2022… WHAT. A. START.
2022 did not start out the way it was supposed to for us. Feel like everyone says that every year… you look forward to the new year and then BAM, it does not start out great.
Our bad news sort of started in 2021 when Taryn tested positive for the one and only coronavirus. If you are not aware, we had been scheduled to compete in a King of the Court event in Doha, Qatar January 5-8. We had been training for the fast-paced game that we were about to play for the first time, we had been getting excited to explore a completely different place than what we were used to, I (Kristen) had been trying to calm myself when thinking about the 13+ hour plane ride that we were about to be on (I have some plane anxiety), and lastly our packing list was beginning to be finalized. There was so much to look forward to for this trip. Especially the fact that we got upgraded to business and would have been flying across the country in style.
Life comes at you pretty quick… we went from not flying across the country in style to having a flat tire.
Taryn tested positive on the 31st. Also, let me just say, us trying to find a place to get a covid test was anything but smooth. We had to have a covid test at most 72 hours before our arrival time. The time difference between Louisiana and Doha is 8 hours. We had no idea if that time change got factored into the testing time. Also, covid was running rampant in the BR and NOLA area at the time so everyone and their entire family were trying to get covid tests. We looked at every single CVS in the BR and NOLA area, but no one had the test that we needed. Also, it was New Year’s so a lot of places were closed. We finally were able to find an urgent care in BR, so we scheduled an appointment for the next day.
We drove across town to this urgent care with the thought in the back of my head, “what happens if I test positive?” Think Taryn and I were both having these thoughts but not really sharing the concern with the other person. Anyway, we pull into the parking lot and the place looks completely closed. No lights on and we did not see anyone. Taryn hops out the car and walks up to the door, luckily someone comes to greet her; however, the lady informed Taryn that they were out of power. OUT OF POWER!! That should have been a red flag. There was no storm, no wind, and the power was out. How bizarre?? They say they would call back when it comes back on, but they do not know when that will happen.
We start panicking. We can’t get on this flight without a test. So, what is the first thing you do when in a panic, text Mary & Drew Hamilton. Drew was able to find a location on LSU’s campus that was doing tests (not sure how we did not find this place earlier). They were able to do a PCR test with results that we would get back by the end of the day or in the morning and a rapid test which would give us results in 15 minutes. While there, the urgent care called and said they relocated to a different office which just so happened to be very close to where we were. We headed that way because Taryn figured why not have two tests.
I dropped her off to go into the office, and then anxiously waited for the phone call about our rapid test results. Taryn had to wait in the office for 15 minutes for her rapid PCR test to come back. It was a veryyy long 15 minutes. Finally, I see Taryn. However, I do not see the normal smiling Taryn, I see a very depressed and solemn looking Taryn walking towards the car. Is she just messing with me? Trying to be funny? She opens the door, “I’m positive.” What?? No way. She hands me the piece of paper and there it says… positive. NOOOOOOOOO
It did not hit me at that moment, but it was later that night when Taryn’s other test result came back with the same result… We’re not going to Doha, Qatar anymore. All that worrying about the plane ride, the fast-paced game, the different volleyball that is used internationally and the packing list was for absolutely nothing, nada.
We were crushed. We finally got an opportunity to play internationally, and we can’t even go anymore. We had sponsors for this tournament which means we need to break the news to them. Which this is a perfect time to give a tremendous shout out to our two sponsors for this event. The first is the lovely Mrs. Wendy Jones who is about to help a lot of women out there with their mentality. The mental side of beach volleyball and honestly just life in general is often overlooked. She is launching a website that will help change that. So, everyone be on the lookout for that, and we will be blasting that everywhere. Our second sponsor was a couple that we had recently met on our trip to Puerta Vallarta, Becky & Amanda. They own a beach volleyball club in Michigan called AMP Beach Volleyball. I would send my future children there. They are incredible people and are really helping grow this amazing game of beach volleyball. Taryn and I will definitely be going up there at some point!
So, after coming to the realization that Taryn is actually positive with covid, we have to figure out where we are going to go. We are currently at Drew and Mary’s house, so we want to get away from there in hopes that we do not give them covid. Can we go back home? (home being my parent’s house in Metairie) But my parents live there and if we go there then my mom can’t work for the week because she will be exposed. So, where the heck do we go stay for the next 3 days? My boyfriend lives in Baton Rouge and just so happened to be at his parent’s house in Houston. We packed all our stuff up and moved into his house for a couple of days. We did some puzzles, drank some wine, made some food, and watched a lot of Blacklist. Two people who love being active having to stay in a house and do nothing for 3 days is VERY difficult. For Taryn it was a little easier because she actually had covid, so she was pretty tired, and her body was telling her to chill. I on the other hand was just bouncing off the walls wanting to work out, but I decided maybe this is a perfect time to just chill and give my body a little break.
Going to back track a little bit. I mentioned earlier about a flat tire. This was just icing on the cake. On New Year’s Day, we left Mary and Drew’s to head to Trey’s house. Taryn and I both had our cars in Baton Rouge, so we drove to Mangos where Taryn’s car was parked. We pull up and Taryn immediately sees that her tire is flat. Neither one of us has ever had a flat tire so we have no idea what to do, so we call our parents. Both just laugh in disbelief. You’re joking, right? Long story short, I call AAA and Christopher, the AAA guy, comes to the rescue. We bring the car to Walmart and get a new tire. What’s next?
Luckily nothing else happened. We were able to eventually make our way back to our house in Metairie and get our lives back in order. It was time to focus on our next thing… driving to California and staying there for a month. A positive in 2022, yay!
27 hour and 8-minute drive from Baton Rouge, LA to Hermosa Beach, CA
How many stops did you make? Where did you stop and sleep? What did you do in the car for that time? How did your body feel? How many hours did each of you drive? What music did you listen to?
Pretty much all the questions we got so let me answer them:
We made 9 stops (if you haven’t checked out our 3 social media videos about it, you should). Drew drove the ENTIRE time (still don’t know how he did that). We did not stop and sleep anywhere (yes, we drove straight through). A lot of the car ride was Taryn and I playing wordscapes, sudoku, and solitaire. Drew crushed the playlist with some 2000 hits. And lastly, our bodies felt pretty crappy but we were just super pumped that we had actually made it, so our adrenaline pretty much took over.
A 1 min walk to the beach, courts with lines right out in front of our street, good company, and a month to explore California… 2022 is starting to look realllll nice. Hopefully, this trend continues!
P.S. word on the street is the AVP schedule is coming out next week!! Stay tuned for that!
By: Kristen Nuss
