Titans USA Tour 2023

“Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter”. Izaak Walton

It was a shock to the system for our little poppets this morning, when after breakfast, Bucks made the decree that a “recovery session” was to be held in/around the pool. The majority of boys, and one brave lass, hit the pool for a fitness session while the rest of the crew grabbed a towel and headed pool side for some ‘after shopping’ stretches.

To be honest, with boys in a pool, I’m not sure how much recovery was had, it was a more a wrestle session, but hey, there was water, so we’re still claiming it as a pool session.

After the morning’s fitness regime, we dried off and headed into Portland in our small groups for some lunch discoveries. A few made the trek to the highly tik tokked ‘Raising Cane’s but the boys seemed to be more impressed than the girls at this one.

Then it was back to the hotel before heading off on the bus ready for a scenic wonderland vista at Multnomah Falls. The drive out was impressive, waterfalls in abundance, students even glanced up from their phones occasionally. Multnomah Falls is the most visited natural recreation site in the Pacific Northwest with more than two million visitors stopping by each year to take in the views. Fed by underground springs from Larch Mountain, the flow over the falls varies, but is usually at its highest during the winter and spring seasons.

Spanning two tiers on basalt cliffs, it is the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon at 620 ft (189 m) in height.[1] The Multnomah Creek Bridge, built in 1914, crosses below the falls, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

It would have been two million and 48 visitors this year, however we were hampered by the water (strange thing when you’re at a waterfall) which blocked our way across to the bridge. So we stood at the bottom of the waterfall and looked up from a distance. There was talk of walking across a railway crossing to get to the other side (but the insurance claims worried us), so in the end we opted for a long distance view and then we headed back to the bus. Impressive but we’ll take it from a distance.

We headed off for our drive back into Portland, with a few brave souls taking a nap on the way (those that braved the peril of sleeping photos for the blog).

Tonight, we got to watch one of America’s favourite sports, ice hockey. Funnily enough tonight we watched the Portland Winterhawks take on the Prince George Cougars, the same game we watched four years ago, wonder if they remember us 😊. The fanfare was impressive, and the Aussies in blue were cheering from the stands, but they certainly cheered louder when there was a bit of biffo or shoving into the glass. Such gentle folk we are. We enjoyed the cameras again and waved the Aussie flag with gusto to ensure we made an appearance, we even had a special ‘Tension Woods College’ reference on the big screen (who is their proof reader, I know a good one!).  Sadly the local team didn’t win, but we mustered up our courage and gave a gentle clap for the opposition.

After the home town loss, our spirits didn’t improve as we made the 25 minute walk back to our hotel in the rain – the lights were pretty though if we’re looking for a positive.

Spirits were lifted however, when students had the opportunity to make a pitstop on the trip home at Voodoo Donuts (for those curious, no they weren’t gluten free 😊).

After a healthy sustenance of donuts, we headed back to our motel to pack in preparation for our trip to our fourth tour game at Sutherlin tomorrow. That’s when the panic hit, absolute terror – in fact you could almost see the whites our intrepid travellers’ eyes. It seems the realisation had finally struck that the mountain of shopping purchases actually may not fit in all of our luggage. We stuffed, we prodded, we moved things to our back packs – we’re ready for our homestays, but are they ready for us?

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Footnote: In my exuberance to eat breakfast this morning, and distracted by my motherly nature to assist Ellie and Siobhan, I may, just may, have forgotten to wear the flag down to breakfast (I even had it hanging on the door to ensure I didn’t forget). However, I would like you to know that I did remember, and raced with breakneck speed back to the room (I even left my bacon and eggs on the table, it was that serious), unfortunately though, inquisitive eyes may have noted by omission!! So as a result I had the pleasure or rediscovering the joy of caring for a babe in arms, and looked after Cosmo for the day. I can honestly say, he told me it was the best day of his young life, far better than the care Ellie gave him the day prio. He was nestled in my care, we went shopping (amid the stares), enjoyed hockey and I even took him out for dinner. He was living his best life. He will miss me greatly…..I hope.

The Flag!
The reality of the Flag is that we knew from the get go that we had more than a handful of students who would be guaranteed candidates, and how right we were. Our awardee for Day 9 was destined to earn a guernsey, so welcome to flag territory Heidi Berkin.

One thing we have noticed over here in the grand old USA, is that dogs accompany their owners everywhere….everywhere! Here in the Embassy Suites it’s no different and we’ve noticed a few little puppies that are on holiday here with their owners, but not all are cute little fluffballs, just ask Heidi. Macey and Heidi decided to head down to the lobby last night for a much needed Hot Chocolate. On venturing out down the hallway they noticed a huge dog in the distance, and it seemed to be getting bigger as it got closer. And it was getting closer…..fast. On seeing the impending attack, Heidi entered full blown panic mode. There was screaming, there was running and there might have even been a gasped ‘help’ as she tried to make distance between herself and her canine chaser. After what seemed like the sprint of her life, she reached her door and banged loudly, pleading for Matilda to open the door (who mind you, was in the shower). But it wasn’t quick enough, the ferocious dog had closed the gap and then…… it sniffed, licked her and turned and walked away. Seems like Ruby the poodle cross might not have been the pit bull warrior Heidi had envisioned.

Funny enough when we were leaving the lobby this morning we met Ruby waiting at the elevator. Heidi was right she was scary, nearly licked our hand off…..