I will soon be updating my blog posts for the remainder of the 2010 Coaches Tour, but wanted to share this
http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php?fcode=842aab9f3&f=25201168#!/note.php?note_id=121325947904996&id=306764008300&ref=mf
The blog of Nick "Lois" Mercurio, a fellow traveler and awesome guy!
Additionally, here is a link to some photos taken by USO folks along the way
http://picasaweb.google.com/onamethompson/CoachesTour?feat=directlink
Enjoy!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
May 25, 2010. Somewhere over Iran in a sling seat on the KC135
Our little expedition begins. Right now we’re on the plane headed to Bahrain. Yesterday’s plane ride included me, Dave and Charlie in the galley making sandwiches at 39,000 feet, which was fun! They’d devised a clever menu scheme, so we easily had everyone’s orders, and we cranked them out! It was fun. Then, with 3-4 hours left on the flight, I decided it was time to get some sleep. We were landing at 0730 Germany time, so this would be my night’s sleep! So I grabbed a fat black sleeping bag from beneath the seat and curled up on the sling benches and actually got 3 solid hours of sleep which was a good thing because we didn’t get any rest once we got to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. The coaches headed up to sleep for a few hours before our first appearance, but we had to organize all the SWAG and be sure we had everything we needed. We did grab a half hour to run and shower, and after that, I felt like a new woman!
We got everything organized and headed over to Landstuhl, the largest American hospital outside of the US. (and one of the top 5 largest in the world. Over 3 miles of hallway run throughout.) 30 people a day cycle through the hospital with an average stay of about 3-4 days. The military tries to get injured soldiers to Landstuhl within 24 hours, as if they do, they have a 97% chance of survival! As soon as they’re patched up enough, and stable enough to fly, they are flown to the US to recover. No expense is spared to get soldiers to medical attention, and home as soon as possible. Because of this, most of the soldiers there were very tired, very sick, and quite scared wondering what their lives will be like now, with their new injuries, so most weren’t up for visitors. We did get to visit with a few soldiers though, and they were pleased with the company.
One young man had facial injuries due to a blast in his face, and had just come out of eye surgery. The nurses commented that he’d been morose and quiet since he’d arrived….well of course he was, he was facing the possibility of being blind for the rest of his life. He was pleased to have a diversion, as the coaches gave him t-shirts and wished him well, and I handed over the first Wounded Warrior Project, UA backpack. He thanked us all, and when I told him about his new Under Armour, he said “Sweet!” Hopefully he’ll recover quickly and get back to normal life.
Another young man had pneumonia. Poor guy goes into battle, and ends up with pneumonia! Another young man in a wheelchair was recovering from pins in his leg from fixing an injury to his lower leg. All in all, it wasn’t what I expected. We visited with a lot of the staff, which is good. While being stationed in Germany isn’t such a bad deal at all, they have a tough job. They see the worst injuries, patch them up and ship them out. They don’t get to enjoy the pleasure of watching and helping someone recover, and with 30 people a day coming in, they don’t get a whole lot of rest. A diversion like this is welcome and a great stress buster for them, and they were thrilled to meet the coaches. We also met a 3 star general at the lunch before heading in to the hospital. He was traveling around with his entourage visiting troops in theatre and in the hospital. He was a very cool guy! It was interesting to see the reaction of all the military people. Between him and the coaches, you’d have thought that the entire cast of Friends was in the house! Pictures were being snapped, everyone was posing. It’s hard to imagine having that kind of attention all the time.
We left a bunch of Under Armour stuff in the Chaplains closet, and headed out. The Chaplains closet is where soldiers can go to grab a shirt, some toiletries, some pants and shoes as when they come in wounded, usually their clothes are bloody and have been cut off, so they don’t have anything, or the ability to go buy anything. I was thrilled that we could contribute to that. We also left about 50 Wounded Warrior backpacks, so people coming in would get some. That ought to last about 2 days! L.
We headed back to the hotel, had a quick 20 minute break before it was time for the next appearance. It was totally different, tables set up in the mall on the base for military families to come meet the coaches, and get some UA gear. I gave out socks, and pants to whoever wanted some. Call me Santa Clause! It was fun, and people were very pleased with us being there.
The mall was incredible. Cinnabon and a Haribo store with tons of kinds of gummi candies. Unfortunately you had to have a military ID to purchase anything, so I didn’t get any yummy gummi bears, but it was fun to see what the military had done for the families stationed there, so they’d have some of the comforts of home. I could have believed I was in a mall in Iowa for crying out loud!
Another quick 10 minute break and it was time to head to dinner. We traveled for about 20 minutes before arriving at the lovely Bremmerhoff museum. Col Chris Lavalle, the person on the trip from AFE grew up in Germany, about 20 minutes away from the restaurant, and he was really looking forward to seeing if they have Bischoff, the beer from his home town. He’d actually purchased 2 cases upon arrival at Ramstein…one to take home, and one to give to the crew of our aircraft as a bribe for not drinking his case! It turned out the restaurant had the beer, and we all enjoyed them with our awesome authentic German meal. Brats, sauerkraut, potato pancakes (yum), mashed pots, wienersnitzel and some funky meatball thingie. It was yummy! The night ended around 2030, and we headed back to the hotel to arrive back at a very humane hour! Some people chose to go find a pub, or a few more drinks. I chose to go to my room, and enjoy a nice long 8 hour nap! While I’d felt good all day, I was starting to get tired, and welcomed the chance to catch some zzzzz’s. Plus, I knew that the 0545 call the next morning would come very early. Aside from waking up a few times worried that I would miss the wake up, I got some good solid rest.
0530 did come early, but I felt rested and popped up, packed up, dressed and went down to meet the crew. We had an hour delay or so, so we hung out in the USO lounge, I was able to download the blog, transfer some pictures to the computer, and have a few delicious German pastries for breakfast.
And here we are again, riding on the KC135, cranking out sandwiches for lunch. We’re about a half hour from landing in Bahrain where it’s going to be HOT!! I anticipate being sweaty for the next few days. I’m preparing myself for it now! Thank goodness for my Under Armour! The people on this trip are awesome, and I look forward to continuing to get to know them, and having some lifelong friends.
Oh, and the pink knife, the one I almost didn’t bring? The one that’s been of HUGE use the whole time almost stayed in Germany. I didn’t realize that we’d go through standard TSA screening at the air base, and popped it in my pocket for the flight. When I approached the metal detector and typical security setup, my stomach dropped. Not that I’m so attached to it, but it’s been so useful and a fun point of humor. When the security guy told me “Nein”, I passed it back to Pat who hadn’t come through security, hoping he’d be able to get it through somehow. I essentially wrote it off sadly. When we were seated on the plane and getting ready for takeoff, he came by my seat holding none other than, little pinkie!! He’d saved her and there was rejoicing in the land!! Next time, I’ll pack it in my luggage for the flight, which is funny because I have access to my luggage while we fly…..but whatever!
We got everything organized and headed over to Landstuhl, the largest American hospital outside of the US. (and one of the top 5 largest in the world. Over 3 miles of hallway run throughout.) 30 people a day cycle through the hospital with an average stay of about 3-4 days. The military tries to get injured soldiers to Landstuhl within 24 hours, as if they do, they have a 97% chance of survival! As soon as they’re patched up enough, and stable enough to fly, they are flown to the US to recover. No expense is spared to get soldiers to medical attention, and home as soon as possible. Because of this, most of the soldiers there were very tired, very sick, and quite scared wondering what their lives will be like now, with their new injuries, so most weren’t up for visitors. We did get to visit with a few soldiers though, and they were pleased with the company.
One young man had facial injuries due to a blast in his face, and had just come out of eye surgery. The nurses commented that he’d been morose and quiet since he’d arrived….well of course he was, he was facing the possibility of being blind for the rest of his life. He was pleased to have a diversion, as the coaches gave him t-shirts and wished him well, and I handed over the first Wounded Warrior Project, UA backpack. He thanked us all, and when I told him about his new Under Armour, he said “Sweet!” Hopefully he’ll recover quickly and get back to normal life.
Another young man had pneumonia. Poor guy goes into battle, and ends up with pneumonia! Another young man in a wheelchair was recovering from pins in his leg from fixing an injury to his lower leg. All in all, it wasn’t what I expected. We visited with a lot of the staff, which is good. While being stationed in Germany isn’t such a bad deal at all, they have a tough job. They see the worst injuries, patch them up and ship them out. They don’t get to enjoy the pleasure of watching and helping someone recover, and with 30 people a day coming in, they don’t get a whole lot of rest. A diversion like this is welcome and a great stress buster for them, and they were thrilled to meet the coaches. We also met a 3 star general at the lunch before heading in to the hospital. He was traveling around with his entourage visiting troops in theatre and in the hospital. He was a very cool guy! It was interesting to see the reaction of all the military people. Between him and the coaches, you’d have thought that the entire cast of Friends was in the house! Pictures were being snapped, everyone was posing. It’s hard to imagine having that kind of attention all the time.
We left a bunch of Under Armour stuff in the Chaplains closet, and headed out. The Chaplains closet is where soldiers can go to grab a shirt, some toiletries, some pants and shoes as when they come in wounded, usually their clothes are bloody and have been cut off, so they don’t have anything, or the ability to go buy anything. I was thrilled that we could contribute to that. We also left about 50 Wounded Warrior backpacks, so people coming in would get some. That ought to last about 2 days! L.
We headed back to the hotel, had a quick 20 minute break before it was time for the next appearance. It was totally different, tables set up in the mall on the base for military families to come meet the coaches, and get some UA gear. I gave out socks, and pants to whoever wanted some. Call me Santa Clause! It was fun, and people were very pleased with us being there.
The mall was incredible. Cinnabon and a Haribo store with tons of kinds of gummi candies. Unfortunately you had to have a military ID to purchase anything, so I didn’t get any yummy gummi bears, but it was fun to see what the military had done for the families stationed there, so they’d have some of the comforts of home. I could have believed I was in a mall in Iowa for crying out loud!
Another quick 10 minute break and it was time to head to dinner. We traveled for about 20 minutes before arriving at the lovely Bremmerhoff museum. Col Chris Lavalle, the person on the trip from AFE grew up in Germany, about 20 minutes away from the restaurant, and he was really looking forward to seeing if they have Bischoff, the beer from his home town. He’d actually purchased 2 cases upon arrival at Ramstein…one to take home, and one to give to the crew of our aircraft as a bribe for not drinking his case! It turned out the restaurant had the beer, and we all enjoyed them with our awesome authentic German meal. Brats, sauerkraut, potato pancakes (yum), mashed pots, wienersnitzel and some funky meatball thingie. It was yummy! The night ended around 2030, and we headed back to the hotel to arrive back at a very humane hour! Some people chose to go find a pub, or a few more drinks. I chose to go to my room, and enjoy a nice long 8 hour nap! While I’d felt good all day, I was starting to get tired, and welcomed the chance to catch some zzzzz’s. Plus, I knew that the 0545 call the next morning would come very early. Aside from waking up a few times worried that I would miss the wake up, I got some good solid rest.
0530 did come early, but I felt rested and popped up, packed up, dressed and went down to meet the crew. We had an hour delay or so, so we hung out in the USO lounge, I was able to download the blog, transfer some pictures to the computer, and have a few delicious German pastries for breakfast.
And here we are again, riding on the KC135, cranking out sandwiches for lunch. We’re about a half hour from landing in Bahrain where it’s going to be HOT!! I anticipate being sweaty for the next few days. I’m preparing myself for it now! Thank goodness for my Under Armour! The people on this trip are awesome, and I look forward to continuing to get to know them, and having some lifelong friends.
Oh, and the pink knife, the one I almost didn’t bring? The one that’s been of HUGE use the whole time almost stayed in Germany. I didn’t realize that we’d go through standard TSA screening at the air base, and popped it in my pocket for the flight. When I approached the metal detector and typical security setup, my stomach dropped. Not that I’m so attached to it, but it’s been so useful and a fun point of humor. When the security guy told me “Nein”, I passed it back to Pat who hadn’t come through security, hoping he’d be able to get it through somehow. I essentially wrote it off sadly. When we were seated on the plane and getting ready for takeoff, he came by my seat holding none other than, little pinkie!! He’d saved her and there was rejoicing in the land!! Next time, I’ll pack it in my luggage for the flight, which is funny because I have access to my luggage while we fly…..but whatever!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Coaches Tour 2010: The Beginning
Sunday, May 23, 2010, 6:13pm CST.
I arrived in Wichita Kansas on Tuesday, May 18 and was the first person on our tour crew to arrive. The Under Armour travel agency booked me a rental car for JUNE 18, (and I’m the idiot who didn’t double check it) but Enterprise luckily had vehicles available. It was a luxury car for $20 more a day, or a pickup for the price of my original reservation. I took the truck. Fun! Little did I know how handy that truck would be. I found a nice little restaurant for lunch in Wichita and had some final quiet moments before I was thrust into the unknown. My last bit of control over my own time before surrendering, willingly to the tour. We weren’t scheduled to leave until Sunday, so the thought of 4 full days was daunting. I thought for sure I’d be doing a lot of sitting around and wondering what to do. I had planned to work out, keep a journal, talk to Dan on the phone and get some stuff ready. Frankly, I had no idea what we were going to do. My last trip overseas was very different than this one, so I didn’t have much of an idea what I was in for. Looking back, I’m really glad….REALLY glad I got there on Tuesday.
I met Major Patrick Knott (Nuggett) at McConnell Air Force Base. He signed me onto the base and got me and my truck a pass to get on and off base at will. He got me checked into Billeting (the base hotel) and gave me a little tour of the base. Mike Whalen (Poppa Bear) didn’t arrive for another hour or 2, so Pat gave me a little drive around tour of the base, and a quick tour of his squadron. McConnell is a very nice base. He dropped me at the hotel and went to get Poppa Bear. I ran to the gym, did a little workout. Quick shower, and news that they were back, and it was time to head to dinner.
Pat and his wife Karen made us a wonderful dinner at their house. We had a great time, drank some wine, listened to some of Poppa Bear’s stories and really enjoyed ourselves. We headed back to the base, and to bed at a reasonable hour.
The next day began at 0800. Let the games begin! We headed over to the LRS (Logistics, Readiness Squadron) to find all the Under Armour that was sent and get the process started. There were 15 palates of assorted Under Armour gear, and shirts from the coaches schools. 15 palates! It was NUTS!!! They moved it all over to an empty and available corner of the warehouse, and I got to work. Actually, I went to lunch, and when I got back, James Mortor, Heather “Cookie” Barnes, and Warren “dot com” Weldon were there. They’re boom operators on the tanker we’re flying on throughout our trip. They drive the boom that delivers gas to jets in mid air. Pretty cool! They were a lot of fun, and we spent the rest of the afternoon figuring out what the hell we had in all the 15 palates, and trying to get it organized for the next day. At about 1900 (7pm) we knocked off, and Pat, Poppa Bear and I went to dinner. We found a great Italian joint, had some great wine, and some laughs. Poppa Bear is a phenomenal story teller, and we enjoyed them all. Home at a reasonable hour, and time for bed.
Thursday, I saw military efficiency kick in. More of the crew were there (John, Jonah, Kyle, Col Thatcher) so we had lots of man power. We knew what was on each palate, so they started to bag everything and put it together. Dave and Charlie (GA football coaches at Iowa) arrived and started getting the lay of the land. We took a run to Office Depot and Walmart, and set up an office right there in the warehouse. We had everything….a printer, internet, supplies, etc! This would be Poppa Bear’s office for the next few days, as well as our meeting point. By the end of the day, we had all 15 palates in bags, organized by each stop, and they had the first palate built. The palates we put on the plane are much bigger than standard wooden shipping palates, and we filled 2 of them with A3 bags, over 5’5” high each. This would later become my bed on the flight. Little did I know sending so much gear for the troops would result in a comfortable place to sleep on the plane! What luck! The crew had everything organized and appropriately labeled by what was in each bag, and what base each batch of bags were for. It was very impressive, and will hopefully make our lives very easy when we get to each stop. Sitting here now in the plane, it is JAM packed! It’s awesome that we practically had no more space for anything else on board. We are bringing over the maximum amount of stuff we could possible bring on this tour. How’s that for maximizing the opportunity.
When we arrived on Friday morning, Heather, James, John and Warren already had the second palate all put together and ready to go. They were loading the plane at 1, so they were well ahead of the game. Now it was time to think about provisions. We were planning a cookout for everyone behind Billeting in the little pavilion, so we needed burgers and dogs (and beer!) for that. We also needed snacks for the plane, and other random supplies (zip ties, sun screen, TOILET PAPER, etc!) We also needed to ship a bunch of boxes, and pick up some rush banners that we’d had made. As the day ticked on and we took care of this little thing, and that little thing, time was running out, so Dave and I finally separated ourselves and went on the most amazing (and fun) speed shopping excursion I have ever been on! It was AWESOME! He had the list all made up, and we were flying around Walmart throwing everything in the cart that we needed. We FILLED 2 carts, including the underneath part, and walked out of there with $600 worth of supplies, in under an hour. There were definitely some high fives!! We rushed back and fired up the grill and proceeded to have an awesome time until 1 in the morning. Chip Kelly, the coach from Oregon arrived half way through the night, as did Blake. We had a lot of laughs, some great burgers thanks to Master Griller Dave, and a lot of beer! Pat and I engaged in the most hilarious tomato fight ever, and we had a great time. At 1, they needed to pop to the airport to pick up Coach Tim Murphy from Harvard, so the party broke then. We had a great time.
The next morning, I wasn’t as hung over as I thought I might be, thank goodness! Frankly, I was hardly hung over at all. Good old Coors Light! Today was the day for the 5K that Nick Mercurio (Call Sign Lois….now THAT’S a funny story) the Public Affairs Officer assigned to our tour had set up. There was also a signing with the coaches, burgers, a 40 yard dash competition and a flag football game. It was a great day, filled with Under Armour Raffles, and good healthy fun. We got to know the people on our tour a little more, and interacted with a bunch of people on base. It was a beautiful day despite very strong winds. (Kansas in windy!) We had a great time, and before you knew it, it was time for a quick shower, and our final party before the departure. The coaches went to Scotch and Sirloin with the General who is on our trip and the Friends of McConnell. The rest of us went to Pat’s house for a more casual get together. More bonding and getting to know eachother. Around 10, the coaches showed up, there was a ra ra session, pep talk, briefing, whatever the hell you want to call it. We were all fired up. We were leaving tomorrow!!! Charlie and Dave took my rental truck back to the airport (that had transported MANY people, and TONS of supplies) and picked up the last of our 4 coaches, Coach Rich Ellerson from West Point. (Coach Zook from Illinois had arrived at around 3pm that day.) The crew was assembled, and it was time for bed. We didn’t get back to Billeting until around 11:30pm, and I still had laundry and we had to pack. Finally around 1pm I was all ready to go, and tried to lay down for some sleep. I was pretty excited, but managed to get some rest.
Which brings us to this morning! We met at LRS at 0830, packed up some remaining things, and went to get fitted for our Kevlar vests and helmets. (we are going into a war zone you know!) Then we headed to lunch, and waited for the plane to be ready. We were scheduled to leave at 1400 and we ended up leaving at 1430. If you had told me at 0830 this morning that we’d pretty much take off on time, I would have laughed in your face. It was amazing how everything came together. It’s great to work with people who are efficient and focused on a task. Wow! So here we are on the KC135 somewhere over the Atlantic headed to Germany. The plane is packed to the gills and everyone is very excited. At every stop, we’ll unload a little more and a little more gear, so on the way home, this is going to be a pretty empty plane. Should be a fun contrast.
I arrived in Wichita Kansas on Tuesday, May 18 and was the first person on our tour crew to arrive. The Under Armour travel agency booked me a rental car for JUNE 18, (and I’m the idiot who didn’t double check it) but Enterprise luckily had vehicles available. It was a luxury car for $20 more a day, or a pickup for the price of my original reservation. I took the truck. Fun! Little did I know how handy that truck would be. I found a nice little restaurant for lunch in Wichita and had some final quiet moments before I was thrust into the unknown. My last bit of control over my own time before surrendering, willingly to the tour. We weren’t scheduled to leave until Sunday, so the thought of 4 full days was daunting. I thought for sure I’d be doing a lot of sitting around and wondering what to do. I had planned to work out, keep a journal, talk to Dan on the phone and get some stuff ready. Frankly, I had no idea what we were going to do. My last trip overseas was very different than this one, so I didn’t have much of an idea what I was in for. Looking back, I’m really glad….REALLY glad I got there on Tuesday.
I met Major Patrick Knott (Nuggett) at McConnell Air Force Base. He signed me onto the base and got me and my truck a pass to get on and off base at will. He got me checked into Billeting (the base hotel) and gave me a little tour of the base. Mike Whalen (Poppa Bear) didn’t arrive for another hour or 2, so Pat gave me a little drive around tour of the base, and a quick tour of his squadron. McConnell is a very nice base. He dropped me at the hotel and went to get Poppa Bear. I ran to the gym, did a little workout. Quick shower, and news that they were back, and it was time to head to dinner.
Pat and his wife Karen made us a wonderful dinner at their house. We had a great time, drank some wine, listened to some of Poppa Bear’s stories and really enjoyed ourselves. We headed back to the base, and to bed at a reasonable hour.
The next day began at 0800. Let the games begin! We headed over to the LRS (Logistics, Readiness Squadron) to find all the Under Armour that was sent and get the process started. There were 15 palates of assorted Under Armour gear, and shirts from the coaches schools. 15 palates! It was NUTS!!! They moved it all over to an empty and available corner of the warehouse, and I got to work. Actually, I went to lunch, and when I got back, James Mortor, Heather “Cookie” Barnes, and Warren “dot com” Weldon were there. They’re boom operators on the tanker we’re flying on throughout our trip. They drive the boom that delivers gas to jets in mid air. Pretty cool! They were a lot of fun, and we spent the rest of the afternoon figuring out what the hell we had in all the 15 palates, and trying to get it organized for the next day. At about 1900 (7pm) we knocked off, and Pat, Poppa Bear and I went to dinner. We found a great Italian joint, had some great wine, and some laughs. Poppa Bear is a phenomenal story teller, and we enjoyed them all. Home at a reasonable hour, and time for bed.
Thursday, I saw military efficiency kick in. More of the crew were there (John, Jonah, Kyle, Col Thatcher) so we had lots of man power. We knew what was on each palate, so they started to bag everything and put it together. Dave and Charlie (GA football coaches at Iowa) arrived and started getting the lay of the land. We took a run to Office Depot and Walmart, and set up an office right there in the warehouse. We had everything….a printer, internet, supplies, etc! This would be Poppa Bear’s office for the next few days, as well as our meeting point. By the end of the day, we had all 15 palates in bags, organized by each stop, and they had the first palate built. The palates we put on the plane are much bigger than standard wooden shipping palates, and we filled 2 of them with A3 bags, over 5’5” high each. This would later become my bed on the flight. Little did I know sending so much gear for the troops would result in a comfortable place to sleep on the plane! What luck! The crew had everything organized and appropriately labeled by what was in each bag, and what base each batch of bags were for. It was very impressive, and will hopefully make our lives very easy when we get to each stop. Sitting here now in the plane, it is JAM packed! It’s awesome that we practically had no more space for anything else on board. We are bringing over the maximum amount of stuff we could possible bring on this tour. How’s that for maximizing the opportunity.
When we arrived on Friday morning, Heather, James, John and Warren already had the second palate all put together and ready to go. They were loading the plane at 1, so they were well ahead of the game. Now it was time to think about provisions. We were planning a cookout for everyone behind Billeting in the little pavilion, so we needed burgers and dogs (and beer!) for that. We also needed snacks for the plane, and other random supplies (zip ties, sun screen, TOILET PAPER, etc!) We also needed to ship a bunch of boxes, and pick up some rush banners that we’d had made. As the day ticked on and we took care of this little thing, and that little thing, time was running out, so Dave and I finally separated ourselves and went on the most amazing (and fun) speed shopping excursion I have ever been on! It was AWESOME! He had the list all made up, and we were flying around Walmart throwing everything in the cart that we needed. We FILLED 2 carts, including the underneath part, and walked out of there with $600 worth of supplies, in under an hour. There were definitely some high fives!! We rushed back and fired up the grill and proceeded to have an awesome time until 1 in the morning. Chip Kelly, the coach from Oregon arrived half way through the night, as did Blake. We had a lot of laughs, some great burgers thanks to Master Griller Dave, and a lot of beer! Pat and I engaged in the most hilarious tomato fight ever, and we had a great time. At 1, they needed to pop to the airport to pick up Coach Tim Murphy from Harvard, so the party broke then. We had a great time.
The next morning, I wasn’t as hung over as I thought I might be, thank goodness! Frankly, I was hardly hung over at all. Good old Coors Light! Today was the day for the 5K that Nick Mercurio (Call Sign Lois….now THAT’S a funny story) the Public Affairs Officer assigned to our tour had set up. There was also a signing with the coaches, burgers, a 40 yard dash competition and a flag football game. It was a great day, filled with Under Armour Raffles, and good healthy fun. We got to know the people on our tour a little more, and interacted with a bunch of people on base. It was a beautiful day despite very strong winds. (Kansas in windy!) We had a great time, and before you knew it, it was time for a quick shower, and our final party before the departure. The coaches went to Scotch and Sirloin with the General who is on our trip and the Friends of McConnell. The rest of us went to Pat’s house for a more casual get together. More bonding and getting to know eachother. Around 10, the coaches showed up, there was a ra ra session, pep talk, briefing, whatever the hell you want to call it. We were all fired up. We were leaving tomorrow!!! Charlie and Dave took my rental truck back to the airport (that had transported MANY people, and TONS of supplies) and picked up the last of our 4 coaches, Coach Rich Ellerson from West Point. (Coach Zook from Illinois had arrived at around 3pm that day.) The crew was assembled, and it was time for bed. We didn’t get back to Billeting until around 11:30pm, and I still had laundry and we had to pack. Finally around 1pm I was all ready to go, and tried to lay down for some sleep. I was pretty excited, but managed to get some rest.
Which brings us to this morning! We met at LRS at 0830, packed up some remaining things, and went to get fitted for our Kevlar vests and helmets. (we are going into a war zone you know!) Then we headed to lunch, and waited for the plane to be ready. We were scheduled to leave at 1400 and we ended up leaving at 1430. If you had told me at 0830 this morning that we’d pretty much take off on time, I would have laughed in your face. It was amazing how everything came together. It’s great to work with people who are efficient and focused on a task. Wow! So here we are on the KC135 somewhere over the Atlantic headed to Germany. The plane is packed to the gills and everyone is very excited. At every stop, we’ll unload a little more and a little more gear, so on the way home, this is going to be a pretty empty plane. Should be a fun contrast.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Holiday Will Power Weakness
It’s Christmas time
There are treats around…..all around!
I’ve been very good, passing by cookie trays, turning down fried foods on the holiday buffet, skipping the dips and sauces at parties…..EXCEPT for this morning. This morning, my will power flew out the window.
I got up at 5:30. This is a little earlier because there’s still snow all over the place, and while the roads are generally clear, I have yet to dig my car out and have refused to move it until I absolutely have to. So I put on my snow gear (including my mega boots I bought for my Antarctica trip) and walked to the gym, did spin class, walked home and had my normal egg white breakfast. Yum! I walked to work, and shortly after my arrival, someone announced that they’d brought in bags of Micky D’s sandwiches.
The Egg McMuffin and I have a very special relationship. I love it and will someday marry it, and frankly, of all the Micky D’s b-fasts, it’s one of the better ones for you. Lots of carbs, but half the fat of most of their sandwiches.
So I ate one.
I was feeling a little full, but felt satisfied and said that would be my morning snack, would delay lunch a little.
Then they started talking about the treats.
There were cookies and brownies on the desk 4 over from mine, and people were stopping by, and talking about them and eating them.
Non-stop.
I tried to resist. I sat on my bouncy-ball chair drinking my water and thinking about my beloved Egg McMuffin….but nothing could erase the sounds of people enjoying the brownies.
I love brownies. I really love brownies.
Finally, I couldn’t resist any more. I went over to check out the brownies…but they weren’t just brownies. They were brownies in cupcake form, probably twice the size of normal brownies, but just as fudgy as a “real” brownie, and they had chocolate chips in them. I love chocolate chips in my brownies.
And so I grabbed one.
And I ate it.
I ate the whole thing, and it was delicious. I had brownie crumbs all over my fingers and my face. It was on my teeth, and sticking to the roof of my mouth. And it was glorious!
And then, I started to feel like crap.
When I walked by the brownies a few minutes later, they were gone. Had I waited just three more minutes, I would have averted this stomach ache, but I didn’t. In fact, while I was there, lamenting my piggitry, I grabbed a cookie off the plate next to the empty brownie tray and ate it.
And now, I really feel like crap.
I'm never eating again!
Friday, November 27, 2009
The beginning
It all started a year ago when I decided I was going to do another Ironman in 2009. I completed the Great Floridian Triathlon in 2005 and had a great experience, and wanted to do another one. In 2005 I’d flown my great friend Jeri out from Tucson to be my CEO of Race Support. She’s a great athlete and understands the stress of competition, so I knew she’d be great to take care of all the details, so I could focus on my race. When considering which race to do in 2009, including Jeri was an essential part. Aside from her being an amazing supporter and helper during stressful race times, it was a great excuse to hang out with a great friend! She lives in Tucson, so Ironman Arizona seemed like a great choice.
The day after the race in 2008, registration for the 2009 race opened. I was online and trying to connect to the registration site and after 45 minutes hitting refresh refresh refresh with no success, I finally connected. I was in! I quickly filled out my registration information, my stomach lurching with every advancing page. Did I really want to do this? I’m so excited! This is going to be a huge commitment? Do I really want to do this? I’m so excited! I got to the payment page and my stomach lurched again. $525? You’ve GOT TO BE kidding me! Well, Ironman puts on a great race, the support will be top notch, the schwag is good, and I will officially be AN IRONMAN! (Great Floridian is a triathlon of the same distance, but it’s not an official Ironman Brand event. I went 140.6 miles, but Mike Reilly never officially announced me as AN IRONMAN! Why is that so special? I’m not so sure….but it is, and anyone who’s ever had it announced for them understands!) So I bucked up, paid my money, and I was in!
The preparation
I had 7 marathons and an ultra on the plan for 2009, so my running training was pretty well taken care of by default. I actually did very little training for any of those races, and had a great experience at all of them. (except NYC which I didn’t end up running due to a bad serving of sesame chicken 2 nights before) Slow and steady, enjoy the views, talk to some people, grab your medal and move to the next! Due to numerous personal and work travel commitments and several bad weather weekends, my long bike ride training plans were totally derailed. Ok, to be honest, that’s an excuse. Those things made my long bike rides inconvenient….and I didn’t do ‘em! Lazy? Yeah…probably. The confidence I’d gained from a year of marathons without training gave me some false confidence. I knew in my brain that an ironman was a VERY different proposition than a marathon, and training was a must, but weekend after weekend found me not doing the planned training.
My parents were at my first big triathlon, and made plans to be in Arizona for my second, despite a few small financial sacrifices to get the tickets. My parents are great supporters, not only of me, but of all the endurance athletes in events they spectate. They’ve cheered on friends and family at numerous events, sometimes with horns, sometimes with bells, even with a banjo and they always bring smiles and energy to the runners. They’re a welcome addition to an event, especially this time. They knew the long day involved in being a supporter of 1 athlete at an ironman, so they signed up to volunteer at a bike aid station during the race. How cool! And it’s a good thing they did! Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have done the race.
About a month before the race, it occurred to me that it was highly unlikely that I would be able to complete the event with the piss poor training I had done. Part of me thought I could, and part of me knew the painstakingly hard work most athletes put in to complete these races, and it was totally stupid of me to believe I could do it without. I was nervous, I was anxious, and every missed workout brought more stress and guilt. Suddenly one day I said to myself “Anne, you have 17 hours to complete that race. 2 hours for the swim, 9 for the bike and 6 for the run. That’s totally doable. You have to be smart, but you can do it….and if you can’t, you pull out. You have no ego put into this race. Enjoy a beautiful weekend with your great friend Jeri, your parents and a ton of other friends who happened to be at the race. Enjoy the weather, be smart and do what you can. If you have to pull out, pull out. Oh, and sign up for skydiving while you’re in AZ, so if you don’t complete 1 2009 goal, at least you complete another!” The stress went away, the excitement went up, and my workouts actually improved! Not that you can cram for an ironman, but it helped me mentally.
The week before
I had an insane travel and work schedule for the week before the race, and actually ended up closing bars twice during that pre-race week. And no, I wasn’t drinking water all night. I had a blast, and was tired, but wasn’t too worried about it. Why start doing the right thing now, right? (I know, STUPID!) I was in Dallas and Austin, then back to Baltimore for Sales meeting. I packed and prepped when I could, and made lists and piles and looked at checklists to be sure I had everything. My good friend, co-worker and fellow triathlete Craig gave me a ride to the airport because the bike box I borrowed from my other good friend, co-worker and triathlete Shana wouldn’t fit in my car. I checked my e-mail flight confirmation and it said 6:15 for my flight. Great! I would get there 2 hours before to have plenty of time to get my bike checked in. I arrived at the airport at 4:15 only to find that my flight was actually at 5:30! WHAT WHAT??? Got my bike checked in with no problem (a little concern, but no actual delay) and got to the gate in plenty of time. Fshew! Glad I decided to arrive early. I got to the gate and called Jeri in an excited frenzy! The journey had begun! I was on the way. We giggled and chatted for a sec, then I let her go get ready.
Flights were uneventful, bike and luggage arrived safe and sound and I was finally in Phoenix to start my Ironman Journey!
Tour de Tucson
I arrived in Phoenix around 11pm on Wednesday night. Jeri was kind enough to drive up from Tucson (about an hour and a half) to pick me up! We screamed and jumped and hugged for a few minutes on the sidewalk at the airport (hadn’t seen her since 2005 actually!) then loaded up the truck and headed south. We gabbed and gabbed like the old friends that we are, and I was again reminded what a perfect choice for CEO of Race Support that she was! We got to her house around 1:30 and crashed.
The next morning, we slept in, chilled out, watched some mindless TV on the couch while playing with her ADORABLE dog, then went out to see Tucson. I lived there about 8 years ago, and was excited to visit some old stomping grounds. We ran a few errands, then went to Panda House Stir Fry (Mongolian Barbeque. YUM!) for lunch. Then we visited our old friend Alyssa who is now a flight nurse. She showed us her helicopter and told us all about her job while we grilled her with questions. Fascinating stuff, and she clearly LOVES her job. It was cool to see the helicopter and all the gear all set up for medical evac, and hear some of her crazy stories. That was a blast.
We drove by some other old places and through the desert, then headed to Sushi Garden to meet her husband for dinner! What a blast, and just as delicious as I remembered. Erik was just as fun and funny as I remembered, and we enjoyed a very nice dinner, then went home and crashed again! 2 very late nights for me in the days before a big race. I needed some sleep. The next day, race prep would officially begin.
The Ironman Arizona Journey Begins : Friday, packet pickup
We left the next morning to head up to Phoenix. We first stopped off at the condo. This was an absolute WINDFALL! A friend of mine’s mother-in-law had a condo in Scottsdale that they had purchased when their daughter (his wife) was at Arizona State. They still had it, and it was sitting there, empty, and he offered it to us for use the weekend of the race. It was gorgeous, and well situated around tons of restaurants, grocery stores, and anything else we’d need for the weekend. Thank you SO Much Cameron! Having a kitchen to prep race food, a big couch to chat and chill on was AWESOME!
Then we headed over to Tempe to pick up packets, and get the lay of the land. The race “village” was buzzing with nervous excitement as athletes picked up their race packets, and did shopping at the official ironman store, and at the various tents spread all over the expo. I of course bought an Ironman Arizona pair of bike shorts, and a cute bathing suit (with “Ironman” on it, of course!). Jeri got some t-shirts and shorts. We had fun walking around, and checking things out. I picked up my packet, and we headed back to the condo to meet my parents, who had just arrived.
We all headed to the grocery store for supplies for the race and the weekend. Again, having a kitchen was clutch! Knowing that this race was going to be all about pacing and staying fueled, I had a very detailed food plan all laid out, including baked potato, ramen, roast beef sandwiches and PB&J…oh, and a Totinos Pizza! We loaded up on groceries and headed back to the condo.
There was a Welcome Dinner followed by the mandatory athlete meeting that night. We decided to skip the probably mediocre institutional athlete buffet dinner and enjoy a lovely sushi dinner with my parents instead. We did go to the mandatory meeting though. These meetings are always a total repeat of everything already covered on the website and on the athlete booklet they send, but in the off chance that there was some key piece of information given, we went. We ended up running into Scott and Leanne Johnson, friends of mine from NC there, and Bob and Rudy as well, from CAF. Rudy had attempted the Kona Ironman a few weeks before, and missed the cutoff for the bike by a few minutes, and he was determined to finish this Ironman and become the first double above the knee amputee to finish an ironman. Rudy is a Paralympic Gold medal swimmer, so that would be easy, but biking 112 miles and running a marathon with just the use of his gluteus muscles was quite a challenge, but a challenge that this lion hearted 21 year old was ready to take on! I was so excited to be racing with him. Wished him luck and headed home to bed.
The journey continues: Saturday, bike check
I woke up with a great plan, to lay out all of my race outfits to be sure I had everything I need for the long day ahead, and be sure everything was in the right bag so I’d have it when I needed it during the race. I made slips of paper for the food items yet to be prepared, so I’d remember where they were supposed to go, so I’d have everything I’d need to survive! It was a great system! I wanted to get everything done and checked and completed by lunchtime, so I could get off my feet and relax for the rest of the day, so we set out around 9:30 to get my bike checked, gear bags checked and everything set for race day before meeting my old running buddy Becky for lunch. We got everything taken care of, ran into Scott and Macca (it’s great to have a World Champion Ironman wishing you luck!) I spun a car and won the bonus prize (Ford had a fun promotion going on!) and we headed off to meet Becky. We had a blast at lunch. Jeri and Becky became fast friends and made plans to meet the next day for cheering duty! I was really looking forward to it! Jeri and I ran off to get some last details and ended up rolling back to the condo around 4. I cooked my food, then headed off to a great Italian dinner with my parents. Magganios is yummy and we got back to the condo around 8, relaxed for a while, and they sent me to bed early. 4am wake up the next morning……here goes!
Race Day
I was pleasantly surprised that I slept like a baby! None of the typical hourly time checking throughout the night. None of the typical worry about missing my alarm. I slept like a rock and woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 4am. As I ate my cheerios it dawned on me what I was doing. I pushed it to the back of my mind.
Got to the race site which was buzzing with nervous energy. No one can freak out like a triathlete can. Jeri and I walked together through the masses of people. 2000+ triathletes and probably double the spectators. It was crowded. I started to get nervous. I had to leave Jeri to go into transition to pump up my tires, drop my special needs bags, and get everything prepped. This is when I freaked out. I got to the bike and didn’t know what to do. I had the sudden urge to turn around and get Jeri and leave. I didn’t have to do this. I didn’t want to do this. Everyone was talking about how cold the water was. Everyone was nervously fidgeting around. I didn’t know what to do. Time for another little pep talk. “Anne…chill! Get in the water, swim all you can, and if you want to stop, you stop! Do what you can. No need to freak. You’ve done this before. Now start with your gear bags.” It worked. I got everything set and ran back to Jeri to hang out with her. I ran into Scott and Macca and got a big hug and a picture from them. That was great! I also saw Bob and Heidi and got huge hugs from them. Hugs always make things better, especially from great supportive friends! I was feeling nervous, but much better.
Then it was time to suit up and head to the swim start. NO….I’M NOT READY! Everyone had a full wetsuit. I had a sleeveless. Everyone was talking about the cold water. Some people even had squid lids on. Could it be that cold? Triathletes are NOTORIOUS for whining about stuff (sorry guys, but it’s TRUE!) so I wanted to believe that it wouldn’t be as bad as they were saying, but I still put off getting into the water until the last minute. It was a mass start, and I was pleased as punch to be at the very back of the great spashing, kicking mass of swimmers.
I hopped in at 6:56. 4 minutes until the gun. It was chilly. My hands and feet soon got a little numb, but once I was swimming, it was actually quite pleasant.
2.5 miles of swimming is a long way, but I knew there were no sharks, alligators or other scary stuff in the water, and the sun was coming up and it was very pretty. I settled in and swam and actually had a very nice, uneventful swim. Got elbowed once, and took on a mouthful of water a few times as I swam over and around people, but generally it was a very pleasant swim. I knew this was going to be the easy part.
Out of the water, and on to one of my favorite parts of ironman….the wetsuit stripping! My first ironman, I wasn’t aware of this practice so it took me by surprise, but I loved it! 2 volunteers work together as a wetsuit SWAT team. Unzip HUT HUT HUT, pull down top HUT HUT HUT seat the athlete HUT HUT HUT and WHIP IT OFF! WHEEEEE! It’s really fun, and almost worth doing 140.6 just to have it done to you! And the volunteers are always so friendly! So I ran up to 2 volunteers and said “Are you my strippers?” and they said “Yup, do you have your dollar?” Love it! Nothing like a little humor after a 1 hour and 40 minute swim! So I grab my suit and my gear bag and head into the transition tent.
The volunteers in the transition tent are equally wonderful. They’ll do anything and everything for you. They’ll do things you didn’t even quite realize you needed done! Anticipating needs is the quality of a phenomenal volunteer and they all had it! Now, after spending an hour and a half in the horizontal swimming position, it takes a little while to get your head back! I was right on schedule with my race plan, so I knew I could take all the time I needed in transition to relax, eat (remember that Totino’s pizza? Yes, I ate the whole thing!) sunscreen and lube up, dry off, get changed and head out. It’s hard to not get caught up in the HURRY HURRY of race mentality, but I kept reminding myself that I had plenty of time, and relaxed. It was fun to look around and take in the whole scene. I’m glad I did! Enriches the memories and the experience.
Finally, I was off for the bike. The course is a 37 mile 3 loop out and back course with the first half of the loop basically uphill and the second half basically downhill. Heidi told me about her ride of the loop when I saw her the day before, so I knew that the way out would seem long, so I settled in and rode. The first 5 miles was through Tempe, then the next 13 went out into the desert. I knew that my parents were at the aid station at mile 13, so I’d see them a bunch of times during the bike. I also had my eating plan set to stop at the turn around and the end of the loop to eat something.
The fun and the horror of the 3 loops is that all the athletes, pros and slows were all mixed together on whatever loop of the bike at the same time. It was fun to get passed by Leanda Cave and Sam McGlone and all the big name fasties in the triathlon world. I even saw Under Armour sponsored pro triathlete Jesse Vondracek and was sure to cheer for him when I could. Rudy was also out there, and I saw him right before the turn around on the first loop. He was on his way back, several miles in front of me.
The first loop was great! I saw my parents, ate my roast beef sandwich at the turn around, and FLEW down the hill. The wind was in my face on the way up, which wasn’t so fun, but on the way down, it was a blast. The problem was, while I thought I was flying, the pros and elites would be buzzing by me like I was standing still. I guess gravity pulls harder on them! Anyway, I made it to the turn around, and snuck up on Jeri! She hadn’t seen me coming, so I rode up, stopped and asked if she’d seen someone named Jeri Kremer! We laughed and I chilled for a minute. I was right on schedule and was feeling good. Jeri suggested I push it a little on the second loop so I could bank some time. So I headed out for loop 2.
The pros and elites were finishing up their third loop and I realized that loop 3 was going to get pretty lonely. I stopped on the way up to add a little more sunscreen to my face and shoulders. Saw my parents again, saw Rudy again in a similar spot (he was making great time!) and enjoyed the fact that the wind wasn’t in my face any more going up the hill, so I could go a little faster. I snacked on doritoes on the way up the hill, looking forward to the half way point when I could eat my ramen at the bike special needs area. I sat and joked with the volunteers for a while, then headed out .
When I got back to start the third loop, I snuck up on Jeri AGAIN! She was so pissed. “HOW DID WE MISS YOU???” She felt like she wasn’t doing her job, but I thought it was hilarious! Becky had joined her too at this point, so more hugs, more food, and I was off again. I saw Bob and Heidi and Rudy’s trainer and they said he was right in front of me and to cheer him on!! Jeri and I talked about the cut offs, as I was about an hour and a half from the first cut off. Plenty of time, but I needed to keep moving. At about mile 10 of the third loop (mile 84 I guess) I saw Rudy. He looked tired and was riding pretty slow, but he was determined. I cheered a lot, told him he could do it, and pushed on. I passed my parents again, right after their volunteering shift was over. I stopped and hugged them, and met the ring leader of their very entertaining aid station. It had a sports theme, and he was dressed as a referee. Very cute! I told them to cheer for Rudy, who was right behind me, and pushed on again. I got to the final turn around with over a half hour to spare. I was a little worried about Rudy, but sure enough, within a mile of leaving the aid station at the turn around, here comes Rudy, with plenty of time to spare! I cheered really loud, and kept cheering internally. He’s amazing!!
So I made it into transition. Fshew. That wasn’t so bad! Just a marathon to go! I chilled, changed, ate a baked potato (the whole thing) and relaxed for a minute. At one point, a volunteer ran in and told me that Rudy had made it and just entered transition. (I had on my CAF tri jersey, the same one Rudy had on, so she made a connection. I was glad she did and thrilled to hear that he made it! YEssssss!) Finally the volunteers kicked me out, and made me start the run.
The run was 3 8.7 mile loops in a figure 8 formation, so you went through the general transition area twice per loop which was cool. I had about 7 hours to finish the run. This would be plenty! I could walk it if I wanted. So I trugged out of the transition and started running. About ½ mile later, Rudy came FLYING by me. He had to be running an 8 minute mile. He was COOKIN! It was like he was on new legs….well, actually he was! He flew by and took off. This gave me a huge boost of energy but I certainly was not running an 8 minute mile!
The sun went down, and I kept moving forward. The aid stations were fantastic! As with all the other volunteers I’d encountered all day, they were friendly, energetic, loud and gave me everything I needed. My stomach wasn’t interested in much more food, so I was drinking coke and drinking broth. Warm broth at mile 130 is an amazing thing!! Coke and broth is a strange taste combo, but it worked wonders for me.
Jeri and Becky were cheering from the bridge, so I looked forward to seeing them there. Mom and dad had made it back to the transition area from their aid station, and were cheering from there, so it was great to see them as well. At one point, mom told me they’d talked to Jim and Nicki, and Gemma and Keira had told me “GOOD LUCK!” (these are my 20 month and 3 year old nieces) I got a little choked up at that point! It was fun to think about those sweet little clean faces while I was sweaty and tired and dirty.
I ran for a minute and walked for 2 for pretty much the whole marathon. It was dark and pretty uneventful, which is just how you want it. I felt good, kept moving, and the next thing I knew, I was on the last lap!
II caught up with Rudy on the second lap of the marathon, and about half way through the last lap, he ran by me again, and I didn’t see him again other than hearing some really loud cheering at the finish line about 5 minutes before I finished. He’d done it. He’d completed the race. Now it was time for me to.
I’d learned that the pros always take a minute to clean up before they win the race. They rezip their top, straighten their hat, throw away anything they had hanging out in their pockets and generally looked nice for their finishing photo. If it’s good enough for the world champion, it’s good enough for me! About ¼ mile from the finish, I straightened up, and kicked it in. Let’s get this over with.
The crowd was awesome. They were so loud and the lights were bright! Such a contrast to the miles and miles in the dark that I had just completed. I sprinted in, and saw Mike Riley. He is amazing! It was 16 hours and 16 minutes after the race had started. He’d been announcing finishers for 7 hours, and he was as energetic as ever. Waving his towel and yelling for me! FOR ME! “ANNE BONNEY, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!!!” Hell yeah! HELL YEAH! (I’m getting excited as I type!) I see Jeri and Becky and my parents yelling and cheering! I slap hands, I raise my arms, and I finish! I hug my friend Eric Gilsenan, a race announcer and friend of mine who I saw at 4 different races this year. I hug my friends, I hug my parents. I’m sobbing a little, laughing and just glad to be done.
Then I was tired. I wanted to leave. Forget basking in the finish line glow. Forget looking for my other friends who were there. I just wanted to sit down and be on the way to bed! Jeri and I headed to the car. They’d already loaded up my bike and all my bags, so all the business was taken care of. It was GREAT! We got to the car, already starting to get excited for our next adventure…..we were SKY DIVING the next day! YAHOO! I was so excited.
We got back to the car. I turned on my blackberry to texts and e-mails from friends wishing me luck and asking for results, and 1 e-mail that I didn’t want to see.
“Dear Anne
We regret to tell you that our plane is under maintenance, and we will be unable to take you on your scheduled dive tomorrow morning. Please give us a call to reschedule. We have openings on Friday if that will work.
We apologize for the inconvenience
Phoenix Area Skydiving”
Well that stinks! Oh well. It meant that we didn’t have to get up at any time and rush out of the condo in the morning. This turned out to be nice, and we chilled and cleaned and relaxed all morning. We finally headed back to Tucson around 1pm.
What an amazing trip. Such fun with great friends and family and a great accomplishment. I think I'll take a little break for a while!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
A Vegas night!
I arrived in Vegas at about 8pm. By the time I got my car and got checked in to the hotel, it was around 9 and I was pretty hungry. I decided to go down to Nobu at the Hard Rock for some sushi. (you know how I feel about sushi, and the Hard Rock is a great place to find a good time.) I had a delicious meal, and was joined about half way through my hamachi sashimi by a stunning looking older man. Tom and I chatted and laughed as I finished my dinner, and a few more drinks, after which we decided to go to the pool side night club there in the hotel, Rehab. That place is nuts! I’d never actually been there before but had heard rumors. It was all the beautiful people with their after-market breasts and their scant designer clothing and trashy hooker shoes. Thankfully, I had my lucky skirt on. You always look hot in your lucky skirt. It’s the rule! We danced and drank and yelled over the music and danced more. At one point, we ran into Jeremy Piven…..literally! He spilled his drink all over my shirt. This turned into fountains of apologies and he bought us drinks and invited us to hang out in his VIP area and all that. We hung there for a while, but agreed that we felt like everyone was looking at us rif raf, and after about a half hour in the VIP area drinking their expensive drinks and laughing with our heads thrown back, we left. The people watching was great, and Tom was turning out to be a really fun guy.
Around 1:30 or so, I decided it was time to GAMBLE! We went out in the casino and played some roulette, and after uncharacteristically plunking $200 on the table, I walked away with over $1000! We were “that table” that you see in the movies with everyone laughing and screaming with joy. The table was hot. (I say that like I know anything about gambling or have much experience with it. I never gamble! It was sooooo fun!) Once I hit $1000 I decided to cash in and head over to see the Bellagio fountains.
2 things I have been deeply saddened to learn on 2 occasions late at night in Vegas. 1.) some of the bars in Vegas actually CLOSE (I learned this a few years ago) and 2.) the Bellagio fountains don’t do their little show at 4 in the morning. WTF?? I was in a lighthearted, spontaneous and highly drunken state, and when I spotted the maintenance ladder down into the fountain pool, I got a wonderful idea. Let’s SWIM! Tom apparently wasn’t much of a swimmer, so he just watched, and turned out to be a total tool as he scurried away when hotel security came to stop me from splashing around in the fountain pretending to be one of the dancing jets. Well, there wasn’t a sign saying “no swimming” or “no wading” or anything, and apparently that was enough of an argument to stop them from calling the police. It was a bit of a cold shivery buzz kill sitting in the security office at the Bellagio, so once they let me go and asked me not to come back to their nice little hotel, I went back to my hotel and ended the night.
Only in Vegas baby…only in Vegas! At least I didn’t wake up with Mike Tyson’s tiger in my bathroom! And now I have to go to a meeting, and pretend that my head doesn’t feel like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade isn’t going through it.
It was worth it! And later, I will go shopping!!!
(Well, as I said in my blog title....only some of it is true! I was actually in bed reading my book by 10pm, but the story sure was fun to write!)
Around 1:30 or so, I decided it was time to GAMBLE! We went out in the casino and played some roulette, and after uncharacteristically plunking $200 on the table, I walked away with over $1000! We were “that table” that you see in the movies with everyone laughing and screaming with joy. The table was hot. (I say that like I know anything about gambling or have much experience with it. I never gamble! It was sooooo fun!) Once I hit $1000 I decided to cash in and head over to see the Bellagio fountains.
2 things I have been deeply saddened to learn on 2 occasions late at night in Vegas. 1.) some of the bars in Vegas actually CLOSE (I learned this a few years ago) and 2.) the Bellagio fountains don’t do their little show at 4 in the morning. WTF?? I was in a lighthearted, spontaneous and highly drunken state, and when I spotted the maintenance ladder down into the fountain pool, I got a wonderful idea. Let’s SWIM! Tom apparently wasn’t much of a swimmer, so he just watched, and turned out to be a total tool as he scurried away when hotel security came to stop me from splashing around in the fountain pretending to be one of the dancing jets. Well, there wasn’t a sign saying “no swimming” or “no wading” or anything, and apparently that was enough of an argument to stop them from calling the police. It was a bit of a cold shivery buzz kill sitting in the security office at the Bellagio, so once they let me go and asked me not to come back to their nice little hotel, I went back to my hotel and ended the night.
Only in Vegas baby…only in Vegas! At least I didn’t wake up with Mike Tyson’s tiger in my bathroom! And now I have to go to a meeting, and pretend that my head doesn’t feel like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade isn’t going through it.
It was worth it! And later, I will go shopping!!!
(Well, as I said in my blog title....only some of it is true! I was actually in bed reading my book by 10pm, but the story sure was fun to write!)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Time to go home.
4am, up and at ‘em. I had the typical post race/early flight interrupted night’s sleep, but managed to get a few good winks in. Headed to the train, got on the bus and to the airport without incident. Bought my last minute food souvenirs (no, not bread….gummi bears and Toblerone!) and boarded my flight to Brussels. I stayed awake during the entire 3 legs of the trip, knowing that this would afford me a very good night’s sleep when I got home, hopefully putting me in a good position with the time zones before heading 3 more hours west to Vegas the next day. I had about 4 hours in the Chicago airport that turned in to 3 by the time I got through customs and passport control and got my bag rechecked. I took advantage of the in-terminal wifi and went through all my work e-mails, making me feel better about only having 4 hours in the office the next day.
I got home at 9pm, tired but satisfied. It had been a fantastic trip. Oh, did I mention that I e-mailed my friend Corey from the Chicago airport? He and his family are moving to Mumbai and they just happen to have a marathon in January….. Continent #5…coming up!
I got home at 9pm, tired but satisfied. It had been a fantastic trip. Oh, did I mention that I e-mailed my friend Corey from the Chicago airport? He and his family are moving to Mumbai and they just happen to have a marathon in January….. Continent #5…coming up!
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