NickTrip.com

  The town of Eugene was so similar to Lawrence. The downtown was quaint, with a mix of townsfolk and students intertwined. The campus was certainly not as hilly as KU, but green grass and trees were prevelant. When I went to Eugene for the football game, I didn’t get a chance to see the town or campus really. This trip, we spent most of saturday on campus, which was great. The weather was rainy one moment, sunny the next, and so on. I’m glad that I had my $3 poncho from the grand canyon with me, even though I was at the tail end of a few jokes from my friends. The state championships were fun to watch, semifinals through to the finals, with 2 great games on Saturday. Grant won the 6A, with Jefferson winning 5A. Both are Portland schools. Jefferson is where Aaron Miiles and Michael Lee went.

Places we went, things we did, all of which are recommended:

* We watched a lacrosse game. Oregon versus Boise State. Boise didn’t have any trick plays, and got beat easily. That is one sport that I had previously underrated. It is fun, fast paced, and you have to be an athlete to play. Which is probably why I never have.

* We ate at the Steelehead Brewery, nice location. Also a place called Rennie’s. This was my favorite of them all, we sat upstairs, which has one tv, and comfortable booths. We met a gal that is training for the olympic trials this year. Eugene is going to be on fire this summer with the trials, it will be awesome. Don’t forget the Prefontaine classic before that though, with some great athletes. The Glenwood (not the old movie theatre is Kansas) is an awesome breakfast place. Good price, good portions, great taste.

*We also passed by legendary Hayward Field, the site of the Olympic trials this summer. I was able to go out onto the track, and stood in lane 8, near the 200m point. I’m glad to say now that I have been on that track. I was super pumped the first time that I was able to set foot onto the track at Memorial Stadium at KU. I was just as pumped for this moment as well. I can’t even imagine being able to compete at either of those places. One of my main goals as a track athlete was as a collegiate, to be able to compete at KU during the outdoor season in the long jump. Being that focused (and selfish), I was crushed when at the end, it never happened. Injuries certainly played a factor, and I realize now (but believe me, I didn’t see things this way when I was still competing as a jumper) that those injuries ocurred for a reason. I was too selfish and stubborn to realize at that time the work that was being done from above to save me from my own self. Since that time, and previously as a youngster, I had seen my brother compete there, and have seen athletes that I have coached perform there. Looking back now, especially after writing this, having been there to witness those events gives me more joy than I realized. A world more than if I had competed there myself.

*To continue, simply walking around the campus was great. It’s flat and green. Beatiful campus. Lot’s of bikers, way more than KU, so look out.

*Pegasus Pizza, ate there and watched the Duke game and the KU game Sat. Good food, a bit higher on the price scale than I would expect. But they do have sit down and play Ms. PacMan. Or is it Mrs. PacMan? Is she married?

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