Paradise Jam Daily Blog: Day 5 and Farewell
11/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2011
The Wolverines are in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, to take part in the Paradise Jam (Thu-Sat., Nov. 24-26). Director of operations Raina Harmon will provide a daily blog to give fans the inside scoop, as the Wolverines play in paradise.
On our last day in St. Thomas, the team took full advantage of our off day by lying out by the pool. Although operation "payback" was supposed to be in full force (I'm referring to the prank that was pulled on me from Jenny, Val, Kendra and Sam), I decided that sleeping in would be ideal. Most of us were dreading leaving the beautiful island. We were all anxious to get back to Ann Arbor, just hoping that the 85-degree weather would follow us!
We packed up our things, boarded the bus, and headed downtown to do some shopping before going to the airport. I know Coach Borseth was excited because we spotted a little tent earlier in the week that sold fanny packs and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree! When we arrived downtown, to our surprise, every shop was closed! We were told that because there were no cruise ships in town, most merchants didn't find it necessary to open shop. After hearing that, without hesitation, we all thought the same thing: BACK TO THE BEACH!
We turned our buses around and went back to the hotel. Some people went to different gift shops near the hotel, some went for their last stroll on the beach, some took a nap (the Marriott was gracious enough to give us a suite to put our belongings in), and about five of us enjoyed burgers by the pool! Shortly after, we headed to the airport. Passing through security and customs was a breeze and we had time to sit at our gate and reflect on the week and get some last pictures while in paradise. After two flights and a short bus ride, we were back in Ann Arbor by 11:30 p.m., championship trophy in tow!
We really enjoyed our time at the Paradise Jam and want to give kudos to the Basketball Travelers and the Marriott staff for organizing such a great event. I hope that you have enjoyed reading the blog and hopefully I'll get to continue this periodically during the season. Time now to get back to work; the grind never stops.
'Til next time,
Go Blue!!!
Raina
Nov. 26, 2011
So day five was pretty much the same as day three and four. We had a chance to sleep in after a great victory over Washington State. Okay, I'm going to cut to the chase -- WE WON THE PARADISE JAM!! Let's go blue!!!! See you guys in Michigan!
Yours in Maize and Blue
Raina
