Seasons Greetings

Hi everyone,

I think its fair to say that tourism part of my trip is over. Having been to the theme parks and seen the Hollywood sign it is definately time to get down to business. I needed to find a place to train.

Basketball having a well renowned street element to it, I was pretty excited to start training at one of the local parks. That was until a kids basketball team turned up being driven by their parents in mini-vans and SUV's. Not particularly 'street'. That said I was pretty pleased with my touch given that I had a week off.

The next day I decided to seek out a proper gym. Having not seen any of them I wanted to make sure that I found a decent one. Then my dad had the suggestion of shooting around at UCLA. Surely not. Could Chris Barty shoot around at the home of such names as Walton, Kareem, Miller and Wooden? I was slighty pessimistic. However to my surprise, there was a gym available for general use.

One thing I will say about UCLA is it is a seriously impressive campus. The minute you arrive, you know are somewhere. The Ronald Regan Medical Centre greets you when you get through the gates. It definately excites me for what's to come.

Needless to say the courts are amazing and the facilities are first class. Especially considering its not even the main gym. What has impressed me the most though is just how approachable and friendly everybody there has been. I have been lucky enough to meet a couple of former UCLA Bruins and a bloke who played in the NBA D-League. Then yesterday I took a visit to the Athletic Hall of Fame, which was definately pretty cool. Hopefully it won't be long before they have a Wheelchair Basketball program of their own, they definately have the facilities.

Other than that, last week featured shopping for gifts and watching the movie the Wrestler. Worth a look if your into that kind of thing (which I am) but probably not a great date movie.

I'm definatley missing watching the cricket with the lads on boxing day, its not quite the same listening to the coverage online. Hopefully you sink a few beers and make many colourful remarks.

Oh and Subway. American Subway doesn't have Old English cheese or Parmesan Oregano bread! What the hell!?

Tomorrow I'm hoping to go to the tolerance museum which is located across the road. Fans of South Park will know why this is a must do.

Merry Christmas and I wish peace and prosperity to you all.

ctb