Various depictions of my trip.

Last week I was given the awesome privilege to be able to travel to Greenwich, Connecticut to compete in the Phi Rho Pi National Speech and Debate tournament. By far the longest tournament that I've ever participated in, it was one of the most fun, intense learning experiences I've been able to participate in.

I haven't traveled a whole lot before coming to college. As you can imagine I was horribly excited to be able to venture all the way to the east coast. An early morning flight out of Denver landed us in Laguardia Airport in New York somewhere around midday on friday. Thankfully we were picked up by a shuttle that was taking us to Connecticut. No offense to my coach, but I was rather scared by the idea of him driving us through New York traffic. And for good reason! We hadn't gone more than a few hundred feet and we were already being honked at and everyone was driving very aggressively. For someone who grew up driving on country dirt roads, this was intimidating. We arrived safely at the hotel in Greenwich thanks to our all-knowing driver. After settling in we ventured out for dinner.

My first taste of the East Coast. Let me tell you what, it was the most amazing pizza I have ever had. I'm almost heart broken because there's nowhere to get pizza like this here in the Midwest. It's such a tragedy. The toppings consisted of black olives, bacon, grilled chicken, and provolone cheese on a hand-tossed crust (we really watched them toss the crust!). I can still smell it. Ahhhhhhhh. 


The next couple of days were spend catching up on sleep and practicing. Saturday we took the Suburban out for a drive. Wandering through Greenwich and parts of Stamford, finally ending up at the local Good Will store. I know what you're probably thinking "you went all the way to Connecticut to go to the Good Will?!" No, we did not. We did, however, drive past it and all agree that we had to go inside. It was probably one of the most hilarious outings we went on. You really would have had to of been there to truly understand. I snagged myself and awesome jacket, and everyone else found unique clothes for the region get together themed "Jersey Shore." In mocking of the people of course, in no way shape or form were we appreciating their existence.

Sunday we woke up early and took the train into Manhattan. We were accompanied by the Northwest Speech and Debate team from Powell, Wyoming. We arrived at Grand Central Station (which i could not get a good picture of sadly) and thus began our excursion through Manhattan.

When we exited the station, the streets were, believe it or not, quiet. It was maybe 10 o'clock on Sunday morning, and the streets were nowhere near bustling, as I thought they would be. As we were walking down the sidewalk there was a man who was crossing the street. He was dressed in a business suit, and he was whistling (rather well) Amazing Grace. The sound eerily echoed off the cement and glass cavern surrounding us. For me, this was a rather profound entrance into the city. This chilling entrance was followed by arriving in Times Square. First things first, we each sought out and purchased our first street vendor hot dog. Delicious! Hotdogs quickly eaten, we were left to observe and be bombarded by materialistic America. Flashing lights, advertisements and billboards hung from any and all buildings.

 There were double decker buses everwhere. Kind of funny considering how cloudy and rainy it looked/was during the week

 Smile for me Conan.

 I want one. This was the elevator parking garage we saw while trekking through the streets.

 Some snazzy church spires (which one I can't remember).

 See that tiny little statue through the window? That's the statue of liberty.

 Micah stands amongst sensory overload!

Times Square billboards.

 Tyler hugged the "Free Hugs Guy." He was giving free hugs but gladly took your tips with a smile (he later showed us his wallet; he was making a killing).

 A small child is about to be run over by the fierce bull on Wall Street.

The Robot Guy! Those poor little boys were scared of him.

The best part was the Broadway show we went to. Priscilla the Queen of the Desert was entirely too much fun! I laughed the entire time and was wowed by the entire production. I will most definitely have to go back to see some more on Broadway.

Monday was the official kick off of the tournament, which was marked by a banquet. Tuesday through Saturday were days of competition. So I do not have many pictures of these days.

I ordered this beautiful burger at Moe's, a burger joint down the street from the hotel. Unaware of how big a double would be I ordered one and found myself faced with a monster. I tackled every bit. One of the best accidents all week.

Before awards on Saturday the Northwest team and coaches took us with them to see the Atlantic Ocean. Crashing and endless this was the first time I had ever seen any ocean. I snagged myself a few souvenirs from the beach and laughed and Justin and Micah jumped into the water with their pants rolled up.

Last week was one of the most taxing I have yet to have endured, but it was throughly worth it. The entire experience, speaking, debating, traveling, sight-seeing, meeting new people and learning new things made all the lost sleep worth it. This is a trip that I will never forget.