Favorite Part of traveling???

[234smidget]

I would like to know what is your favorite part of traveling with the team? What is your most memorable time with your team?

I was just interested in hearing some crazy stories.

[fimmel]

other than the competition.....

my team stays a team 811's school (thank you 811) for the time were competing at BAE so every night after the competition we go back to the school and play halo 2. we have 2 Xbox's connected with 3/4 players on each. we usually play team 885 vs team 811 and since were in separate rooms its quite fun and entertaining. also this past year we had a snowball fight in the parking lot at like 9 at night.....the fun part was that none of had any kind of snow gear so we were in our tee-shirts without any kind of gloves...it was a blast.

not exactly crazy but quite fun
/forest

[whytheheckme]

Mine would have to be one of our team members (last year) (former team (not saying who)) attempted to 'get online' using the NAVY's system (MD)... And was nearly arrested for hacking... (btw, the kid is off the team now...)

The best part of the story, is that I was talking to the guy from the CIA at UTC (this year), and he was like, "yeah, I heard this crazy story of this kid who tried hacking into the NAVY's system last year, I'm pretty sure it's not true though...". I was like, "I'm pretty sure it is!"

Yeah.. good times, gooood times.

Jacob

[MrForbes]

the best part of travelling is any part that does NOT involve airlines/airports/airplanes

The time Matt got stuck in the Taco Bell restroom is right up there....

[Dan Petrovic]

My favorite part of traveling?

I can't really say.

I love meeting new teams. We don't go somewhere local for our second competition, it's either Atlanta or somewhere far off.
I love staying at the hotel. I have some stories to comply with each of those.

This year we went to the Boilermaker regional. Being the only team from New England there, we decided to add a bit of New England flare. We made "Wicked Awesome" T-shirts to wear on Thursday. We chanted "Wicked Awesome" during our matches, and many times before matches in the Elimination rounds. We accepted the Alliance invite with "Team 166 thinks it would be "wicked awesome" to play with you guys". Let's just say we overused the phrase, but it got us noticed, and that's the best part about going to a regional somewhere away from home.

Hotel!

Last year in Atlanta, we (my hotel room) probably did the most outrageous thing anyone could do in a hotel. There was no vandalism (no... we didn't break any elevators), as far as I know, we did nothing illegal, it was just really fun. Basically, our hotel room had a balcony, and looking to the right there was a huge wall. One of the students had a projector that he bought a while ago and decided to bring. So... long story short, we set up an X-Box on the balcony, pointed the projector at that wall and played a quick game of Halo 2. We ended it quickly realizing that there might be something wrong with this.

[Zyik]

We play alot of cardgames at the hotel, often in the hallway. If there's another FIRST team at the hotel they have been know to sit down and play a few rounds with us. It's a great way of meeting new people.

My team also plays alot of pranks, but only on each other, so don't worry if you come over to play cards with us we won't hurt ya. For example, that one freshman and the orange nail polish...

[Billfred]

Favorite part of traveling with the team? I don't honestly know--the one year I was a student on 1293, we traveled separately. That general arrangement has followed me through three seasons as a college student (and a team change, to boot). The perils of living a half-mile from your one regional...

That said, I have racked up a few miles going to other competitions--I'm aiming to break the 20,000-mile career mark this off-season. I've gone to events by plane (Cal Games), train (Mission Mayhem, 1902's Vex event), and automobile (everything else), and I have to say that I much prefer not doing the drive myself. (That said, the budget generally doesn't allow for this...but the travel is a side benefit, more often than not.)

My favorite part of traveling is meeting all the folks that I wouldn't have met otherwise. Sure, the biggest names in the FIRST world come within four hours of me once a year at the Championship--but catching them at a regional or off-season event can be a far more rewarding experience. Whether it's talking with folks at 4:00 in the morning, rebooting an off-season event in twelve hours, getting creeped out standing next to 254's tetra arm*, or just taking humor in a slightly screwy field barrier, there are many things that just can't quite be replicated anywhere but in their natural habitats.

*On the way from SFO to San Jose with Cory, we stopped at 254's facility to load some things into his SUV. Their 2005 arm (with or without a base, I can't remember) was fully upright, a good ten or twelve feet up, and didn't appear to be held in that state through any sort of locking device. Cory did tell me it was safe, but I didn't feel the need to press my luck nearly three thousand miles from home.

[Jaime65]

Originally Posted by whytheheckme

Mine would have to be one of our team members (last year) (former team (not saying who)) attempted to 'get online' using the NAVY's system (MD)... And was nearly arrested for hacking... (btw, the kid is off the team now...)

did this kid graduate or was he terminated from the team

[whytheheckme]

Originally Posted by Jaime65

did this kid graduate or was he terminated from the team

Termination!

It's against both FIRST rules and law to do this (I think..)

Jacob

[Stephi Rae]

The best part of traveling is being away from *that other world* and entering the real world, the FIRST world. The companionship that forms within the team is impossible anywhere else. In Atlanta, the guys were able to stop four escalators... but we went to see Blades of Glory, and the Georgia Aquarium, and the Hard Rock Cafe, and spent four or so hours in the hall of the hotel after the competition was over discussing next year. There's no place else that you feel so at home, so loved, needed, appreciated. It's the best. Traveling allows you to step outside yourself, do everything for the benefit of the team, and meet tons of great new people. There's nothing else like it in the world!!

[65_Xero_Huskie]

My favorite part of traveling is the bus rides. I know it sound weird, but when you can spend 30 hours together with some people on a bus (to Atlanta), then you will HAVE to get to know them. The bus rides is what i will remember most.

[JBotAlan]

Guitar Hero in the hotel!

Seriously, we have probably 5 GH2 addicts on the team (including myself, now) and we each bring our guitars and go at it! Those are the best times that I remember.

Either that, or dumping a trashcan full of icy water on (name ommitted) in the hotel at last year's IRI when he was in the shower...good times!

And the bus rides are always fun.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Other than James singing "Bye, Bye, Bye" on the way home from Atlanta? I don't know... everything I guess.

I like traveling through my REAL hometown of Chattanooga, TN. I met some long lost relatives when we stopped for supper and had some yummy downhome southern cooking.

[Nica F.]

So obviously my favorite part of traveling would be meeting new people (just like many before me have posted) and the crazy town roaming adventures I have with friends (including getting lost)


but if you wanted a traveling story,
[traveling story]


So in my freshmen year, our team volunteered at the Fingerlakes Regional and somehow/someway one of our team members had nunchucks in their luggage? haha sounds pretty weird but anyhow, he got taken in and written up by the police, but was let go with a warning? or was it a lecture?.
[/traveling story]

That was something pretty random that has happened..

[MattLi]

Living in Michigan we experience a lot of cold weather. Going to Florida or Sacremento is always a nice change of temperature. (from 35 Fahrenheit to about 69).

Hmm my most wild story....Well

Our team was up in two matches and our drivers still hadn't shown up. I went down to the pits to see what was up. I find the entire pit abandoned. I look around and finally find the entire pit crew in the bathroom. One of our drivers had gotten a bloody nose from the climate change (cold and wet to warm and dry). Everyone was freaking out because our match was in like a minute. What we ended up doing was taking a piece of toilet paper and shoving it up his nose to stop the bleeding for that two minute match. He drove and the instant the match ended he went off to the bathroom.

Another intresting time was acually at nationals last year.

It was our fourth match. We were waiting to see our robot come onto the field. To make a long story short, it never did. We went down to see what was up and apparently the drive team (the ENTIRE drive team) had not returned from the CNN tower (lunch).

And finally the funniest story of all...

Our team has been sustained our great programmer for some time. One our way to the florida regional this year we went through the luggage check/metal detector. Our programmer suddenly looks at the metal detector and says "uhhh guys I don't think this will work out very well." We ask him why and we got our answer in a few short moments. Our programmer puts his backpack onto the conveyer belt. They guy running the metal detector takes a look at the backback with the machine and gets a wide eyed look. He tells our programmer to step off to the side. They searched him and found nothing. After about 15 minutes of searching he was let go. We asked him what was in that backpack that made them freak out. He opens it and we look in. Inside the backpack was a FIRST battery, two laptops, a bunch of copper wire, and his cell phone. I think the cops were surprised it wasn't a bomb.


ahh the memories....

Ahh the memories