March 19th-March 26th eleven members of the Illini Water Ski team drove to Florida for a few days in Panama City Beach, followed by five days of skiing at Pickos Ski School! We began our trip on Friday night. The team met at the trailer and drove through the night to Panama City Beach. We spent Saturday on the beach laying in the sun and meeting up with other friends that were also on the beach. On Sunday we drove the twenty miles to ski school in the early afternoon, and we relaxed by the lake for the remainder of the day. Monday morning began our five days of water skiing! Most of the team skied three or four sets each day during the week; we were tired, but very happy to be on the lake! We enjoyed sitting in the hot tub after ski sets each day. 

    The whole team skied really well for the first time out since October! Stu ran his first pass ever, Devin got a new trick ski and learned some new tricks, and Kara also learned some new tricks! We also had two birthdays during the week, Kara turned 19 and Sarah turned 20. We celebrated with the Illini Water Ski tradition of doing cakestands, where we shove our faces into a cake! Overall, we had an awesome week! We love the environment and the hospitality provided by the Pickos family, and we plan to return next year!