I think I've finally caught up...well with every thing and every class except one. I'll get to that later. Anyway- The weekend was crazy! Filled with long drives, sun, beach, injuries, laughter, tears..I could go on.
As you know I left Thursday night, but I don't know if we want to even consider it Thursday night since it wasn't till 12:30am on Friday morning that we finally hit the road. None the less we made it on our way. Surprisingly the ride there wasn't too bad, did I sleep? Nope, not really. Maybe for a total of 50minutes.
We made it to San Diego at around 9am giving us till 3pm to kill time. So, what do you do in a beach town, with nothing to do, and lots of girls...hit the beach! We headed to Ocean Beach, where before even getting out of the car most girls were undressing and getting their swim suits on. I on the other hand was FREEZING. It was sunny, but the wind chill made it feel like a fridge. Eventually I caved.
The beach was beautiful. The sand was a deep golden brown, soft and moist between my toes. I could smell the ocean as I listened to the waves crashing in the distance. It was impossible not to relax and enjoy the amazing weather and scenery.
Here are some pictures from that day-
This seagull was stalking us, he probably circles the blankets 3 times!
The pier had this little cafe just to the side, the food smelled more than amazing but no one would eat there with me. :p We sat for a while watching the surfers and I longed to be down there with them despite the cold conditions.
After a bit we all decided to walk the little shops and see what things we could find. I loved the feel of the different culture compared to home. People were talking to complete strangers, others sat freely sipping on drinks and reading in the sun, beach bums danced in the sand or played their guitar with a trusty dog by their side. Speaking of dogs, they were everywhere, and everyone had one! It made me wish I could have brought ours to play in the surf.
There were so many cute and fun things I wanted to buy if only I had all the money in the world!! The restaurants called you in, the surf shops beckoned to you with their music, and the tiny coffee shops stopped you in your tracks with the smell of freshly made mocha's.
Soon enough it was time to check into the motel. Of course there was no time to sleep there, it was off to the pool within minutes of setting down our bags. The hot tub was the highlight and the challenge was to pack as many girls in as to make it overflow. We won. :)
After a simple Taco Bell dinner and some goofing around we all hit the hay. We had an early start at the tournament Saturday, our first game being at 8am. I missed my family and wished I could kiss them goodnight but I couldn't wait for morning, that wasn't enough to keep me awake. I was out....
Early wake up call at 6am and we were fed and out the door on our way to the Olympic Center. Along the way it was hard not to notice how beautiful this place was. Green hills, homes tucked away in the most adorable places, blue sky and fresh air as the sun lighted the way. I think I fell in love! :p
I'm not sure if many of you have seen this Olympic Center...all I have to say is that I was in heaven! And one picture explains it all..
There were 3 of these babies ranging in size spread out all over. I will admit it was used that day at least for BMX, but I couldn't help but picture my dirt bike and I rounding the track.
Our first game was agains the Aggies a little piece of home to start out the day.
We tied.
As the day went on the sun got hotter and we all were getting more and more organized. We were starting to show we were a team. Injuries came and went, yelling and arguments were happening here and there, mostly towards the other teams. We had 4 games for the day each consisting of 2 20minutes halves.
My 2nd game ever to play in was our 2nd game of the day. I played the last half as a back wing. As soon as you hit the field the adrenaline sets in..you can't even think straight all you know is you need to keep who ever has that ball away from your end of the field..by any means necessary.
I was scared..I wont lie. I've yet to master the ways of tackling and hadn't yet gotten the ball during an active play...well it finally happened. I got the ball and it was my turn to gain some yards. The defense that was in front of me was a girl just about my size but her muscle tone made it apparent that she had been doing this for some time. I ran. Within a few yards she was on me, but she missed. She hadn't gotten a full tackle and was hanging onto my shirt, trying with all her might to pull me down. No one else was in sight so I saw my chance. She was like a fly, and she was coming with me if she liked it or not. I grabbed her arm, picked her up slightly and ran forward. Within moments, maybe 5yrds she had backup and I was down. My knee was hurt, but the adrenaline kept me going. I couldn't help but laugh as we repositioned at how silly that was. We slowly gained more and more, and made a try.
Within minutes it was over and we had won.
It didn't stop there. Our third game was much the same. Our 4th game came and we were tired, sun burnt, and ready for a relaxing time at the pool. But that didn't hinder our play.
This team looked rough. They were larger, and had some older players that you could tell were well experienced. Our team had some injuries so us rookies were put in for the full game. It was dirty, their team was rough and made little effort in showing remorse at any injuries. Through it all we were dominating, before the end of the first half we were ahead and showed no signs of us stopping there. My highlight, playing back wing again, was receiving a kick from the opposing team and sprinting my hardest only to be tackled feet from the try line....so close! Not moments later we scored again.
By the end we were at least 10-15 points ahead.
Bruised and burned we all were excited about the amazing team effort we had made for the day.
3 wins and 1 tie. We were tied for 1st.
Sunday was the day, the day it all counted. Unfortunately the fire was gone and people were ready to go home. Arguments and bad moral showed it's ugly face Sunday morning as many girls instead of preparing left for the beach before the games..not to mention half the team was late to warm up. It just wasn't the best day. Causing a loss, a large amount of injuries and anger.
In all honestly I wasn't too upset, odd I know. I learned a lot this weekend, about the game, about myself, and much more. I showed the team my potential and it didn't go unnoticed. I had fun at the beach, meeting new people, getting to know my team. Despite missing my family, I loved this weekend.
We showed that we can be a great team and accomplish more than we ever thought.
It was time to head home. It was nice knowing that evening I would be in my own bed and able to see the faces of my life again. :)
With out many complaints, I left San Diego with 2 new shirts, new shorts, a new sun burn, some bruises, a new appreciation for beach life, and a sense of happiness to be part of a team again.
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