Wow! So this blog update is WAAAAY past due! I apologize for not blogging this summer! I have been busy, and then when I did get some time off I wanted to spend it with friends and family.
This will be a long one, as I have a lot to recap so bare with me if you can!
So without further a due…. I Give you my summer travels!
First trip: Spain and France!
So with the Canadian team we went to Spain and France to play 6 games, against some of the best European teams. We went 1-5, but all our games were close and for it being our first games together in a year it went well! My highlight of the trip was getting to spend a day in Madrid! I have fallen in love with Spain, and would love to play there for a year or two. France was nice too, but we spent a little amount of time there and did not get to see the city we were in.
In Madrid some of the girls went on a GPS go kart tour of the city, and I went with my roomie Krista, and got completely lost!! Everything we tried kept bringing us back to a dead end, so we ended up driving around in a little go kart on the main streets of Madrid trying to find our way back out! Needless to say we still got to see some stuff, and have a story to tell!
Not of me.. but this was the go kart we drove around in!
Getting some instructions from coach in one of our games
On the court, after a huddle
A couple of the girls explore Segovia, Spain
Had to pose for a photo with them! :)
1st Break: So after this we had 6 weeks off! I was shocked that we had this much time off, but I was soo happy to finally be home for more then a week! I spent the majority of time at home, working out and catching up with friends and family. I could never tell you how much this meant to me! I also planned a couple trips as I went to Syracuse for some shopping, and then went to Vermont, Indiana, St. Louis, and Boston to visit friends.
This break was crazy! I got to see a former enemy (Carlee Cassidy, who played at UMBC) we are now friends. Funny how things change when the competition is taken out of it. I got to see most of the UVM girls, and the freshman… it is still weird to walk into Patrick Gym and know I wont ever be playing there again.
I got to see my old room-mate Meghan, who I had not seen in two years! It was so great to see her as I have kept in touch and finally got to hang out with her. Highlight of that trip was being able to go see the Hoosiers gym. ANYONE who likes basketball knows this movie, and being able to see the gym where it was filmed was amazing.. Yes I bought a Jimmy Chitwood shirt :)
I saw Sarah Madey in Boston, who I played with for two years and we spent an amazing weekend together at the beach and just hanging out. Also watching the newest Chronicles of Narnia movie!
Lastly, I visited Amanda (my team-mate in Lithuania) in St. Louis to celebrate her birthday! I had a blast with her and loved getting to meet/see all the places she had talked about. Now next summer Amanda is coming to visit Ottawa (hint hint)
Hoosiers Gym in Indiana
Meghan and I in the locker room
Out for a little sundae treat
Had to go to the Cardinals Stadium...
At the Arch.. of course we had to have our jumping photo
Yes.. I went up in the Arch.. this was the view :)
Second Trip: Japan and China!
So I was back at it with Japan and China trips with Canada basketball. We went 1-2 against both Japan and China, but again all the games being close and competitive. These games I really saw a difference in our team, you could see the hard work we’ve been putting in coming together. Japan was a very neat country, and we stayed in Nagasaki, and got to see ground zero where the US dropped the bomb years ago. It was so neat to see the monuments, and how the city has rebuilt itself.
China was a bit different, it was a little dirtier, and there was the constant layer of smog in the air. Also we had what we would call one or two star hotels to stay in. At least we had a roof over our heads and a bed (even if it was like sleeping on concrete). I also got to experience the crazy drivers in China.. it’s really is organized chaos…. Honking everywhere, passing cars with oncoming traffic, and not obeying red lights… it was scary to begin with, but we got use to it, or you just looked down when driving.
The highlight of the trip was for sure going to see the Great wall of China! Man is it big!! I am so lucky I get to see all these famous monuments, and wonders of the world! I was taken a back from the Great Wall! We didn’t even walk a lot of it since we had practice later that day, but it was a great experience.
Our view from our hotel in Japan
Before one of our games in Japan, they had such good crowds
The great wall... The picture does not do it justice
A couple of us posing for a pic!
Another team photo
After we had walked up part of the way
Before a game in Japan.
Organize chaos in the streets of China
The team on our sightseeing day in China
2nd break: So now I have 3 weeks off at home, and I have been busy getting everything ready to go back to Lithuania (as I go right after the Olympic qualifiers). Also back to see my friends and family again, which I always nice! J I have a trip to NYC planned with Jori and to meet up with Jackie, so that is very exciting. Other then that I have been at home relaxing and working out. Nothing too crazy for me this trip!
My two best friends and I back together!
Having a feast of a BBQ :) Little things like this I miss when im away
Playing Cranium with friends..
Jori and I enjoying Ottawa night life
Evan and I posing for a pic.
Well If you are still reading this blog! Good for you!! I know its long, but I tried to put in lots of photos to help with the reading!
I will be blogging more often.. not daily like some people have requested (not naming names), but I promise it will be much more frequent from now on!
Courtnay
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