1 Olympic Plaza

In trying to come up with more travel posts, I realized that I have a whole slew of photos from the Olympic Training Center that I've never posted here. And even though I lived there, it's still a tourist attraction/travel destination! I myself have taken the tour, oh, three times now? So yeah, here we go -- a travel post about a tourist attraction I used to live on. How weird is that?

In case you're new around these parts, I guess I should explain: the U.S. Olympic Committee and a bunch of Colorado Springs-based NGBs (national governing bodies) have an internship program, and all accepted interns receive room and board at the Olympic Training Center. It's the same OTC where Olympians like Michael Phelps and Apolo Ohno have trained, and where dozens of national team athletes currently live and train full-time. (Don't get too excited, though; athletes get the prime, newest housing, while interns are housed in a barrack-like dorm building at the farthest corner of campus. It was like being back in the freshman dorms in college, hah.) I was an intern with USA Volleyball so I got to slum it at the OTC for seven months last year. ;) It was one of the coolest things ever, even if dorm life was questionable and dining hall food got kind of old after awhile. I mean, driving past the Olympic rings multiple times a day? Writing your address as 1 Olympic Plaza? Thinking of all the legendary athletes that have streamed through this place in the last 40 years? Crazy. CRAZY. While I'm definitely glad to be living in an apartment now, I'm so incredibly grateful for my time as an OTC resident.

The following pictures were all taken between May and December of 2013, all during my time as a resident, and all in chronological order, from my very first day to my very last day. So join me, if you will, in reliving a little chunk of my life. :)

While the tour doesn't give visitors quite as much of an inside peek as I just gave you (you're welcome, America!), it does take you inside most (if not all) of the training facilities. And there's a pre-tour video presentation that makes me weep every time I see it. So if you're in the Colorado Springs area, I highly recommend swinging by! Tours cost $5, but if you go with a USOC employee -- ahem, me! ;) -- you get in for free.

If you're interested in seeing one of my more recent trips back to the OTC, click here. :)