Skating in Colorado

It's hard to believe that at this time last week, Mom and I were just arriving back in Austin after spending several days in Colorado Springs. I traveled to Colorado to attend the Four Continents Championships, and Mom accompanied me so I wouldn't be lonely (thanks, Mom!). I'm still sorting through all of my pictures at the moment, but I thought I would post a few thoughts before I forget everything.

• I enjoyed visiting a few other landmarks in Colorado Springs while I wasn't at the arena. We went to the Garden of the Gods (above) on Thursday after we arrived and the Air Force Academy the morning before we left.
• It was nice to see the American ladies on top of the podium again. Ashley Wagner and Caroline Zhang did so well skating back to back and finished first and third, respectively.
• It was wonderful to some of the skaters I had never seen before — Virtue & Moir, Daisuke Takahashi, Weaver & Poje, Marley & Brubaker, Agnes Zawadski, Adam Rippon, the Shibutanis, etc.
• I loved the small medal ceremonies held in the concourse outside the main arena. It was interesting to see the skaters interact with each other and answer questions from other fans.
• One of the things I love most about skating competitions is meeting the people seated around me. The woman to my right had been to several national and international competitions, including the last Winter Olympics, while the couple to my left was from Texas (he bought her the tickets for Christmas — what a good husband!). It's nice to talk to people who know about skating rather than boring my family all the time.
• I was rather excited to wake up to snow falling outside on Saturday. It hampered our morning plans a bit, but I was still able to make it to the arena in the car. I was NOT excited, however, to clean the snow off the car; at least it wasn't as bad as in Natick.
• We went to eat at Outback one night, so I asked my mom if she thought the Australian skaters might have tried it too. (Yes, there were skaters from Australia. There was one from South Africa too.)
• One final thought: Feathers on the ice are dangerous. Just ask my mom. :)

Just a few skating pictures for now...