Sunday, February 10, 2008

Last Hurrah in Long Beach

Well, we did it. One Mom, 3 swimmers and a toddler all in 4 days one trip to a swim meet in Long Beach, California.

The drive this time, to and from, wasn't very rough as far as traffic goes. Kathryn threw a few fits but we expected that with a 5 hour trip. Christian helped drive for a
couple hours to and Lauren a couple hours home.

The meet itself was great for the kids. Their new coaches Mike, Colin, and Bryan have done a great job in a couple months to restore their moral and get them on the right road. We were able to get some great swims in and spend some time outside on the beach running with Kathryn to relax. The sleepers, Michael and Kathryn, in the picture on the left are taking a quick power nap before heading back to the pool for finals on Friday.

On Saturday Grandpa Ellsworth came and was put to work fast! He helped us get lunch(sushi, of course), pick up Lauren and Kathryn, time a couple heats for his Grandkids, and cheer. He was able to see Christian nail his 400IM, Lauren take time off after a 2 year slump in her 200 fly and Michael shave off a whopping 4 seconds in his 100Free. We loved having him there with us for several hours!


The sunsets were beautiful. We could actually see Catalina Island this past weekend.

The event was Junior Olympics with Southern California Swimming. It was held at the Belmont Shores Pool where the 1984 olympics were held in Long Beach, California. We've been here every year and will miss it.



On a side note, Long Beach is where my Dad's Mother grew up. Her childhood home is gone but it's fun to think of her here. Long Beach has some very nice areas and there has been a very good effort to revitalize it. Right now there is an effort to urbanize the downtown with mixed use buildings (residential lofts over commercial property). I really like the feel of it. It's not overdone at all.

Some fun videos and pictures:

While Michael was in the warm up pool on Friday, Kathryn was by the side of the pool staring at him and his friends. Michael came over and splashed her lightly to entertain her. Then as he floated backwards, he kicked his right leg up. Well Kathryn decided to imitate him, like litte siblings do. So now we have our version of the Karate Kid (see the attached video with Lauren and Kathryn).

The last night we were in Long Beach, I treated the kids to a nice meal at Rockbottoms at the corner of Pine and Ocean Blvd. The food was delicious. We all ordered something different-steak, fish tacos, fajitas, and ribs. Can you say yummy? Here is a video feed of Kathryn rocking out to the music while we waited for our food:


Here are several pictures from the relaxing moments:


Michael, Kathryn, Christian



Kathryn and Lauren



Kathryn and Michael running



More of the beautiful sunsets we had.