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Published: August 12th 2009
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Alarm clocks went off at 4am. The hotel had a breakfast-in-a-bag waiting for us on our way out. The bus picked us up at 4:45 and took us to the airport. Everything went very smoothly and they even had free wi-fi in the terminal which was an added bonus. It seemed like it would be an easy venture back home.
The flight to Rome was quite turbulent but we landed safely and had about a 3 hour layover before our next flight. We found our terminal and then all the guys ventured off to get something to eat or do some last minute shopping. We were supposed to start boarding the plane at 10:50am but at that time they called our entire group up to the ticket counter along with about 20 other people and told us they had to re-ticket all of us. After going through all of this then we got on board and departed about 30 minutes later than scheduled.
The flight to Chicago was just over ten hours. The movies on board were “Monsters vs. Aliens” and “27 Dresses”, exactly the two movies I wanted to see. The flight went by pretty quickly and most of the guys slept, read, played cards etc. It seemed like the airline was feeding us every two hours as well, which was nice.
When we landed in Chicago we were 30 minutes late as expected. This is when the fun began. By the time we got off the plane it was after 4:00pm. Our flight to Los Angeles was supposed to start boarding at 4:20 and depart at 4:50. Fifty minutes sounds like plenty of time however we had to first go through immigration which was an incredibly long line. While in line I called our travel agent to see if she could notify the plane that we would be late. She called me back and said they would hold it for a bit but they couldn’t make any guarantees. She also told me that we had to make this flight as every other flight back to LA was sold out for the rest of the day!
After immigration we had to go to baggage claim and get all of our bags. Bruk could not find his bag so Brian stayed back and waited with him. After about 15 minutes of waiting it turned out that someone had pulled his bag off of the carousel earlier and it was just lying on the ground. After baggage claim we had to go through customs and then re-check our bags. We then boarded a tram to take us to another terminal. When we got off the tram it was about 4:40 so we started to sprint. We then realized that we would once again have to go through security. The line wasn’t too bad and people were very nice about letting us cut to the front. Once we got through security it was 4:55, five minutes past when our flight was supposed to leave! We started to sprint as fast as we could, hoping we could still make it. We then heard over the loud speaker that they were making the final call for our flight and it would depart in five minutes. Now we were really sprinting. 18 guys all in blue shirts weaving in and out of traffic trying to make the flight. We definitely got a lot of looks and people cheering us on and pointing us in the right direction. When we got to the terminal we were all out of breath and the flight attendants looked very happy to see us, but not quite as happy as we were to see the plane was still there. One of the flight attendants commented about how we were panting and shouldn’t we be in better shape. But as PJ put it, “We are swimmers, not runners.”
Brian and Bruk were still trailing behind so I waited outside the gate to make sure the plane wouldn’t leave. They rushed in and everyone got on board…thank God. The flight home was a breeze and it was great to see all the parents waiting for us at baggage claim in LA. As expected, both Brian’s and Bruk’s bags did not make it as they were way behind in Chicago. No big deal though, as they were assured their bags were on the next flight to LA and would be delivered to their houses.
Now that the trip is over I want to thank everyone for everything they did to make this such an incredible trip and great experience for Brian, myself and the guys. All the fundraising and planning and all of the parent support has been phenomenal and instrumental in making this trip happen. I want to thank Josh for doing such a great job designing the suits and tank tops. I want to thank Peggy for taking care of all of the apparel orders while we were gone so I didn’t have to worry about it. I want to thank Brian for all of his help throughout the trip and his invaluable added guidance to the boys. I want to thank all of our tour guides and liaisons for taking such good care of us in both Italy and Hungary and making sure we got too see everything that Rome, Eger and Budapest had to offer.
Lastly, I want to thank the boys for such an incredible trip. Everyone was extremely well behaved and I had a great time getting to know all of them a lot better. The trip was grueling at times as it seemed we were constantly on the go and had little time to ourselves. Sometimes that can cause animosity, drama, fights, etc. Sure we had some difficult moments but in the end everyone got a lot closer throughout the trip. Even the non-Agoura boys. At the team meeting James McNamara commented on how much he enjoyed spending time with our group and in Chicago Marc was one of the first guys to the plane announcing to the flight attendants that he was not going to let the plane leave without all of us. All in all it was a fantastic experience and something that everyone will remember for the rest of our lives.
Water polo wise, it was exactly what we needed to transition into the season. I think we are all looking forward to the break now to rest up and get healthy. I know a break is exactly what I need. But at the same time…I am already looking forward to another great season. I will see you all at the pool.
-Dusty
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John McClintick
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Big Thanks
Dusty, Brian, and everyone, thanks for all your documentation of your wonderful trip!