Colorado Springs

My intention is to post less frequently before the real fun begins (racing starts) as I don't want to inundate you folks, but I can't help myself today.

The first stage of our journey has begun with a trip to the Olympic Training Facility in Colorado Springs. The dorms here have housed many famous American athletes (like Michael Phelps) and tonight, we sleep in these beds. We're here not to train (no water) but to "process." Every American athlete must come through here to receive official team gear, learn how to be a good ambassador of our country, and sign a ton of flags. The team is all here and in good spirits.
Above, U.S. Team member Maureen McKinnon-Tucker surveys little plaques dedicated to different Olympic and Paralympic sports. Here's the one for sailing:
Tomorrow we finish processing and head to San Fransisco via Denver (I'll say hi to Barack for you). We'll spend the night and then head to China. For those that don't know, sailing does not take place in Beijing but rather, Qingdao - a seacoast town 350 miles SSE of the main Olympic venu. This "town" is comprised of approximately 9 million individuals. Hmmm, a different perspective on population.

When we arrive, we'll immediately begin working on our boat and start training as soon as possible. The actual racing starts on September 8th. Many people have asked how to watch the event. I'll send a separate update with plenty of viewing information in a few days once I've confirmed dates, times and web-sites.

If you have any questions about this journey, please feel free to post them here and I'll do my best to get you answers. That's all for now. Thank you all for the well-wishes and support!

-Tim, Bill & Rick