Well we arrived in Oxford tonight. We got a later start than expected. You see it's Carthage swimming tradition to stop at the Big Star Drive In for a greasy burger and chocolate shake before leaving with nationals. It started with Geno Halpin before the 2003 Paralympic National Championships and continues to this day. Problem was - they don't open until 11:00. How popular is it? We got there at 11:05 and there were already a dozen cars in the lot.
The drive down went faster than I'd expected, though it helps to return all of the phone calls you've neglected for days (or weeks). All day it was foggy, drizzly and grey. By the time we got to Oxford it turned to pouring rain and since we were all wet, we decided the pool would be the first stop. The pool's great though Steve didn't like the locker room, Bryce didn't like the stairs and Kyle, well, Kyle was still happy that he was able to find all kinds of junk food for less than a dollar in some Indiana rest stop vending machine.Coaches are definitely in love with the Miami pool. They'd use revererent tones when talking about it and say things like, "Is this your first time here?" Answer: No, but my first NCAA's here. Truth was when I was at IU, the fast kids would go to the US Open and I'd take the rest to the Miami Invite. It was funny because Jim Steen would brag how their Kenyon teams would come in and clean up over Division I teams "like IU." I never had the heart to tell him I was usually taking the scrubs. Anyway, it is a fine pool and if the meet is anything like the women's meet last week will prove incredibly fast.
After an easy swim to work out the kinks it was off to La Rosa. We wanted to test it out to see if it would be a good option for Thursday and Friday night. The sauce on my lasanga was a bit tangy and Chef-Boyardeesque, and we thought it odd that the "house" dressing at an Italian restaurant was ranch, but overall it received thumbs up from the guys.
Then it was across the street to get some items. This Kroger had everything including a five- piece patio set. The sign above the set said "Springtime in Oxford" which was somewhat ironic considering the fact it's been raining cats and dogs and we're currently under a flash-flood warning.Afterwards we FINALLY made it to our hotel, I mean resort, well, how about just the lodge. We're staying at the Hueston Woods State Park Resort and Conference Center. It's rustic and cozy, though we are staying in the lodge, not the cabins. When I told the guys where we were staying, I think they were nervous that we were going to staying in something like the platform tents from this fall's team retreat. Nope, this place is warm and cozy and I'm told that our rooms overlook a beautiful lake, but then again the rain has cut visibility down to about the edge of the deck. Come to think of it, with that flash flood warning, I shoud give some thought to moving to the second floor.
That's all for one night. I'll see if I can get the guys to contribute some on their own, though its going to be pretty tough to follow the standard set by eighdolla holla and c-rizz