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 Kristen Feemster learns some hula dancing moves. |
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Dec. 16, 2007
Aloha. Welcome to my combination blog for the last couple of days. You are probably wondering where I went. Well, it has been a busy couple of days and since we have played the last two days I didn't want to clog up the site with blogs. I wanted all of you to enjoy the first two Western Carolina women's basketball victories at the Paradise Classic and savor the wins. So, what have we been up to besides playing basketball? I am here to tell you.
First, let me just say we have been playing some amazing basketball at the tournament and have been a surprise to those who have seen us play. I was sitting at the scorers table during the game with Hawaii and I heard a fan in the stands say "We are going to lose to Western Carolina." I wanted to turn around and say do you know what this team has done already? But I didn't.
The wins over Hawaii and Oregon State are really nice, however, I can assure you the coaches and players aren't resting on their laurels with these two victories. They want the clean sweep and to do that they will have to get past a Tennessee Tech team that is improving daily. Don't let the 1-8 record fool you, they are dangerous.
After the second win of the tournament, an 82-70 win over Oregon State, the team found themselves with a half a day off. Most of us decided to go to the luau that was planned at a place called Paradise Cove.
After returning to the hotel everyone grabbed a bite of lunch and got ready to meet the bus at 3:45 p.m. to take us to the luau. When the bus arrived we all piled on and were entertained with the stories by our tour guide Cousin Flo who assured us we were the good lucking bus and to remember that when we got there.
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Soon it was time for dinner which consisted of traditional Hawaiian food including pulled roasted pork, mahi mahi and a rice dish. For dessert there was fresh pineapple and coconut cake.
As the show was about to start, there was a call for anyone in the audience wanting to learn how to hula. Western Carolina women's basketball was well represented as Monique Dawson, Chevon Keith and Kristen Feemster made their way on stage to get a hula lesson.
When the show began we all watched in amazement at the various acts and you could tell everyone was enjoying themselves. When it was time for more audience participation, I found myself drug on stage to do a little hip shaking with one of the dancers. I could hear the players cheering my name and that eased my sense of embarrassment.
After returning from the luau, Jon treated us to ice cream at the Marble Slab Creamery and then we all made our way back to our rooms because we had an early morning the next day.
Sunday was an off day, and today we started by climbing into the vans and taking the short drive to Pearl Harbor. Before going into the theatre to watch a short documentary about the attack we all roamed the museum and tried to understand the magnitude of what happened here in Hawaii more than 60 years ago.
I wondered what the players would think of the visit to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. Watching them drink in the history surrounding them, I was pleased to see they truly began to understand this part of American history.
Riding out on the boat to the memorial, I kept replaying in my mind the speech given by Franklin Roosevelt all those years ago. December 7, 1941 a date that will live in infamy. The documentary we watched, before to the trip to the memorial, detailed the events leading up to the attack and even told what life was like that Saturday evening on December 6 prior to the attack The narrator said as the sun set on that Saturday evening it was the last night of peace this island would know. That will always stick with me.
Arriving at the memorial, we all walked around and stared at the ship beneath us and the harbor. Just to know this was the tomb of over 1,000 men was a daunting realization. Looking down you could see oil still rising from the ship, slightly skimming the surface. There is a legend that oil will continue to flow from the Arizona until the last survivor of the Arizona passes away.
We left Pearl Harbor with the promise of a free day, for the most part. We arrived back at the hotel around 11 a.m. and everyone had their choice of activities. Some went to the flea market to shop, others, including Kellie, traveled up the beach to a more secluded area to swim and snorkel. The third option was, stay near the hotel and enjoy the beach across the street, shop and just enjoy the lazy day.
At 4:30 the team was off to practice at Hawaii. After practice they return to the hotel for dinner and begin preparation for the game with Tennessee Tech and our departure from paradise. We play at 5 p.m. Monday here and then we take a red eye, at 11:55 p.m. from Honolulu. We will lose almost a day as we won't arrive in Cullowhee until around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
