We
were invited to play in the annual Club Softball Tournament hosted each year by
last year’s winner, USC. It took place in a town
near Los Angeles
at a field called Big League Dreams Sports Park. Each field was designed after an MLB park
such as Yankee Stadium, Fenway
Park, Wrigley Field and Forbes
Field. They were exact replicas. They even had fake painted-on fans in the one-dimensional
bleachers.
We spent the last five months of the year fundraising so we could go to the tournament in California. It would cost each of us about $380.00 per person which included van rentals, hotel, the tournament fee and our plane tickets. We decided to raise the money individually and for people who took care of their debt quickly, gave the extra amount to the people who were still in the hole. I didn’t agree with this. Since we were a team, we should raise it like a team. All the money should go into a big pot and dispersed accordingly. People didn’t think that was fair since the money they raised should go to them and not anyone else. The other problem with that was what happens if someone did all of the work to raise the money and those people who got the money didn’t do any of the work? We had lots of arguments on this topic. It didn’t end. We had this argument every year when we had meetings about how to pay for nationals.
To raise the money we did concession stands at basketball games, several car washes, sold Krispy Kreme donuts, wrote letters to businesses and even asked for money from our own families and friends. Because we were a club, we even received money from the university recreation as a contingency fund. That money took care of what we didn’t raise. I ended up only paying $100.77 bucks so I could go. I remember one of our meetings at practice. It was bad. The rule was that there was not going to be any drinking on the entire trip regardless if you were 21 or not. A few people did not like the rule and argued it. What happens if we want a drink during dinner….what happens if it’s just the 21-year-olds…why can’t we drink in our hotel rooms? Our president Jen, told us no alcohol what so ever. I understand why she made the rule because a while back the men’s rugby team got into a lot of trouble with alcohol and the team was suspended. We didn’t want that to happen to our team. The discussion got so heated; we ended it before it got even worse. People ended up drinking anyway because the hotel had free alcohol. The girls just kept it to themselves in their rooms and they didn’t get caught.
The night before we left to go to Los Angeles, Lauren Lawson, Lauren’s mom Sue, Melissa and I drove up to Spokane and stayed in a hotel near the airport. We all stayed in a room and shared the two beds. Melissa, Lauren and I went and used the pool and hot tub before we went to bed. We talked to some guys who were also using the pool. They were fire fighters for Spokane County.
We got up early, drove the short drive to Spokane International and found the rest of our team. Got our luggage checked in, got our tickets, went through security and waited to board our plane to LAX. I sat in between Nickey and Lauren because Jen made all of us sit in our seats in alphabetical order. I’m not saying it was a bad thing, I just didn’t think Lauren or Nickey really liked me all that much. I didn’t know them all that well so it was kind of an awkward plane trip ride there and back.
We got to Los Angeles, got our luggage and went to the rent-a-car. We had to wait a long time at the car rental place to get our vans. We had a weird paperwork mess up. Jen hit a car with the van in a parking lot while we were lost and trying to turn around. We made it to our hotel and unpacked the vans. We checked into the hotel. We stayed at this really nice hotel called The Ayers Suites. It had a pool, a hot tub and a sink and a mini fridge in the room. We decided were hungry so we went and found the nearest In and Out, which was a walk up and order and a drive thru only. I remember bringing my food back with me to my room and Shauna was in there trying to find a decent channel to watch. We ate our food and I recall being so tired I actually passed out on my bed without realizing it. I have no idea how long I was out.
We spent the last five months of the year fundraising so we could go to the tournament in California. It would cost each of us about $380.00 per person which included van rentals, hotel, the tournament fee and our plane tickets. We decided to raise the money individually and for people who took care of their debt quickly, gave the extra amount to the people who were still in the hole. I didn’t agree with this. Since we were a team, we should raise it like a team. All the money should go into a big pot and dispersed accordingly. People didn’t think that was fair since the money they raised should go to them and not anyone else. The other problem with that was what happens if someone did all of the work to raise the money and those people who got the money didn’t do any of the work? We had lots of arguments on this topic. It didn’t end. We had this argument every year when we had meetings about how to pay for nationals.
To raise the money we did concession stands at basketball games, several car washes, sold Krispy Kreme donuts, wrote letters to businesses and even asked for money from our own families and friends. Because we were a club, we even received money from the university recreation as a contingency fund. That money took care of what we didn’t raise. I ended up only paying $100.77 bucks so I could go. I remember one of our meetings at practice. It was bad. The rule was that there was not going to be any drinking on the entire trip regardless if you were 21 or not. A few people did not like the rule and argued it. What happens if we want a drink during dinner….what happens if it’s just the 21-year-olds…why can’t we drink in our hotel rooms? Our president Jen, told us no alcohol what so ever. I understand why she made the rule because a while back the men’s rugby team got into a lot of trouble with alcohol and the team was suspended. We didn’t want that to happen to our team. The discussion got so heated; we ended it before it got even worse. People ended up drinking anyway because the hotel had free alcohol. The girls just kept it to themselves in their rooms and they didn’t get caught.
The night before we left to go to Los Angeles, Lauren Lawson, Lauren’s mom Sue, Melissa and I drove up to Spokane and stayed in a hotel near the airport. We all stayed in a room and shared the two beds. Melissa, Lauren and I went and used the pool and hot tub before we went to bed. We talked to some guys who were also using the pool. They were fire fighters for Spokane County.
We got up early, drove the short drive to Spokane International and found the rest of our team. Got our luggage checked in, got our tickets, went through security and waited to board our plane to LAX. I sat in between Nickey and Lauren because Jen made all of us sit in our seats in alphabetical order. I’m not saying it was a bad thing, I just didn’t think Lauren or Nickey really liked me all that much. I didn’t know them all that well so it was kind of an awkward plane trip ride there and back.
We got to Los Angeles, got our luggage and went to the rent-a-car. We had to wait a long time at the car rental place to get our vans. We had a weird paperwork mess up. Jen hit a car with the van in a parking lot while we were lost and trying to turn around. We made it to our hotel and unpacked the vans. We checked into the hotel. We stayed at this really nice hotel called The Ayers Suites. It had a pool, a hot tub and a sink and a mini fridge in the room. We decided were hungry so we went and found the nearest In and Out, which was a walk up and order and a drive thru only. I remember bringing my food back with me to my room and Shauna was in there trying to find a decent channel to watch. We ate our food and I recall being so tired I actually passed out on my bed without realizing it. I have no idea how long I was out.
While
we were at the hotel, I spend most of my time in the pool and hot tub talking
to my mom and grandparents on my cell on our down time.
Another night after our games we all went out as a team to Applebee’s just to hang out, relax and eat some food after a long day in the sun.
We played very well in California. Lots of sun and most of us got sun burnt. Jess’s parents made the trip down to watch us play. We played USC, went into the international tie breaker and lost, Miami Ohio (W), Ohio State (L), Air Force Academy (W), Weber State (W), Kansas St. (L). The Weber State coach got mad and threw stuff and cussed at the umpire due to a drop dead rule that the score reverted back to the previous inning so we won the game even though we were losing.
Another night after our games we all went out as a team to Applebee’s just to hang out, relax and eat some food after a long day in the sun.
We played very well in California. Lots of sun and most of us got sun burnt. Jess’s parents made the trip down to watch us play. We played USC, went into the international tie breaker and lost, Miami Ohio (W), Ohio State (L), Air Force Academy (W), Weber State (W), Kansas St. (L). The Weber State coach got mad and threw stuff and cussed at the umpire due to a drop dead rule that the score reverted back to the previous inning so we won the game even though we were losing.
One
night after our first round of games, we went to dinner with Lauren Roamer’s
parents at the El Torito Grill in Brea,
California and they had the best
homemade tortillas ever. I took a bunch
of them home with me and ate them for breakfast the next day. While we waited for our food, Jackie pulled a
few pranks on the girls (Jess and Jamie). If you dump salt on butter it will
form a chemical reaction and you can feel the warmth, it really doesn’t, it
just gets you to put your hand over the butter so she can slam your hand in the
butter and you are left with a handful of butter.
After losing to Ohio State we were done. We ended up getting 7th place overall which isn’t bad considering it was our first time to this tournament. For the remaining time we had in LA, we decided to go to Santa Monica and went to the pier. I rode the rollercoaster with Melissa, Shauna and Jackie. Later on that day we decided as a group that we wanted to go to Huntington Beach, lay out in the sun, walk the boardwalk and to hit up the shops. A few of us including me, decided to go eat lunch at the Dairy Queen. Very bad idea, I should have walked across the street to the Subway with the other girls. With the long exposure to sun, being a bit dehydrated because of it and eating Dairy Queen, I did not feel too well after a while. I tried desperately to find a bathroom. I ventured off away from the group, I was too embarrassed to tell someone and I started feeling light headed and sick to my stomach. I walked into the Wahoo’s Fish Taco restaurant and fainted hard on the floor. All I remember was walking into a table, some lady who asked me if I was alright and hitting the cool floor as I fainted. The weird thing was, was I could still hear what was happening but I couldn’t see anything as I laid on the floor. It was the strangest feeling when you had no control over your eyes. I tried again and again to open them. The lady got up out of her seat and asked one of the workers to get her a towel and some water. Some of the girls from my softball team came and found me because they saw I was missing. I got up and went into the bathroom. I knew the Dairy Queen I ate was the problem. I had to get it out of my system. Bri tried to come into the bathroom with me and I told her to stay out and that I was fine. Someone called 911 and the Santa Monica Fire Department came. I got out of the bathroom feeling better and I had to sign a release form just to show that they came to my rescue and they did not have to do any medical procedures on me. It was embarrassing. From time to time someone would tease me about it and it really didn’t faze me.
“Oh by the way Val…”
Of course there can’t be a trip without a little drama right? Shauna went to Jen and they sat outside in the hallway and talked about some stuff that was bothering Shauna. One of the things discussed was that Shauna was a lesbian and she was afraid of what the team would think of her being a lesbian. There was even some talk of Shauna having a list of girls she liked on the team. Everyone found out before I did and did not tell me until the last night we were there. I shared a bed with her the entire trip and had no idea until Sarah, the other girl in our room, told me. The worst part was being betrayed by my team. They should have told me when they first found out just to be courteous. I really had no problem with her being a lesbian; it was just an unusual way to find out.
The next day before we went back to LAX, we all decided we wanted to go to Hollywood. On the way there, we got lost driving to downtown Hollywood. Jen was terrible with directions. While we were there, we walked the Walk of Fame, went to various souvenir shops, got some drinks, took pictures and looked for a clear shot of the Hollywood sign. We met Nickey and her sister Katie in the parking lot where we parked the vans. Nickey went surfing with her sister Katie instead of going to Hollywood with us.
We found out where nationals were going to be held for the 2005 season and we were already excited to go to Maryland. I have never been to the east coast and I sure hoped we got to do some sight seeing while we were there. We started fundraising as soon as the next school year started.
After losing to Ohio State we were done. We ended up getting 7th place overall which isn’t bad considering it was our first time to this tournament. For the remaining time we had in LA, we decided to go to Santa Monica and went to the pier. I rode the rollercoaster with Melissa, Shauna and Jackie. Later on that day we decided as a group that we wanted to go to Huntington Beach, lay out in the sun, walk the boardwalk and to hit up the shops. A few of us including me, decided to go eat lunch at the Dairy Queen. Very bad idea, I should have walked across the street to the Subway with the other girls. With the long exposure to sun, being a bit dehydrated because of it and eating Dairy Queen, I did not feel too well after a while. I tried desperately to find a bathroom. I ventured off away from the group, I was too embarrassed to tell someone and I started feeling light headed and sick to my stomach. I walked into the Wahoo’s Fish Taco restaurant and fainted hard on the floor. All I remember was walking into a table, some lady who asked me if I was alright and hitting the cool floor as I fainted. The weird thing was, was I could still hear what was happening but I couldn’t see anything as I laid on the floor. It was the strangest feeling when you had no control over your eyes. I tried again and again to open them. The lady got up out of her seat and asked one of the workers to get her a towel and some water. Some of the girls from my softball team came and found me because they saw I was missing. I got up and went into the bathroom. I knew the Dairy Queen I ate was the problem. I had to get it out of my system. Bri tried to come into the bathroom with me and I told her to stay out and that I was fine. Someone called 911 and the Santa Monica Fire Department came. I got out of the bathroom feeling better and I had to sign a release form just to show that they came to my rescue and they did not have to do any medical procedures on me. It was embarrassing. From time to time someone would tease me about it and it really didn’t faze me.
“Oh by the way Val…”
Of course there can’t be a trip without a little drama right? Shauna went to Jen and they sat outside in the hallway and talked about some stuff that was bothering Shauna. One of the things discussed was that Shauna was a lesbian and she was afraid of what the team would think of her being a lesbian. There was even some talk of Shauna having a list of girls she liked on the team. Everyone found out before I did and did not tell me until the last night we were there. I shared a bed with her the entire trip and had no idea until Sarah, the other girl in our room, told me. The worst part was being betrayed by my team. They should have told me when they first found out just to be courteous. I really had no problem with her being a lesbian; it was just an unusual way to find out.
The next day before we went back to LAX, we all decided we wanted to go to Hollywood. On the way there, we got lost driving to downtown Hollywood. Jen was terrible with directions. While we were there, we walked the Walk of Fame, went to various souvenir shops, got some drinks, took pictures and looked for a clear shot of the Hollywood sign. We met Nickey and her sister Katie in the parking lot where we parked the vans. Nickey went surfing with her sister Katie instead of going to Hollywood with us.
We found out where nationals were going to be held for the 2005 season and we were already excited to go to Maryland. I have never been to the east coast and I sure hoped we got to do some sight seeing while we were there. We started fundraising as soon as the next school year started.
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