Ventura's Olympic Hero

What a busy Saturday today was.

We had intended on starting the day with a Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's, one of the boy's favorites, followed by a 1 hour training hike for Marion and me in the Ventura Foothills. Our plans hit a snag before we even left the house when Nik woke up complaining of pain in his knee. He had fallen on our hike at Point Mugu last weekend and one of the scratches on his knee had become infected. So, instead of a hike after breakfast we visited the Urgent Care at Kaiser, and then the pharmacy at Walgreens.


From there we were off to the Ventura Community Pool for a hometown sendoff for Troy Dumais, a Ventura local who leaves next week to compete at his third summer olympic games for the U.S. Troy is a springboard diver, and Brodie, who has just taken up diving this summer was very excited to meet him. So excited, in fact, that he gave up the chance to go horseback riding in Griffith Park for his cousin Shoja's 10th birthday party. Brodie got to talk with Troy and got his autograph. Brodie also wanted to say hi to Ventura's mayor, Christie Weir, who was also at the event.

With the ink on his autograph still wet we jumped in the car and headed out to the Valley for the second half of Shoja's party at his house in Northridge. They had a giant jolly-jumper slide set up in the back yard equipped with a system for spraying water on the slide and a big splash pool at the bottom of it. Brodie and Nik had a lot of fun with their cousins Shoja, Logan and Erica.

We left there at 4 o'clock and drove out to Santa Clarita where Brodie and his team had their second diving meet of the season. Brodie dove well and we left the pool at 7 o'clock and found a nearby shopping center where we had a late dinner before the hour long drive home. Whew!

Training Hike

Today Marion and I took a training hike for our upcoming 6 day backpacking trip to Yosemite's high sierra camps. We persuaded our good friends, Lysa and Mark to come along, and bring along their daughter Natasha. If Brodie and Nik didn't have a friend hiking with them, they would drag every step of the way and make sure we were miserable right beside them. With Natasha along, it was a whole different experience for them.

We met at the trailhead for the La Jolla Canyon trails in Point Mugu at 10am. Marion and I were carrying our full packs, loaded to about 20lbs, maybe more with the extra water we carried. On our vacation we expect to carry about 25lbs, but we didn't want to over-do it the first time out.

It was very dry on the hike. The seasonal stream seems to be beyond its season. The little waterfall one mile in on the trail was absolutely dry, as was the duck pond further back on the trail. The meadow in La Jolla Canyon that we hiked through was 5 feet high with tinder-dry grass that had fat seed pods blowing at the top of their stalks.

We covered about 8 or 9 miles in a little less than 4 1/2 hours. Not too bad considering the size of our group and the ages of its members. Marion and I both finished the hike feeling pretty good and were pleased that carrying the packs caused no problems for us. The weight was properly carried on our hips and no weight or strain transferred to our necks and shoulders. Our feet are a little tired, but whose wouldn't be after a day of hiking? A good day, over all.

Nik's Trophy Swim

While Brodie and I were at his TaeKwonDo tournament, Marion and Nik travelled to Antioch so that Nik could earn his swim trophy. In order to earn your trophy you must jump off the diving board and swim the entire 75 foot length of the pool without touching the bottom, and you can only earn your trophy at one of Clark and Ingrid's swim shows. June 28th was the only swim show they would have during summer, so this was Nik's one and only chance.



The show starts with the parade of athletes, about 75 swim students ranging in age from infant to 13 years old. After the National Anthem and the release of the balloons, Clark and Ingrid have the students at each level demonstrate the skills that they have been learning. Nik was one of 15 students who had just reached the level where they can swim using side-breathing the length of the pool. Nik's dive off the board wasn't graceful, but he swam steadily across the whole pool until he swam into the baby pool at the opposite end to earn his trophy.

After the show all the students enjoyed chocolate sundaes and giant chocolate-chip cookies, along with lemonade to drink. When everyone was gone, Nik got to spend some fun time in the water with his Omi and Opa. He had a great time visiting his grandparents in Antioch, but it was a happy reunion when we all arrived home on Sunday evening from our separate adventures.