Last week was my 23rd birthday, and I was blessed
to be able to celebrate in El Salvador with my amazing Team Wreckonciled. Even
though we’ve only been a team a short time, they were able to pull off a
perfect birthday celebration!
Scuba Diving
My team found me a place to go scuba diving in the
morning – my first opportunity to dive on the race. It was in Lake Ilopango, a
lake in the crater of an active volcano. I did two dives and got to see lots of
fish, plant life, and lava formations. (Dive 1: 55 feet for 41 minutes; Dive 2:
55 feet for 39 minutes).
Bucket List
I’ve had my bucket list written out for years (yes, even
before the movie came out), and my team managed to help me cross an item off my
list. I’ve always wanted to hit someone in the face with a jelly doughnut.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have jelly filled, but we figured Boston Creme was
close enought, and Brent Frederick was the generous volunteer. Note to anyone
else doing this in the future: when you shmush a caramel covered, boston creme doughnut
in someone’s face in the middle of a crowded mall, make sure you either have
napkins available, or are within a short distance of a washroom. On second
thought, forget that last point. The mad dash to the washroom to wash up was
absolutely hilarious.
Coffee Shop
After the doughnut escapade, we went to chill in a coffee
shop for a while. I got to call my family back home and chat with my parents. J
Tony Romas
A place for ribs! My team treated me to a rib dinner that
evening, complete with staff singing happy birthday. A little taste of home!
Cake
The last event of the day was back at our contact’s house.
May 10 was also Mother’s Day in El Salvador, and May 11 was the birthday for
Joshua, our contact’s son, so in the evening we had 2 cakes to celebrate the
three events. It was nice to be able to spend some more time with our host
family here.
All in all, my birthday was a pretty awesome
day. Thank you Team Wreckonciled for making my birthday one I will never forget!
