Olympic Dreams
I’ve been hooked on the Olympics this year.
Watching Michael Phelps slowly make his way to Olympic history has been a joy to watch. When the week started, I read a sports column that presented a very realistic outcome — Phelps not winning eight gold medals. The columnist went on to point out that even if Phelps didn’t win eight gold medals, we shouldn’t think any less of him. Most athletes don’t even win one gold medal in their lifetime. Even if Phelps won just one gold medal, he should be praised, not admonished for his efforts.
But here we are on the brink of history. Last night’s victory was by 1/100 of a second. What a race!!! It looked surely like Phelps would get the silver in the race, but he somehow prevailed. 1/100 of a second. Think about that. The result could easily have been the other way around. One thing about sports — sometimes it’s that lucky bounce or something that helps you to victory. It seems like it’s Phelps’ time and nothing can stop him.
It was interesting watching Mark Spitz humbly passing the torch to Phelps. I am lucky to say that I was able to watch both swimmers win seven gold medals in my lifetime. Who know when someone like Phelps will appear again. It’s been over 30 years since Spitz won his seven gold medals.
Tonight, we’ll see if Phelps can break Spitz’s record. He’s already won more gold medals than anyone in history. Eight gold medals in one Olympics will be another record he can hold. But even if he doesn’t, he will still be one of the greatest Olympians in history and we can proudly say that we saw it in person.
Go Michael!!!
Surfing White Plains Beach
Went surfing at White Plains Beach this morning. Small and windy, but rideable. I was one of the first guys out around 6:00 AM, so I had my fair share of waves.
If you’ve never been to White Plains to surf, let me tell you about the break. The beach is located in Kalaeloa (formerly Barber’s Point Naval Air Station). It’s a nice sandy beach. The surfing area is pretty spread out. On the right side (facing the ocean), the wave breaks further out with mostly rights to surf. Towards the left is a break known as fenceline. You can catch both lefts and rights in this area.
The surfers are predominantly longboarders. The waves are not the best. Any wind causes a pretty good chop. Best on calm days. I used to surf Cliffs at Diamond Head for many years. I can’t compare the waves (DH is better). But the conditions are similar. It’s usually pretty windy and choppy on most days. But every once in a while, you’ll catch a day when the surf is up and the wind is down.
Today wasn’t one of those days…
Room 1313 in Las Vegas
I spent (pun intended) a few days in Vegas at the end of June. Arrived around 11:30 PM on Thursday, June 26th and left Monday morning on June 30th. I went with three of my high school buddies. One lives in Las Vegas. Another lives in Seattle. The third friend and I are living in Hawaii.
This is our second trip together. Six years ago, we all went to Lake Tahoe for our 40th birthdays (now you know how old I am). It was a memorable trip, as we enjoyed skiing, gambling and partying like we did in our younger days.
After a pleasant flight to Las Vegas, things turned a little ominous. We checked into the Orleans Hotel. The hotel front desk girl handed me my room key and said: “You’re in Room 1313.” I looked at her in disbelief. There’s a 13th floor in a Vegas hotel? And a room No. 13 on the 13th floor? I had quick thoughts about asking for a different room, but decided not to be superstitious.
I should have asked for a different room. Prior to this trip, I have never lost money every single night of gambling. On this trip, I lost every night. Even my favorite game, blackjack, was letting me down. I didn’t win any time I sat at the blackjack table. Darn room No. 1313!!
Other than the gambling, the trip was very enjoyable. My friend from Seattle is not a big gambler, so we made time to do other than gambling activities (My other two friends on the other hand, are major poker fiends — playing until the sun comes up in the morning.). On Saturday, we went to an indoor electric go-cart track. You may not think an electric cart can go very fast, but these carts zipped around at 35-40 mph. Good fun!
We also went golfing on Sunday. Nice course, but the temperature was 107 degrees! My poker friends were hurting after staying up all night drinking and playing poker.
One of our other friends drove up from the San Diego area to join us for Friday and Saturday night. It was like old times again — just having a good time with the boys.
We’re already thinking of our next trip. Maybe for our 50th birthday?
