Day 2 - Team Processing & The City

Team Processing during first wave of load-out

Team Processing Rockstar, Katie

Tower Bridge

The Rings on the top of the Tower Bridge

Parliament and Big Ben

11 hours of sleep feels about right.  A morning run was calling my name.  It felt grreat to run along the water except when I got done I realized I forgot my ID card so I couldn't scan back into my room.  By the time someone came out so I could get back in I had to book it to take a shower.  Last one to roll into the 7 AM meeting.  Thank you. A group of us headed to Sarah Bonnell up in Stratford via the light rail.  With the USOC staff, volunteers, and the moving company there were probably 30-40+ people unloading and moving the shipments coming in.  It was a madhouse but somehow I got the lucky job of running the forklift.  No complaining here.  As my grandma would say, "Many hands make light work." Truth!  The funny thing is today wasn't even the bulk of the load-out.  For lunch a few of the guys ventured to a pub called The Goose.  It was my first taste of British food.  After lunch we headed to Score to help unload our equipment.  So there are two Team USA training locations.  Score is one of them and will host boxing, judo, archery, and volleyball.  Score is similar to a community center that the USOC leased out, whereas, UEL-Docklands is a university.  The sports at UEL are wrestling, taekwondo, basketball, and some others.  I will be stationed at UEL which you can guess put a smile on my face since I will see the likes of LeBron, Kobe, Durant, and Co. daily.  There are a number of locations the USOC is based and I will update them more and paint a clearer picture once I become more familiar with them. Up to this point they are UEL-Docklands, UEL-Stratford (site of the command center, near SBS), Sarah Bonnell School, and Score.  The Tube/Light Rail is quickly becoming my new friend after all this travel around the city to the different locations so a few of us figured why not become a little friendlier and visit a few cool spots.  The prison helps give London a very old feel after seeing the really busy areas where it feels much like New York.  I did see a beefeater behind the gate (No not the vodka!).  For the Olympics, the rings were installed to hang from the Tower Bridge, however when we got there they were up for the day due to the heavy traffic under the bridge and the constant raising of the bridge.  We walked across and actually had to hurry back because it was about to be raised.  The bridge is quite a spectacle.  The combination of baby blue steal with the old stone look made it very picturesque.  Even though the rings were raised it was very cool to see them on the bridge.  They are huge!  After another tube ride to Westminster I came to the edge of the tunnel and peaked my head out to see Parliament right in front of me.  We waited because of the rain but then I looked up and was shocked that I was actually right in front of Big Ben.  It was actually the closest point you could get to without jumping the fence and getting sniped (I don't really know what they would to you).  It was such a weird feeling to think I was that close to such a globally recognized structure.  I've seen so many pictures and movies of it but now could actually feel the realness of it.  The London Eye (giant ferris wheel) was located right across the Thames River from there.  It stood out quite a bit as well and I can imagine the view at night from the top is remarkable.  Westminster Abbey was located across the street from Parliament and was quite cool to witness as well.  We found dinner along the river at a Mexican restaurant.  The social time with the group was great and we all enjoyed a drink or two after the packed day.  I think it was a great idea to check the things out today like we did because as the Games get closer more people will be around making it busier and we may not have as many opportunities as well. 

Days left until Olympic Games: 17