I'm sitting in Logan Airport waiting for my flight back to TEXAS (yes, it must be capitalized) and realized that I had never followed up on my first blog about Skate America. While I was in Lake Placid, I was pretty much living and breathing skating, and since I got back to Natick on Monday night, I've just been trying to catch my breath. I have over an hour to go until my plane leaves, so I thought I would write a little bit more about my experience.
Saturday was another full day of skating for me, even though the competition didn't begin until 2 p.m. I spent the morning looking around the town of Lake Placid, which was a slight struggle since it was raining (rain was much better than snow, however, which was what I was afraid I would get). The skating that day covered all four disciplines, and it was wonderful to see Kim Yu-Na for the first time. She far outclassed the rest of the ladies' field, even though Rachael Flatt's program to "Sing, Sing, Sing" was really cute. That day also included two long programs and medal ceremonies. In the pairs competition, Shen & Zhao of China won the gold. In the men's competition, American Evan Lysacek won the gold. The other two men's medalists (Shawn Sawyer and Ryan Bradley) pulled up from way down in the pack to win the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Sunday was my last full day in Lake Placid. I slept late that morning because I had been up so late the night before. Once I finally got out, I went to Starbucks for my first peppermint hot chocolate of the season (yum!) and then went to the Olympic Museum at the Olympic Center. The competition began at 2 p.m. again that day. The ladies' competition was the marquee event, especially for the many Korean-American fans of Kim Yu-Na. It was crazy to see all the Korean flags and banners and watch as they tried to get her autograph before she even skated (I felt a little sorry for her). The pressure may have gotten to her a little bit because she did not perform very well in the long program. She still won the gold medal because of the huge lead she had built up in the short program. Rachael Flatt, however, was the true star of the afternoon as she landed seven triples in her long program. If she keeps on skating as consistently as she has in the past, she could be the American female skater to watch for this Olympics.
After the excitement of the ladies' long program, the free dance was a bit anti-climatic. The posters for Kim Yu-Na had all been removed from the arena, and many of the fans who had come just to see her left. I still enjoyed the competition and in some ways enjoyed it more because all of the people who had come just to see the ladies skate were gone. Belbin & Agosto of the U.S.A. won the competition handily. However, I really enjoyed the performance of Kimberly Navarro & Brett Bommentre — I love that they skate for the fans instead of the judges' scores.
Sunday night was the exhibition. Even though show skating isn't my favorite, it was nice to be able to enjoy the skating without worrying about taking pictures. (Speaking of pictures, you can see a few of the many I took here.) Luckily, this night's skating ended sooner than the other nights, so I was able to come back to my room earlier.
This past weekend at Skate America was wonderful. I loved Lake Placid and am already planning to visit again soon. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for my wonderful birthday present!
Miracle on Ice, 2009 Style
I am currently in Lake Placid, NY, for Skate America. I left Natick around 8 a.m. yesterday morning and arrived here around 2:40 p.m. after stopping at a mall in Albany for lunch. The first competition of the day was the compulsory dance at 3 p.m. and then the pairs’ short program and men’s short program took place this evening.
Some of the highlights of the day:
This is the (skating) life!
Some of the highlights of the day:
- Seeing Shen and Zhao skate a magical short program. I learned later that their score was the highest pairs’ short program score ever. In a word, wow.
- Almost running into Emily Hughes as I was heading for the arena. I think I acted cool and didn’t react too much.
- Finally seeing a compulsory dance competition. I didn’t really know what to watch for, but it was still interesting to see the same routine done by every couple.
- The beautiful costume worn by ice dancer Anna Cappellini from Italy. Click here for a picture.
- Seeing Evan Lysacek win the short program (even though France’s Florent Amodio’s program was even more impressive and surprising).
- Overhearing Peter Carruthers' conversation at the restaurant. It almost made up for having to eat by myself.
- Having DSLR envy. People have impressive cameras at this event. I don’t ever remember seeing fans with such long lenses . . . it can be a little distracting.
- Seeing the Olympic rings everywhere around town. I was so excited driving past the Olympic Center.
- The beautiful scenery driving up here.
This is the (skating) life!
Silver Belle
Almost two weeks ago, my beautiful cat Silver passed away. My family and I adopted her in April 1998, and I named her Silver after Michelle Kwan's silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Over the last year or so, she had not been feeling her best. My parents tried to help her get better, but she was just too sick.
Since my mom told me the news, I've been thinking about her and remembering all the little things that made her special. I keep remembering how tiny and cute she was as a kitten when she would "do the dinosaur" and chase after any ball we would throw around. When she was a little older, Paul and I would feed her Chicken Express off the breakfast room table. Her hair stuck to everything; all of my clothes had Silver hairs, and certain chairs would always be covered. She loved to climb in suitcases while we were packing but would always hide when we tried to put her outside.
Silver was a loving cat most of the time; she loved to sit in my Dad's lap and spent many nights curled up on my bed. She also was a spitfire at times, as Parker and the unfortunate Buddy discovered. As she grew older, her quiet moments became more frequent, but she still had spunk. During some of the hardest times in my life, she was always there to give me unconditional love.
In some ways, losing Silver really hasn't hit me yet. I haven't been home in almost a year, and when I was last there, she was still doing fine. Even with my Sammy cat here and Parker at home, I know that Thanksgiving will be a little different this year.
Silver was a special cat. After all, she was my figure skating cat. :)
Fabulous Fall
A few days ago I took a break at work to get a hot chocolate and began thinking about all the good things about winter (cute clothes, hot chocolate, the first snow). I was getting pretty excited about the upcoming winter season but then realized that I haven't really celebrated fall yet this year. After almost no summer this year (I heard someone refer to it as "summerish"), the fall seems to be planning the same "blink and you'll miss it" act as well. So before fall ends, I thought I would record some of the things I love most about this season.
- Crisp air
- Leaf-peeping
- Apple cider and cider donuts
- The back-to-school section at Target
- My birthday
- Curling up under a blanket again
- Seeing the largest pumpkin at the Topsfield Fair
- Annual visit from my parents
- College football (especially UT)
- Beginning of the figure skating season
- Choosing pumpkins from a pumpkin patch
- The colors: red, gold, orange, brown, yellow
Weekend on the Cape
Last weekend my parents flew up to Boston to spend my birthday with me and visit Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. I left work early on Friday so that we could drive down to Hyannis, our home base for the weekend. We spent a very rainy Saturday exploring the Cape and then took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard on Sunday. On Monday we did a few more things on the Cape and then headed back to the mainland for some birthday shopping and dinner (The Melting Pot . . . yum!). These are a few highlights from our weekend together:
Picking pumpkins at a pumpkin patch in front of a church.
I had never been to a pumpkin patch so this was very special. I chose one large pumpkin and a few smaller ones. When I pulled my large pumpkin from the pile, it caused an avalanche of pumpkins that landed on my feet. My mom had to come save me.
Looking at all the tiny gingerbread houses in Oak Bluff, Martha's Vineyard.
The houses were built on a church campground in the 19th century. The houses are so close together and painted in every color combination you can possibly imagine. I decided that my favorite combination was yellow and blue. (You can read more about them here.)
Walking down this long pier to see the seashore.
The water was so clear that you could see minnows swimming around. It was a little windy at the end of the pier but oh so beautiful. Quintessential Cape Cod.
Riding the Flying Horses Carousel on Martha's Vineyard.
The carousel is the oldest one in the United States. As you ride around, you're supposed to try to catch the brass ring. If you catch it, you win a free ride. I got pretty good at catching the rings (pictured above), but I never caught the brass ring. Mom, however, caught it twice! The second time she caught it, she let me use her free ride.
Visiting Sandwich.
We almost didn't go to Sandwich, but Mom talked to the owner of our hotel and learned that Sandwich was a not-to-be-missed place. We were really glad we made it there. We toured Dexter's Grist Mill; visited Hoxie House, the oldest saltbox house on Cape Cod; and ate lunch at Dunbar Tea Room. It was a nice diversion during our last morning on the Cape.
Eating clam chowder.
We all enjoyed trying the chowder at different restaurants, including The Lobster Claw in Orleans.
It's hard to believe that a week ago we were just beginning our trip to Cape Cod. I'm so glad that I was able to visit the area for the first time and enjoy spending time with my parents on my birthday.
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