Washington State Trip (10/27/2007)
So the outcome of the game was less than marvelous, but the trip with Spirit
Squad was, as expected, a blast. As a rookie on Yell Crew, I was
thrilled to be invited to travel to this away game.
We started out early on Friday morning arriving in the Spokane Airport
around 11:30am. The air was a chilly, yet fresh 50 degrees when
we stepped off the plane. As soon as the seven of us (Ember, Heather,
Lucas, Matt, Miles, Ryan and myself) retrieved our baggage, Mollie was
ready in the rental car to whisk us off to our resort in Coeur d’
Alene, Idaho. We crammed all the bags, megaphones, signs and poles
into the SUV and somehow managed to fit in as well. It’s a good
thing we like each other.
Upon arriving, we immediately headed for lunch, where the majority of the
squad ate at the famous local burger joint, Hudson’s.
The general consensus of the group was that the burgers were amazing.
With our bellies full, we headed to the breathtaking resort which sits right
on the shore of a huge lake. After lounging around for a bit by
the fireplace in the lobby, we went up to our rooms. We had a
few hours before our scheduled performance and dinner with Fan Travel,
so I decided to go for a light run around the town.
The scenery in this little town was something out of a movie. Red
and orange leaves blanketed the ground and every house had pumpkins
placed out on their porch railings. Huge flocks of geese wandered
about on the lake’s shore and though it was cool out, the air was
amazingly clean and refreshing.
That night we performed for Fan Travel at their dinner and then got to know
the group a little better. It’s always interesting hearing the
stories and memories of older alumni. They are incredibly kind
and supportive of the squad and their positive reinforcement is always
good to hear. That night, we all hung out with each other in the
one room and watched TV and “YouTube”. It was just too darn
cold to go outside!
On Saturday, we headed out early for Washington and made it just in time
for Bruin Bash, where we lead cheers and met with more fans. Upon
entering the stadium, we were heckled with quite a bit, but that’s
what makes away games so entertaining. With a little over one
hundred fans, my ability to roam the stands was limited, but I did my
best. By the game’s end, every member of the squad was freezing,
so we rushed back to our vehicle, jumped in and headed back to the hotel.
Once back, we showered and headed out into the little town to get some dinner.
Since it was the Saturday before Halloween, we were fortunate enough
to see several groups of people out and about in crazy costumes.
After dinner, we packed up all our stuff and hit the hay. The
next morning we were off for the airport and headed back to UCLA!
Although our Bruin football players weren’t able to get the win, the trip was
a success. From freezing cold temperatures, to heckling fans,
this weekend was yet another great memory with the Spirit Squad!
-Dana
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