- - Tuesday, April 29, 2003 Addicted to Speed...skating My weekend in LA was just as I had imagined it would be. So much fun, that I'm now bedridden from the deadly combination of walking/laughing more than should be allowed. My flight to LA was fast (me like) and I was bookin' it down the terminals knowing that my best buds Lupe and Molls were waiting for me. As I come through the gate, I spot these two dorks, but low and behold they're holding this sign... Right off, you just knew this stay was going to be a blast. Saturday, Hall of Fame Banquet The Speedskating Banquet was pretty trippy, to say the least. I forgot to bring my camera (I can HEAR all y'all eyes rollin' at me), but luckily Molly and Lupe had the digicams on lock that night. Molly's got up her awesome pics and the recap from that night, but here's one of the 3 of us... Getting to see our Ohno-peeps was and IS always the highlight of these trips. It was great to see Jan, Kimo, Junko, Melinda, and meeting Kelly for the first time. The Fans seemed to be the spectical of the night, and the speaker started the banquet off with having the room acknowledge us as we stood up from our table. That was unexpected, but made us feel really good. The Hall of Fame Inductees were all so humbled, and it was amazing to see Speedskating Icons like Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen in person when you've grown up watching and admiring their achievements. After the initial shock wore off, the banquet speakers were moving at a snail's pace - they're known for their speedskaters, not their speedspeakers) I found myself slipping into a coma at times, eyeballin' Molly and Lupe for signs of life, and randomly checking Kelly's pulse, lmao. Thank God for digital memory cards, because without the Apolo shots we were passing under the table, we'd have been goners. Quick Overall Highlights • Meeting/taking pics with USS president Andy Gabel (awesome guy, extremely sweet) • Meeting/taking pics with US Team Assistant Coach, Tony Goskowicz (awesome guy, extremely HOT) • Meeting Cathy Turner, what an amazing lady, and equally as amazing career in Speedskating • Andy Gabel's speech, so moving and emotional, you can tell how much he loves this sport • Going to Downtown Disney after the banquet in search of food and drinks and realizing we're the only mofo's searchin' at 12:00am Sunday, DisneyLand Lupe, Molls, and I decided to spend our Sunday in the Happiest place on Earth. The Three of us + Did-neylan = Watch OUT fools! We straight took that park over, riding rollercoasters that were meant to move your insides to your outsides and lovin' every minute. Quick Overall Highlights • Watching Lupe's sister Julissa "shimmy" the sugar off her churro • Busting a kidney laughing at Chip from Chip 'n Dale trying to sign autographs for the little ones despite the fact that his costume prohibited one's vision completely • Discussing what we considered Child Abuse by dressing your child as their favorite disney character, and actually making them walk through the park looking like that • Enjoying the Main Street Parade that night, and getting Tarzan on the float to flash us some thigh (the cat calls helped a bit) And now, the visuals...hehe.

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