Day Trip to Weymouth

We took a day trip to the cute harbor town of Weymouth in an area of south England called Dorset. It was about a three hour train journey from our home.

My camera battery died soon after arriving there so I only captured five photos. Thanks to the magic of the internet, here is an image I found showing the picturesque town. It's better than any photo I could have taken anyway.

Weymouth harbor

Weymouth is where the sailing events for the London Olympics were recently held. I couldn't resist posing with the Olympic rings situated right outside the train station.

I loved the quaint buildings on the main street overlooking the beach:

We walked across a bridge that had these lighthouse looking fixtures along the sides:

This plaque caught my eye underneath one of the lighthouses:

It's amazing how many cities in New England share names with cities from the "old country".

Another sign caught my eye. At first glance I thought it said Russells Yacht Chandeliers. A shop just for selling chandeliers for boats? Talk about a specialty shop. Ah, but my eyes deceive me, it's Chandlers, dealers of various equipment and supplies for boats. 

Also, it's Bussells, not Russells. But how perfect, my maiden name is Bus.

We saw such a variety of scenes in Weymouth as we walked through the town. There was a sandy beach, a harbor, all kinds of boats, a pier, a tower with a rotating platform that ascends to the top, carnival rides, an open plaza surrounded by cafes with live music and people dancing in the street. There were families going crabbing along the harbor walls.

We climbed a hill with an old fort on top and saw the area on the hillside where the spectators sat during the Olympics to watch the sailing event. This side of the town was peaceful with a beautiful view over the English Channel.

It just figures that I would have a dead camera with all the sights to see. Then again, maybe that's why I noticed so many details. I could just relax and take it all in and not worry about what to take pictures of.

Stroll in an English Garden

While Lexi and Chris went to watch a Fulham soccer game, I visited the Claremont Landscape Garden near our home.

It normally costs 7 pounds to enter, but I am a member of the National Trust which gives me free entrance into several preserved sites.

There are paths to stroll on and a lake with ducks and geese.

Mostly there were families and couples on spread out blankets enjoying picnics and just some quiet nature time.

Ahhhh, lovely!

"English" Language Lesson

It still fascinates me how the English have different ways of saying things than Americans, even though we both speak "English".  Here are some examples:

To be "made redundant" is a bad thing, it means you've been laid off your job.

A moving company is in the business of "removals".

If you are graduating from a level of school, you are a "leaver". In America you see t-shirts listing members of the "Class of 2012", in England, the list is entitled "Leavers".

Before you can become a leaver, you must do your "revising", which simply means studying for exams.

In their polite and wordy way, the English refer to methods for slowing traffic down as  "traffic calming measures". In some roads, a speed bump is not enough. Instead you are forced to drive through an obstacle course where you have to center your car between barriers.

Looks like someone didn't do so well missing these barriers...

If you are not feeling well, you are ill, not sick. Sick means you are vomiting.

To end our language lesson, here is a bit of British humor, or should I say humour.  This sign was on a truck that I assume was cleaning out septic tanks:  "Caution: Stool Bus".

Random Thoughts as the Olympics Wrap Up

After watching the entire Olympics Closing Ceremony last night, all three hours of it, it's time to try to get my life back to normal. We are already wondering what we will watch on the telly tonight with the Olympics over.

I have to say living in the host city for the Olympic Games was extremely cool. It was exciting to be able to attend several events. It was even more exciting to watch Lexi on TV as a volunteer at Beach Volleyball.

It was a little disappointing to not be able to get into the Olympic Park zone and just hang out. We had planned on doing that but discovered a ticket was needed to enter the area and the tickets sold out fast. Chris and Ryan did get to enter the Olympic Park on the day they attended a Track and Field event, lucky dogs!

We enjoyed seeing the Londoners in a good mood, with people actually striking up conversations for a change. Volunteers were everywhere, some directing pedestrians with big pink foam hands, some just standing there greeting people at an entrance. Ryan had a hankering for one of the pink foam hands, I see one being sold on ebay now for 60 pounds.

A nice feature of London 2012 was the free transportation ticket provided with the event tickets enabling you to get around London on the Underground and trains.

It's over now but the memories will last a lifetime. I may just have to tune in to the Para Olympic games in a few weeks...

This One's for Ryan

Russells Abroad... Together

While Chris, Lexi, and I are living it up as Ex-Pats in England, our son Ryan is living it up in the good ole USA at Vanderbilt. However, while we get to travel to exotic locales in Europe and Africa, he lives more of a nomadic life, never spending more than 8 months at a time in one place. We do get to have him here at Christmas time and he spent the last two summers with us interning in London. But holidays he is on his own. Thankfully family and friends take good care of him.

This last April, Ryan phones us to say he is 99% sure he tore the ACL in his knee, playing in a frisbee match of all things. Right away the mother in me kicks in wanting to be there for him, to make things better as only a mom can, right? But Ryan informs me he is 21 years old now and can handle it on his own. He did indeed handle it, scheduling his MRI and surgery himself, with help from his girlfriend to get him to and from the hospital.

Ryan has the surgery, wraps up final exams, makes living arrangements for his Boeing internship in California, packs up for the summer, stores what he can't pack, and gets himself on the flight to Los Angeles, all in just over two weeks time. Amazing.

We decided Ryan should fly out to California for the summer rather than make the long drive. So the poor kid has to cram what he can into two suitcases, one carry-on, and a backpack. Picture him lugging all that to the airport while wearing a leg brace, (remember he's just been through surgery) and using crutches. I offered to fly over just to help him with the journey, but he turned down my help, leaving me to feel helpless and anxious, but also proud that my son can handle things on his own now.

Ryan in sunny Cali

Summer goes great, although Ryan had been looking forward to some California surfing but that was not to be while his knee was mending. Internship ends, time for Ryan to journey across the ocean to spend some time with us in England and take in the London Olympics with us. So once again, Ryan must pack up his life into those suitcases and fly through the air from California to England like a leaf floating along wind currents to its next destination. It is no longer necessary to use the crutches or wear the brace but they won't fit in the luggage so Ryan gets to pretend he's just had surgery all over again just to get them on the plane.

So now we have Ryan with us for a few weeks before school starts up again. We treasure the time we have with him since we don't get to see him very often. His luggage, so much a part of his life these days, stands ready to accompany him to the next destination. He is always with us in our hearts though, no matter where he may be.

Ryan and Lexi sightseeing with me at Windsor Castle

Ryan in a showdown with the Marching Guards

Looks like the Guards won

Family Time at Beach Volleyball

Our whole family was able to attend two Olympic Beach Volleyball games last night, granted one of us was working in it and the other three were just taking it all in.

When Chris purchased our tickets we knew Lexi would be volunteering in the games that day. However, we didn't know we would end up getting to see both the USA Men and Women play.

With Ryan walking down The Mall to enter Horse Guards Parade

We got to see Lexi parade in with the other volunteers before the first game and were thrilled to discover she was stationed right in front of us.

Grand Entrance

Tossing balls to athletes during the warm-ups

At the ready

Lexi in action!

Here come the USA Men, too bad they lost

As I sat in the stands with Chris and Ryan, watching Lexi as a Ball Retriever and cheering on the USA teams, it just seemed so right that it all came together.... Except for the Mens team who unfortunately lost. But hurrah for the Women and the TASIS Games Makers!

A Full Day of Olympics

Sunday after the Opening Ceremony was a full day of Olympics for us. Our family was at three Olympic venues across London, attending three different sporting events and two awards ceremonies, and doing volunteer work at three beach volleyball games.

Shooting

We started the day at the Royal Artillery Barracks for the Women's Shooting event. This was new for us and we learned a lot. We saw Skeet shooting with rifles as well as Air Pistol target shooting. Kimberly Rhode from the USA won the Gold medal in Skeet and we were there to see it. This win made her the first American to win individual medals in five consecutive Olympics. She won her first gold at the age of 17. She now has three gold medals, one silver, and one bronze. Quite impressive.

American Kimberly Rhode

She seemed very relaxed as she successfully hit 99 of the 100 clay disks shot out into the air, tying her own world record. Some of the other competitors would face away after completing their turn, not wanting to watch the other contestants. Some would watch and raise their arms as if following the disk through the air, similar to a baseball batter on deck watching pitches and taking practice swings. Kimberly just calmly waited her turn in line, like the old pro that she is.

Note the Italian raising her hand following the disk. 

I learned that the rifles the athletes use are custom-made to fit the size of their bodies. The targets are launched both high and low, singles and doubles. The shooters progress through stations in order to shoot from various angles and distances. The idea is to simulate shooting at birds. It seems that every possibility of where that bird might be flying is covered.

Awards Ceremony

Here are the medals and flowers before being walked out to the podium:

Kimberly Rhode with Gold 

USA flag while National Anthem played

Air Pistol

The Air Pistol event was held indoors. The competitors shoot at their own targets and get points for how close they come to the center. We thought it would be like the old Westerns: Ready Draw FIRE! while pulling the gun from a holster on their hip. Nothing like that. They have about a minute to aim and shoot at their own pace.

Some would fire right away while others would wait and then raise the gun to aim and fire. It helps to be relaxed so the athletes stood very still between rounds, looking almost like limp rag dolls. The cameraman would go down the line and zoom in on each face while the score for that round was announced. The athletes showed no emotion and even tried to face away from the camera. It seemed so different from other sports.

It struck me that the Olympic motto of "Faster Higher Stronger" does not seem to apply for Shooting.

We were lucky to get to watch the Finals round for both Air Pistol and Skeet and then see the Awards Ceremonies. The theme from Chariots of Fire played while the medalists made their way to the podium. So cool.

Beach Volleyball Volunteering

Lexi close to the action

While Chris and I were getting educated on Shooting, Lexi was performing her first official volunteering in the Beach Volleyball games as a ball retriever. She was thrilled to be a part of the action and right there with the athletes. She said the Czech men were very intense and a little scary during their game. But the Czechs were the team that carried umbrellas and wore Wellies (rain boots) in the Opening Ceremony as a humorous gesture. I guess once the games begin, the humor is toned down.

Football

We met up with Lexi after her volunteering shift and headed to beautiful Wembley Stadium for two Men's Football (Soccer) games. Great Britain beat United Arab Emirates 3-1 and the mostly British crowd was lively, loud, and pleased.

There we are enjoying our third Olympic game of the day