We left Baylor on Thursday afternoon in two 15-passenger vans driven by our professors. It felt like high school youth group all over again. We thought about putting up "Honk if you love Jesus" signs, but decided against it. We got to Houston around 4:45 and received a nice surprise...DUKE was staying in our hotel! Coach K walked right past me while we were waiting to get our rooms. I know they beat us, but he is still soo GREAT! We had a quick 30 minutes to change and then headed over to the Toyota Center for a meeting with their Sales Manager, get a tour and watch the ROCKETS v CLIPPERS game. We ended up getting to sit courtside while the team practiced...it was pretty legit!
It would have been cooler if I was a Rockets fan, but it was still pretty awesome to see NBA players up close and personal. I won't lie, one of my favorite parts was getting to see their tats.
After our tour we went up to our suite and got to eat some food. Let me just go ahead and say that food was not well planned on this trip and it killed me, but oh well, that's what we get for not having any women involved in the planning. The suite food consisted of nacho meat and cheese, chicken fingers, veggie quesadillas (that were kind of a mystery) and chips and salsa. My dinner consisted of chips and salsa. We had some visitors in the suite and I also roamed around and compared my feet and hands to Yao Ming's...pretty pathetic.
Not sure why I was chosen to hold the shoe but it's HUMONGOUS!
This is how I match up to Yao...like I said, pretty pathetic!
I wasn't really in the mood at first, but decided to go out with everyone after the game. We went to Pete's Piano Bar and I had a blast. Any place with music is my kind of place! I was dancing and singing all night and didn't care what anyone else thought! :)
I decided to get up early on Friday and work out in the Hilton work out room. It was pretty fun since it was on the top floor and looked out over the whole city. Plus, there were some Duke assistant coaches working out at the same time. There was no lunch planned for us, so we all walked over to the mall and I ended up being in heaven. THEY HAD A SALATA!! I love Salata and it totally hit the spot after the chips and salsa dinner the night before. After lunch we headed over to Minute Maid Park and talked to some Astros' sales reps and got a nice tour. I loved the sponsorship activations that the Astros have (I'm a nerd) and loved getting to step out onto the field and hang out in the dugout.
After the Astros we were off to the Baylor game!! Yep, we got there 3 hours early and were starving, but it ended up all being worth it. Once they let us into Reliant Stadium, Joy, Lindsay and I were on a mission to find some food. I ended up finding a baked potato. It didn't really satisfy since I ate it completely plain, but it was food and I was happy to have something in my belly. We were all soo nervous about the game, but Baylor ended up totally DOMINATING St. Mary's!! SIC EM!!
Lindsay, me, Eric and Joy all enjoying the victory!
All 16 (14 students and 2 professors) of us loaded up the vans after the game and headed to New Orleans. I don't think anyone was too excited about making the drive, but it ended up going by really fast. We finally got to NOLA around 3 am and checked into the hotel. I was soo ready to hit my comfy hotel bed! Don't you love hotel beds? Well nice hotel beds that is...not the lumpy gross ones. Thankfully our's was very nice and extremely comfy! I was asleep right when my head hit the pillow and had a whole lot of trouble getting up the next morning.
When everyone finally emerged Saturday it was about 12:30. I was up at 9, but didn't really feel like walking around downtown by myself. Once the majority of us got up, our tummies were begging for some lunch. We stopped in at Cafe Fleur de Leis. It was close to Bourbon St. and had a very appealing brunch and lunch menu. I opted for lunch. It wasn't anything to write home about, but I was just satisfied to have sat down for a meal. Afterwards, we walked down Bourbon St. (definitely not for me) and down the river. Aside from Bourbon St., I loved NOLA. I love that so much of life is geared towards being outside. It's so nice to be able to walk everywhere and enjoy the energy of all the people that live there.
The afternoon and evening consisted of a visit to the Hornets. We had another tour and meeting and then enjoyed our 3rd basketball game of the weekend in another great suite. The food was about the same, so I enjoyed another dinner consisting of chips and salsa. This time some diced chicken was added to make impromptu nachos. Before the game we had another amazing courtside experience. This time filled with the half-time performers.
By the end of the game I was exhausted and ready for bed. Of course, I let everyone talk me into going to see Harrah's. I gave in mainly just to say that I went, but didn't stay long. I let the boys lose their money while I enjoyed a hot tea from Starbucks. I needed to get my sleep so I could have energy for the Baylor game on Sunday.
Despite my exhaustion, I decided to wake up early and get a quick work out in. I headed to the work out room at 6:30...it didn't open til 7. This kind of ruined my plans since I needed to shower and be ready by 8:15, but I pressed on. I read on the lobby couch til 6:55 and booked it to the elliptical, got in 35 minutes of good cardio and was showered, packed and ready to go by 8:15. IT WAS A RECORD!! We hit the road by 8:30 to head back to Houston for the Baylor v Duke game. This trip did not go by as fast as the other, but the excitement of the game and seeing Ben and Katie helped it go by quick enough. Plus, this alleviated the stress the boys were causing me. Let me just say that I am an expert, efficient traveler and boys are very different. For example, when a "quick" gas station stop is announced, why would you think it is ok to walk to Waffle House for some food?
I was soo excited to enjoy the game with Katie, Ben and tons of friends. We were even surprised to run into Grant and he sat with us during the game. I miss always enjoying Baylor games with my closest friends. It was hard to get to the games this year with all that's been going on. I'll definitely have to visit next year for some bball.
I hate to be sappy, but I have soo much fun with Ben. It was so good to get to see him even if it was just for a couple hours. I'll take what I can get and enjoy every second!
So ready to be married!!
It was a close game, but Baylor ending up losing to Duke in the end. Kind of disappointing, but it was really cool to see Baylor go that far. Maybe next year football will be good too! (miracles happen)
I got to ride home with Ben and Katie and was soo excited to stop on the way at Freebirds. REAL FOOD!! I was soo excited about a tasty burrito but my mood dropped when they told me they were out of black beans...my favorite part. I subbed whole beans and added some extra veggies and it ended up being rather delicious. I think pigs feet would have been delicious to me at this point. (eh-i don't know) They dropped me off at Baylor around 10 and although I was sad to have to leave, it was soo nice to know I'd see them again in about 4 days. Thank you Easter Break!
I've decided to skip all my classes tomorrow and go home early. I convinced myself since I'm usually a nerd and never skip class that it was okay. I'm soo excited to be home for almost 5 days! Lots of family time! I'm gonna try and post everyday over the break and maybe it will start a trend. I usually get too busy at school, but I'm sure I can find time.
How do you deal with meals and exercise while out of town? Do you always put yourself in the mindset of vacation or do you stick to your usual habits?
Natalie, I'm so jealous of your ability to stick with your healthy eating habits and working out while on vacation! I usually fail when on vacation:( I give into the whole, "Well, I'm on vacation..." mentality.
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