June 9, 2006

Henley-on-Thames, England - The Villanova Women's Rowing team descended on Newark airport at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 8 with plenty of time for its 6:25 p.m. flight.

Check-in went smoothly for all, despite having two gigantic boxes of oars to check. These two boxes drew curious stares from passing bystanders, a theme that would continue throughout the team's travels to the U.K.

The flight took off late, around 7:00 p.m. EST, due to long lines on the runways. Dinner was a choice of lasagna or Chinese chicken, and the team chose between "King Kong", "Goodnight and Good Luck", and "The Last Holiday" among others for the in-flight entertainment.

The flight itself was uneventful, and after dinner the team settled in to catch a few hours of sleep before landing in London/Heathrow at 7:00 a.m. London time on June 9.

After a brief visit to baggage reclaim to pick up the mountainous pile of luggage lugged through Customs and into England, the team was once again greeted not only with bemused and quizzical looks at the sight of those two extremely long boxes but also by muted applause by those waiting for loved ones or business associates to de-plane and comments like, "You girls win for best luggage!"

The team hopped on the express bus to Reading after loading up the hired van with all the luggage and oars. After an accidental tour of the quayside due to an upside map, Villanova arrived at the Reading Rowing Club to rig the boats and practice for two hours before heading to the homes the team will be lodging in for the next 11 days.

The plan was to take much-longed for showers and relax before meeting up for dinner at 5:30 p.m. local time. That plan was put on hold after a mishap at the Reading train station. The team learned that time and English trains wait for no one.

Finally, around 6:30 p.m. the girls arrived at The Anchor Inn and tucked into a delicious supper of lasagna and chicken pasta before briefly exploring the town of Henley-on-Thames and heading to bed.

Tomorrow morning the team will be up bright and early to race on the first day of the Reading Amateur Regatta. Updates on the team's adventures in England will be updated daily and game stories will appear after each of the four days of racing.