After three flight delays, a cancelled flight, re-routing through Scotland, four lost bags, a five hour rental car drive on the wrong side of the road (left!) from Scotland to our original destination, a mix up between an online booking company and our car rental company, which resulted in me not being able to rent a car, being rescued by team-mom-of-the-year, Annie Merson, a few wrong turns and one wild ride through the rainy Welsh country side at 2AM, TEAM USA HAS FINALLY MADE IT TO WALES! And that's the condensed version of my first 48 hours back in Europe...
In the next fifteen days of training and racing here in Wales, UK, I will be updating this blog with the latest news and adventures on and off of the water, to keep everyone back home updated on the progress that all of the Team USA athletes are making over here. Right now it's creeping up on 3AM, and after cooking and cleaning up from our first "home cooked" meal at Hafan Y Mor, and given that I'm running on about 8 hours of sleep in the last 70 hours, I'm going to keep this post short and sweet, but check in tomorrow and I'll have an update on Day 1 of the UK Nationals!
Thanks to everyone who has supported us already on this trip, including all of the amazing coordinators from the US Sailing Olympic Development Program who have been on the phone sorting out our logistical nightmares, and all of the parents who have helped get everyone here, especially the one who drove for 6 extra hours to sort out our car rental in Manchester, and ensure that all of the team made it safely to the sailing venue!
Finally getting breakfast/lunch/dinner at 1:30 AM at the finest dining establishment on the way to Pwllheli... Talk about a "happy meal"!