A Summer to Remember

Henley Royal Regatta!

I harbor a deep and passionate desire to live my life in a Ralph Lauren Ad and let me tell you, this was as close to that dream as I've ever gotten. By far the CLASSIEST event I have ever been to my whole life.... The Henley Royal Regatta. For those of you who know me well I have preppy tendencies and this sporting event struck my heart with so much happiness I can't begin to explain! From the outfits, the men's blazers, the women's dresses ..... and the beautiful crew men, it was a day filled with fun and excitement just taking in the whole experience.

We arrived at Henley very early in the morning, dressed in our finest attire. First class all the way. Unfortunately for me, after a 20 minute walk through the town, from the train station to our tent, my feet were destroyed and I haven't wore heels since... and I never want to again (Heels on cobble stone is the worst idea in the entire world.... avoid at all costs). Other than the injuries the 13 girls sustained, we arrived a beautiful grassy area on the Thames River and were graced by tents, fancy cars, and rowers. We were fortunate enough to have our own tent set up with amazing food, drinks and tables for us to enjoy the races. It was an amazing experience watching the races in person and I felt like Royalty! (Side Note: If you have every seen the movie "What A Girl Wants" with Amanda Bynes and she goes to that rowing event, this was that event).

Not long after arrival and watching a few races, we boarded a boat that took us up and down the Thames past all of the tents and events on the river. We had fun pretending to be famous and doing a Royal like waves to the crowds we passed by. I tried my first ever Pimm's drink, which is a famous UK summer drink sort of like an alcoholic Arnold Palmer, which I loved and I wonder if I could find it in the states. Floating gracefully down the Thames, we raised our glasses to other celebrations on the river shouting "Cheers! Cheers!" to the people we saw and recieved reciprocated gratitude from crowds of people. It was so fun and I cannot believe I got to enjoy such an experience.

However this being England, it was cold, windy and rained sporadically. The boys on our trip being as chivalrous as they are handed over all there jackets to us girls on the boats so that we would not freeze to death on the boat ride. Regardless of weather conditions, it was a great day. We had an amazing time riding up and down the river, enjoying life first class and mingling with the British locals that assured us this was what a "British Summer" felt like and the 5 minutes of sun was lucky for us to experience! We ended the day washing our feet in the women's cold pool and then headed on our way back to Coventry. I left out the part where 5 of us girls grabbed a cab to take us to the train station instead of walking 20 minutes - that's how bad our feet were killing us! I will never forget that day. It was unbelievable that for even just one minute got to feel as classy at Kate Middleton and as preppy as a Brooks Brothers ad!

Walk through Henley, on the Thames, to our tent

Thames River

Sperry Shoe boat

The Rowers prep tents

Our outdoor area outside our tent

Our tent

Race time!

Enjoying the races - a little windy and cold

With Brett (L) and Justin (R) enjoying the races... freezing but I refused to wear my coat because I loved this dress and the coat shattered the dress effect