eating dinner. We later found out that she was Khatuna Lorig, the woman who not only trained Jennifer Lawrence in archery for The Hunger Games movies, but who just so happens to have won 6 Olympic medals... Casual right? 

The next day we got to explore the facility and see all of the different courts, fields, and tracks they have set up for the different Olympic sports. It was such a cool experience getting to train and stay there until our next adventure in California, whale watching!

We started off the boat ride feeling good. We were riding the waves, making games out of how big the waves were, and seeing how high in the air the boat would bring us.  It was a windy day so it made for exciting dips in the water and a fun first hour of the boat ride… until it all started to go downhill. I really think in my case, I was just so anxious to see a whale and that, was what made me sick.  The next two hours of the ride were filled with ginger ale, delayed Dramamine (because someone (I) was too stubborn and confident that they wouldn’t get sea sick), and staring off into the horizon for a stationary line to look at. Unfortunately, we ended the whale watching not seeing any whales, but we did get a fun boat ride for some, and a good story for others.

It was a fantastic experience getting to train at the Olympic center and to be able to go whale watching. The next two days we were going to face some tough competition and being able to explore California before switching our mindset over to playing games was great!