Weekend With Mom and Gymnastics

All set and ready to go

Outside Pauly Pavilion before Session II of Team Qualifications Day 1

It's a good thing my mom and I never run out of things to talk about and that she really likes gymnastics because last weekend with my mom involved a whole lot of both.  We headed up to Los Angeles  in the morning, checked in with our hotel so we could get a parking pass for my car and went straight to Session I of the NCAA Team Qualifications at Pauly Pavillion on the campus of UCLA.  It was so exciting to be there!! After that we walked back to our hotel, checked in, and then grabbed a bite to eat.  It was tempting to go to Denny's because for some reason I really like that place but Mj will not go there with me 'cause he thinks it sucks.  Even though it was right next door we didn't eat there once.  We had to explore someplace different since we were in a new town and there were so many options to choose from.  We found this little Mediterranean restaurant around the corner and ate some delicious Panini's.  Then walked back to UCLA for more gymnastics; Session II Team Qualifications.  Dance Moms fans will get a kick out of this one.  Maddie and Mackenzie were sitting not too far from us.  Mom Melissa was not there; they were with a younger man and woman.  During the meet they had people coming up to take pictures with them and then after they had a line of little girls waiting for pictures and autographs.  My mom had no clue who they were but I sure did because I'm addicted to that show.  Is it sad that I thought seeing them there was pretty cool and kinda wanted a picture with them for myself?  Oh well.  That night we went back to the room, watched TV at snacks and popped open a bottle of red wine.

Hanging out at Coffee Bean

We had so much fun that day!!!

Day 2 of our LA Gymnastics weekend adventure started out with the Coffee Bean.  I really wanted to try to get some writing in as the month is about gone and I had not hit my page goal yet.  We spent a few hours there and I got a lot done.  What do girls like to do together on vacation?  Shop of course.  We spent hours making our way through the shops in the cute little college town of Westwood that surrounds UCLA.  We both found cute hats at Target and a few other things too.  I totally got gypped on my college town experience when I was at UCSD.  There was nothing within walking distance and it was mostly surrounded by business/residential apartments.  Too bad I got into UCLA but made the "sensible" decision and went closer to home.  I don't regret it but thinking back it sure would have been cool to have experienced the college life at UCLA.  For lunch we stopped at 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria.  It's a build your own pizza place where you choose white or red, pick from a ton of amazing cheeses and toppings and then they bake it up for you in less then 10 minutes.  It was so good!! 

Right after Super Six Team Finals Day 2

We took our sweet little time and the next thing you know we were late which is ridiculous since we were a 15 minute walk away and didn't even have to deal with traffic or parking.  For some reason I thought the competition started at 6 like it did the night before instead of 4pm.  I only realized it when I saw something from USA Gymnastics pop up on my News feed announcing the time.  We practically ran to the arena and we were so mad at ourselves for mixing things up for the most important competition of the Championships.  Super Six Team Finals was the loudest and most attended night of the whole weekend.  Florida won it.  After the meet we thought about stopping at a bar for a drink but instead went back to the room and finished off the bottle of wine and talked about anything and everything until we were both too tired to keep our eyes open.

Day 3 Individual Event Finals // Bridget Sloan on Bars

The last day of a trip is always bittersweet.  You just never want it to end!  My mom and I woke up, went to breakfast at the hotel, checked out and then took our time stopping at a few stores along the way back to UCLA for the Individual Event Finals.  We made sure to be there early which was cool because we got to watch open warm ups.

The Royal Palace Westwood Hotel is a real gem.  I have to give myself a pat on the back for finding this one.  Actually, I can't even really call it a hotel.  It's a motel.  It was relatively inexpensive but still way more expensive then you might think for what you are getting.   Hotels; even motels are so expensive these days!  It had almost no amenities to speak of but it was clean, perfectly located and had free parking.  This saved us from having to pay hotel parking then drive to UCLA and pay campus parking because we could walk back and forth.  It had a continental breakfast which we utilized both mornings and a microwave and refrigerator in the room.  We were there for gymnastics so I was only looking for the basics anyways and that's what we got.

I loved the 80 degree weather and getting to watch gymnastics all weekend.  I've been watching whatever was televised and I'd already seen most of the girls on TV at some point.  We had the same seats every day and they were right up front.  These girls are so talented and so good at what they do.  Being a former gymnast and fan for life I am in love with gymnastics and so so glad I got the chance to see them live and up close.  When Mj got me the tickets I should have known from the start that my mama would be the best person to come with me.  It could not have worked out any better.  Mom's always remember to bring snacks!  And it was so great for us to get to spend so much time together.  My mom and I both have a pretty bad sense of direction.  We got lost every day!  It may have taken us some wrong turns and a few extra circles to get where we needed to go but we always figured it out and we had a good time doing it. 

Did you think I'd go to a gymnastics competition with my DSLR and not take a ton of action shots and share them on my blog?  I got some really cool pics but I'm saving them for the next post. The Championships is being televised on ESPNU tonight 4/23, 4/30, 5/1 if you want to check it out.