Travel Day

The USA's travel day yesterday was a mixture of stops and starts. The team boarded a bus for Oslo at 5:30 a.m. the morning after beating Norway, 4-0, in Fredrikstad. The team got to the airport in plenty of time for the 10 a.m. flight to Stockholm, but due to some snafus, about a quater of the team had to wait until 3 p.m., when they could hop a direct flight from Oslo to Skelleftea, Sweden. They turned out to be the lucky ones. The rest of the team got on the flight, only to sit there for a long time as all of the team luggage was loaded (sorry other passengers) and then the flight was cancelled (mechanical issues). Everyone de-boarded the plane and had to wait until 2 p.m. to catch the flight to Stockholm. (But everyone did get a 150 Kroner food voucher! We won't say who used it all on gummi candy). The USA's connecting flight from Stockholm to Lulea in the north of Sweden was so tight that the team literally had to speed-walk/jog to baggage claim, collect all the team gear and then speed-walk/jog to the gate. The airline personnel were excellent in helping and giving information and they actually held the plane as the U.S. team all got on the flight (sorry other passengers). Then, the flight was delayed ever more as all the bags were loaded (sorry other passengers). Finally, it lifted off and the flight to Lulea was short. Still, that's about an hour and a half north of Skelleftea, so the team packed the bus and drove down on a beautiful afternoon. For the record, there was a reindeer sighting during the drive. The hungry players finally got the hotel, hit dinner and a few minutes later, the other group walked in. The highlight of the long day? Well, it could have been Shannon Boxx and Natasha Kai seeing a replica of largest salmon ever caught in Norway (above) at the Oslo airport, and the delay did give Lindsay Tarpley time to buy some candy, but the highlight was probably the nice walk the team took in the evening in a local park. (Christie Rampone and Heather Mitts relax below).