Every year, the UCC Rowing team travels to Oak Ridge, Tennessee for their annual training camp, from March 6 – March 14.
I’ve probably bugged about 90% of my friends about this trip, because I was so excited about it. My mind was racing at twice the speed of light about how many new things I could try there.
Part 1: The Food
The food selection looked barren at first, but a quick walk around the hotel we were staying at revealed some more selection, which was nice as I didn’t want to eat McDonalds every day. I think I spent a lot of my time at Freddy’s, which served burgers and frozen custard (I didn’t try the frozen custard). I think my stomach… needed some time getting used to the food there and the sheer amount of grease in it. Seriously, I think the grease alone made the food twice as heavy, I squeezed my burger and got a flood of oil into my hands. I also tried other restaurants, but they were all kind of the same as in the sense of a diner style food chain restaurant. Salsaritas, a Mexican chain fast food restaurant comparable to Chipotle was another place I liked. The simple style and quick service made the experience very good plus, the food was just great. Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a healthier choice compared to.. everything is where I ate at the most. The food was good, and the smoothies (who would’ve known), were AMAZING. Seriously, if you’re in the U.S and there is one near you, GO TO IT. It’s amazing.
Part 2: The Hotel
We stayed at the Doubletree by Hilton in Oak Ridge. It accommodated all 50 or so of us very well, as they gave us breakfast in the early mornings we had wake up. The hotel staff there were also very nice, giving us infinite extra room keys, as we were kiiinda irresponsible with a small piece of plastic. The rooms were nice, with two beds, a bathroom, and a tv. I remember my room got ding-dong ditched, and the culprit of this heinous act slipped on the ground after trying to sprint away, which was funny.
Part 3: Rowing & Daily Schedule
This is sort of our schedule (definitely not timed correctly but it’s what I remember, so bear with me) :
6:30 a.m – 7.30 a.m: Breakfast
7:30 a.m – 11:30 a.m: Row
11:30 a.m – 3:00 p.m: Lunch
3:00 p.m – 5:00 p.m: Row
5:00 p.m – 9:00 p.m: Free Time / Dinner
9:30 p.m: Room Checks – Sleep
We had enough time for sleep and everything, which was nice and the schedule allowed a nice break for lunch. The rowing part was a bit of a grind, as 7 hours of rowing everyday can put a strain on your body. It was worth it though, as it made up for the amounts of fun we had outside of rowing. Every night we all did something different, and we all made funny jokes and stuff like that. The bond formed between all the rowers and coxswains is quite literally unbreakable. I had such a good time there, and I can’t wait to get back on the water and do some more rowing.
The Blue and White 