The Olympic Trials Surprise!

I have been blogging long lately.. so I'll keep today's update short. The fourth of July this year was one to remember! After a fun walk in the 2008 Butte to Butte (I started and finished the RIGHT race this year) the family headed over to watch the Olympic Trials for the afternoon. It was a lot of fun having such a high profile event in the area, especially as a big Olympics fan. While tickets were just too expensive for us to afford ($800/pass) we decided to just enjoy the atmosphere of the big festival that was set-up around the track. With giant TV screens set up, we could still watch the main events of the day and see who we could meet. Dawn was working at the festival as a CERT Captain and so the plan was for me and Little Calvin to hang out and the festival while she worked, then we'd all find a fireworks show somewhere in town, if not at the trials.

But that's not what happened... Instead, as Little Calvin and I wandered the festival, we went up to a booth to see what they might be giving away (you could get something at almost every booth). When I got to the front, the guy running the booth asked if we were here for the festival only or if we were going to the trials. I said "Yeah.. I wish we were going on, but we're enjoying the atmosphere." He said "I'll tell you what.. you answer a question and I'll give you two free tickets for the day." Needless to say, I was ecstatic, and Dawn just looked at me with her "you've got to be kidding me.. no fair!" look. My "big question" was just a throwaway thing, "Name the host city for the 2008 Olympics".. Ohhh.. toughie. But the guy admitted he had been trying to find someone he felt would appreciate and enjoy the tickets and I guess Little Calvin and I had just the right look.

The trials were great! Many awesome races! Little Cal loved watching the Javelin (the big sticks) and we even got to meet some athletes when Sanya Richards, American record holder in the 400 meters, signed our tickets and took a picture with Little Cal. And our seats.. 10 rows up, about half-way down the straightaway near the finish line. Just perfect.

Luckily, once Dawn's shift was done, she was able to cash in some favors and get into Hayward Field. She wasn't sitting by us, but was at least able to see the event. And when it was all over, we stayed and watch a fantastic fireworks show right there over the track. Just the perfect way to spend a fourth of July.. right before we got yelled at by security for taking our pictures on the track.. oops. Oh well. Great Day!

--------------

The next day, we headed back to the festival to finish exploring. The highlight was watching Little Calvin at the tree climbing booth, learning how to do some rope climbing. He quickly got the hang of it and just had a ball. Since the pictures are both cute and make me proud as a parent to see my kids conquering challenges, I'm posting a few: