Day 4

So it's 10:15 PM here in Oxfordshire, and I'm currently making our third attempt to successfully update the Henley page. A 20 minute sacrifice of sleep that I am more than willing to make...
About 12 hours ago, the crew arrived rather well rested indeed after an evening full of croquet (something new...), and a much-needed long night's sleep. With only one practice planned for today, due to the qualifying races that would occur later in the afternoon, we decided to kick our practice time back to 10:30. Needless to say, we all took full advantage of the opportunity by sleeping in as long as we possibly could. One lap up and down the course proved that the extra rest did the job, as we left the water having succeeded in our mission to lay down a good, sharp, focused, but "not necessarily all that long" row. Some ominous cloud cover, a few bolts of lightening, a couple thunder claps, and we decided to call it a day on the water.
After three absolutely outstanding days weather-wise, the rain didn't dampen our spirits one bit...eliciting commments like, "A little English rain never hurt anybody..." and, "Dude, this is perfect nap weather..." So with our new-found free time, and a perfect opportunity to bust out our spiffy new Prep Henley rain jackets, we hit the streets of Henley-on-Thames after a quick run through the local Henley Regatta Shop ("Yo, check outthese keychains..." "Do you have this t-shirt in a large?" "How much are the sunglasses?").
Starving, we got changed back at the Coleman's, and then headed down town to grab some local pizza (which was excellent, by the way...Francesco's is the place to go, for those of you heading out here next week). We then broke into a couple groups and did a thorough tour of the local sites (stores, restaurants, and, of course, sites of the female variety). The rain took a break around the 5 o'clock hour, and some of us took the opportunity to make the not-so-long walk back to the Coleman's to hang out for a few before dinner. A couple guys (Mike G., John, Mike L., and Brad), swung down to the river to catch some of the qualifying races, while the rest of us caught a nap, played some croquet, or read (of course, after having made acquaintances with the Coleman's daughter, Susanna, and a number of her friends).
As has been frequently the case, dinner time brought some of the best laughter of the day, including a search for the 'Mr. Smith' of the table (an exchange spurred on by Mr. Coleman, which can be described as nothing short of hilarious), and a rather emotional challenge by Mark Del of Rock, Paper, Scissors (our second favorite pasttime, next to croquet...) directed towards none other than Coach Lamb himself. Dinner was followed by dessert, some relaxation...and then, due to the impending "big day" on the race course tomorrow, we skipped the croqute to hit the sack early this evening......Except for me. Well, here I am at 10:40, and I'm already 5 minutes over my quota. Like I said...a sacrifice well-made. All's great at the Coleman residence this evening. Spirits high, and bellies full. Even better stuff to come.

G'night,
Pat Dewechter