#81 & #82 Going Back to Cali

Whether it's Nortorious B.I.G.'s or LL Cool J's version of the song Going Back to Cali the one thing that is hard to argue is that everyone likes...Going Back to Cali. We did just that!

USC's Family Weekend coincided with a  football match up between the the Trojan's and the Buff's. It was a great excuse for a family get-a-away in Los Angeles with Sean flying in from Boulder and Shannon, Courtney and I making the trek from Boston.  We rented a house in Venice to serve as home base to shoot into campus and to new pools and open water venues.

First up was pool #81 at the Spieker Aquatic Center on the north side of UCLA's beautiful campus. My friend Jacki, encouraged me to go to the 6:45am Bruins Master practice. I am sure glad she did as I was rewarded with the gorgeous colors of the sunrise reflecting off the water of this great outdoor pool.  Not only did I get a solid workout in I met a new friend and got to hot tub with Jacki post swim practice. Southern Californian masters swimmers sure have it pretty good!

On the weekend I was told that open water swimmers meet on the beach at Tower 26 (lifeguard tower) just south of the Santa Monica Pier in the mornings for organized swims.  I loosely hooked up with a couple of swimmer and swam just over a mile. The water felt good at a temperate 68 degrees. 

On Monday,  I headed south on the 405 to hit  pool #82 the Belmont Pool in Long Beach.  The Belmont Pool is a temporary 50m outdoor pool just off the beach in Belmont Shores area. The original pool was home to Olympic Trials and many national competitions. It was also where I swam many, many years ago with our friends the Walkers. I swam 4000 yards outdoors. It felt great however I think I got to much sun on my head.

It was then off to Orange County for some open watering swimming a couple hours later at Big Corona Beach in Corona Del Mar.  Yup-doubles!  The guard shack said the temp was 68. I swam for I would say just over a mile and got out as I was tired of swimming by myself in the ocean...and my mind began to wander.  It was a perfect Southern California day weather wise.

I spent the night in my old stomping grounds of Laguna Beach. Watched a stunning sunset and had dinner with a friend.  In the morning there was marine layer and it was a bit cool. I forced myself to go for a 1.5 mile swim  nonetheless from the Pacific Edge Hotel to the cliff just below Las Brisas and back. My guess was that the water was a bit cooler than what it had been further up the coast. It was then off to the airport to go to Phoenix for work.  Great outdoor swims in both the pool and in the Pacific Ocean.

It was great to be together as a family. We had some fun dinners out, did some tailgating at The Bungalows with Ryan his friends and watched some good football. The boys wore their school colors, Courtney chose SC colors and Shannon and I repped the purple and gold of the #5 team in the country the University of Washington Huskies. Fun times!

For sure we will be Going Back to Cali...

Abbott Kinney, Venice  Bleeding Heart Wall

The Laguna Greeter, Laguna Beach 

Fast Food

#80-Swimming & Golf, Minneapolis, MN

Normally swimming and golf don't often collide in my world. Nor would I have ever thought I would blog about them together.   You see, one is an aerobic sport where your heart rate and physicality is challenged and well...the other is a bit more...uhh...sendentary.

Last week I was in Minneapolis for work and to entertain clients at the Ryder Cup.  It was also a great opportunity to get a couple of master practices in at the University of Minnesota aquatic complex. I had been there a couple of times in the past. First with Ryan and Tommy for NCAA's in 2011 to watch our friend Conor Dwyer then an aspiring Olympian and now an Olympic medalist compete. The second time was in 2013 and pool #12. The new competition pool was closed that time so I swam in the old competition pool a 25 yard tiled pool with character. I remember talking my way into the athletic facility without paying that time too.

The new aquatic facility the Jean K Freeman Aquatic Complex is a beautiful 50 meter x 25 yard pool with a separate diving well. It was clearly built to host large championship competitions. I swam two mornings with a warm Midwest welcome from Coach Scott of Genisus Masters and my lane mates; Bubba, Jason and Fernando. While the workouts were only 3600 yards they were tough which was good as the rest of the day would be spent eating and drinking at Hazeltine National Golf Course in Chaska, MN for the Ryder Cup.

My friend Zach and I were there to entertain clients we had never met at the practice rounds.  It was a bit of a process getting to the course but once you got there you could tell this was a world-class event. The course setting was gorgeous, with corporate tents and United States and European Union flags flying everywhere. Social media had said Michael Phleps was there the day before so I was on the prowl for a Phleps sighting--this where swimming and golf collide. I was likely more focused on where to find him than I was on the golfers as I had no idea who the golfers were. At the end of the day I finally found him at the Omega watch corporate tent as they are one of his sponsors.  He was there bigger than life...on a billboard swimming fly. My day was complete and had gone full circle!

To keep the golf theme intact Zach and I found the actual Ryder Cup on display and had our picture taken with it. It turned out to be a very popular post on Zach's Facebook feed. Zach doesn't golf either which made it a bit ironic two non-golfers posing in front of a golf icon.

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Good company, good food and a new experience made for a memorable trip. Not sure I will go back to Hazeltine ever again but when I go back to Minneapolis I know where to swim!