So long Wake Forest... Hello Bridgewater!

Well, I've finally made it up here and have mostly unpacked! Getting here was quite the adventure.  My mom flew down from Washington State to meet me in North Carolina and help me move/drive up to Bridgewater Massachusetts.  My mom flew into GSO Sunday night and Brittany picked her up (because I was still at the pool) and we met up at The Village Tavern for one last round of chips! Dinner was delicious and then we (Gavri, Brittany, my mom and I) went to Frogurt and my mom went to Kernel Kustard.  The night ended without anything too exciting happening.

One last shot of Wait Chapel

The next day (Monday) my mom and I got up and I had my last lift(s) at Wake.  It would have been only one lift, but I got kicked out of the weight room for the football players and had to come back and finish a few hours later.  That left my mom and I some time to run around campus (she wanted to go to the deacon shop and book store and I had to mail some letters).  Neither of us found anything exciting in the deacon shop, but when we headed over to the book store (awful idea to do a few days before school starts!!) my mom ended up getting a few Wake Forest binders and notebook and I got 4 Tervis tumblers with "WF" on them.  Once we had our final Wake purchases in hand, we headed back to the weight room to finish my workout.  It was a heavy squatting day where I had to go up to 137kilos (which would soon become my new back squat PR(Personal Record- meaning it's the most I have ever done)).  I said my good-byes and thank you's to the strength staff for letting me use their facility and for the filming and everything else they have done for me the last year.  Thanks again!! :) With out the generosity and kindness of Coach Reeve and the other strength staff, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish what I have over the last year.  Y'all are great! (but that's no surprise- the Wake community is awesome at supporting and helping athletes, students, friends get where they're going and will do whatever they can to help!)

The platform I used during most of my workouts :) 

My last day at the pool was slow, rainy and a little cold. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to seeing all the families I've spent the last three summers with!  The highlight of the day was when Wendy and the Franco family came to the pool to give me a gift card and wish me good luck and good bye one more time.  Thank you to all my "pool fans" who contributed! I hope the last week of the pool was sunny and warm!! I was sad to miss it! 

The U-haul and my car... what were we thinking?!

The next morning (Tuesday) my mom and I got up went to Ollie's for an Almond Croissant then headed to pick up the Uhaul (a 14 footer! and a tow dolly for my car!).  Loading the Uhaul was a breeze because I had been packed since the end of May and the 14-foot Uhaul was more than enough room for my clothes, bedroom furniture, and kitchen stuff.  The first day of driving was from Winston-Salem to West Chester PA and it was smooth sailing.  My mom and I ended up staying with Ryan, a friend of mine I met at lifting camp this summer, and we were able to get a quick workout in before we fell asleep.  The next day was an early start and an awful drive.  I think the stress of wanting to be done driving, being tired from the night before and hitting bigger and busier cities added to the long day!  My mom and I ended up leaving PA around 830am (Wednesday) and we didn't get to Bridgewater until 630 or 7pm.

One of the only "welcome" signs we got on film

Ready to be done with everything and ready to unpack and get settled my mom and I were shocked when we got to my apartment because it was a disaster.  The kitchen wasn't finished, the toilet wasn't attached, my roommate's room didn't have carpet and the shelving was allll crooked! Luckily my coach had an apartment close by and my mom and I were able to shower and sleep while my landlord stayed until 4am trying to finish the apartment.  When we got back in the morning, it still wasn't done, but it was closer than it was the night before.

No toilet attached, an unfinished shower and tools everywhere! 

 My roommate Kat was there the next day and she moved in (and had a lot less stuff than I did!!) I wish I had a picture of all of my bags lined up in the hallway about shoulder high! I never thought it all would fit in here! It was both enjoyable and stressful to unpack and put everything away.  I would unpack and feel productive, then I would turn around and find more boxes, bags, and other random things that needed to be put away, organized and/or unpacked! I think I'm done with it all, but I'm scared to say that because if I do, I'll find another bag or box or who knows what else!!   I'll take some pictures of the apartment and create another post soon!