THE GOLDEN TICKET!

DAY 9 – SUN. AUGUST 17, 2008

Today we got a chance to go to the Olympic Greens which now that I think of it, I don’t remember seeing all that much green but that’s not the point. It of course required a taxi ride, followed by a lot of hurried walking with a bit of uncertainty of exactly where we were headed.

Where Cube meets Bird's Nest

Kobe Bryant waves to us

The Bird's Nest where Opening & Closing Ceremonies and Track & Field events take place

Gwen, the gal we rented the apartment from, is working in the Greens at the Omega House (Omega is the official Timekeeper of the Games) so she got us day passes. It was great to see the Bird’s Nest and Cube up close, take our token torch photos and walk around a bit without shoulder to shoulder people.

A Fortune Photo Finish

Lunch was McDonald's which was the popular place as there was crowd control and even security guards letting people in a few at a time. Kudos to Scott for his ability to order “plain cheeseburgers” for the girls. After lunch Scott headed to the Women’s Indoor match while the girls and I chilled for a bit.

Sidenote: Jana couldn’t bring herself to eat McDonald’s so her lunch consisted of a handful of wasabi peas, token pack of almonds, handful of Trader’s Joe’s trailmix with M&M’s and a Promax bar all washed down with a cold refreshing Sprite.

Sidenote 2: At each Olympic venue when you go through security, you have to hand over your water. However, the girls have been lucky because they've been carrying thier own in their Camelbacks (thanks Uncle) and they've never been asked to empty them out so they always have water with them.

Somehow the girls and I managed to get on the Subway going the right direction, got a taxi and met Scott just in time to see USA Women’s indoor beat Poland in 5 sets.

When height and light hair are a HUGE advantage in a crowd!

Next up, The famous Silk Market where deals abound and crowds and pushy sales people reign supreme! I was afraid to take the girls here because we had heard how crowded it was but I didn’t want to alone either. We made our way to the top floor and jumped in to the frenzy. Much like Tijuana, you cannot look at or touch something without them hounding you to buy it. However the difference is, if you try to bargain, they hand you the calculator and ask you to type “how much” you are willing to pay.

We bought a few things and the girls and I each got our Chinese birth signs on Jade pendants and made into necklaces. Jana – Year of the Pig, Sydney (Snake), Shelby (Goat), Scott (Horse).

We could have spent hours there and really bargained but with the girls in tow, we got a few things and got out of there! Dinner was at our favorite restaurant (our second visit there) XIAO WANG’S HOME RESTAURANT. We didn’t brave the whole duck, just a dish made with duck and veggies.

The girls hail a cab for us

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY: The Olympic Greens, Kobe Bryant waving to us and taking his picture, Getting USA garb to wear and shopping at the Silk Market.

*Jana realizing three Vball tickets had fallen out of their holder and somehow managing to find the folks that had found them. They willingly game them back to me which was surprising and comforting considering the entire transaction was done without any English.

FUNNY FORTUNE STUFF: Scott having duck and it not agreeing with him. The girls and I were not sympathetic and conitnue to tease him about his "butt-quack"!

SEEING THINGS DIFFERENTLY: No seatbelts mandatory here, nor car seats for children

DAILY FAVORITES:

Shelby – “Going to the Silk Market and buying necklaces & acting like I was holding the torch.”

Sydney – “Going to the Silk Market.”

Jana – Hanging out at Olympic Greens with the girls seeing the sites and watching people.”

Scott – “Making it to Olympic Greens”

OLYMPIC UPDATE:

Obviously everyone is talking about Michael Phelps and his 8 gold medals. An incredible feat considering he needed to bounce back after swimming so many events. Track and field hasn’t been as successful for the USA and even though we lead in overall medals, we are far behind the Chinese in Gold Medals. The volleyball teams had their first set back and elimination in the medal potential. USA VB thought we could capture 4 medals. Unfortunately one of the medal contenders, beach women Youngs and Branagh lost last night to China’s 2nd team. They did not play well at all and with the home crowd advantage China won easily. We witnessed the indoor women’s team gain another 5 set victory over Poland. From now on it is all single elimination for all the teams going forward. Off to see Rogers-Delhausser play a quarter final match.

The end of another long day.