We took part in our first outdoor practice for 2008 today. We are currently down in Los Angeles for a mid-winter training camp, and despite the nippy temperature of 13 degrees, and an even nippier wind, we managed to get in a quick sand workout before the sun went down on our first day of camp. After all, we flew all the way down here to play outdoors, we weren't about to let some cooler weather hold us back. Besides, we're Canadian!

Aside from the seemingly rare opportunity to play outdoors, another thing we brought some appreciation to was the general atmosphere of playing on a beach in California! No offense to Beach Blast or North Beach (our indoor facilities back home, which we rely heavily on and thank very much for their support), but nothing beats the real thing. And as the sun was making it's way down for a famous Californian sunset, and I stepped foot in the sand, a few hundred meters from the famous Manhattan Pier, arguably the birthplace of the sport, it made me realize how lucky we are to be doing what we do. 

It's funny how coming here each year reminds me of that. In fact, if I were to look back in the archives, at one of my very first blogs, I think there was a similar themed blog during the last time we came here! I just checked and sure enough, I was right, "DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB", was pointing out some similar sentiments. Sorry to recycle the same concepts, but some things are just worth repeating.