The Journey to London

Here we are, now in London.  At this time, the halls are quiet, save for some snoring that can be heard from behind closed doors; and that is just the coaches!

The travel to London was, for the most part, uneventful.  We had the usual challenges that we have when travelling with a large group.  Someone not feeling well, someone missing home.  But this is the time that teams come together and rally around their comrades and learn to support one another.

Arrival in London saw a flurry of activity.  Our buses were met by some rather large young men of the University of Western Ontario Athletics department.  These fine young men muscled all of our big bags onto a moving truck and hauled them over and into the staging area at residence.  The team just needed to walk over and claim their bags, no lifting or hauling necessary.  (Boy, we could have used that service at the airport!)

It was up to the rooms to settle in before the head coaches and mission staff had a brief meeting to dispense information from our amazing Chef Jenn. Then it was off to the chow lines.  It appears that most of our athletes managed to get in before or among the sea of red that was team Ontario.  A couple of our teams were caught at the back of the long line.

With supper done, many teams had some downtime.  Some went for tours of their venues, others had sport meetings and yet others got together to have some fun.  Before long, it was lights out to dream of glories yet to come.

Tomorrow is a practice day, a chance for teams to try out their venues for a few hours before starting the competition ons Wednesday.  Tomorrow night, opening ceremonies.  That should be a night to remember for our athletes.

If you were following along on Twitter today, it was, for the most part, a series of updates as things occured. Look for more of the same tomorrow.

Photos from the airplane are posted.  More travel photos will be posted as cameras come my way.

That's it from London.

Cheers!