Another Close Race Involving Garrett

In our most recent poll, we asked which of GWG's recipes is everyone's favorite. And Tasty Summer Sammy won by a single vote over two other delectable options: Shrimp Etoufee and Garlic & Dill Corn on Cob.

Welcome HOME!

There was a bit of a mob scene at Milwaukee's Mitchell Field Monday night when Garrett flew in from Beijing by way of Chicago. (Door to door in 15 hours was pretty sweet.) Dwight Davis, his high school coach, managed to wrangle up a host of swimmers, alums and teachers. Three generations of family rounded out the group. The first hug, however, went to Grandma Gale. Three local TV affiliates covered the event with NBC and CBS having the best stories.

There's nothing like local support.

Low Profile in Beijing

NBC has the Olympics pretty well tied up in America. Over here in China, CCTV has all the rights. So, athletes are not allowed to post about The Games again until three days after closing ceremonies. Meanwhile, train hard, eat right and swim fast!
And, GO USA!!!

You'll Have to Settle for Ex-Pres

Garrett is on a multimedia blackout regarding the games so stories about a really cool day we had will have to wait.

Meanwhile, we saw George H.W. at the Bank of America "Friends and Families Center." He gave the team a nice plug and said Barbara was at home with the grandkids. What the heck, that was kind of fun.

One Great Way to Show Your Support: Eat

Every other week during the summer, our company has a picnic. Today's theme was going to be the Green Bay Packers, but a last-inute switch to a USA theme suddenly seemed appropriate. It also seemed appropriate to prepare GWG's Cottage Cheese Plus. Why not show your support this weekend by preparing one of GWG's favorite recipes? If you do, tell us about it by adding a comment to this post. (We also hope Mark's neighbor doesn't mind how we repurposed his sign.)

Welcome to Beijing: "Have You Eaten Yet?"

A quick stroll around Beijing would have most Americans questioning their ears and stomachs. Rather than saying “How’s it going” or “How you doing," many Chinese typically greet each other by saying “Have you eaten yet?”

The connection between food and community will also be obvious to many of the 17,000 athletes in the Olympic Village, where up to 6,000 meals will be served simultaneously over the course of the games.

Wherever we are in the world, food definitely brings us together. So have you eaten yet?

Keeping Up with the Cube

For in-depth previews of GWG's events in the Water Cube, check out Swimming World Magazine's 2008 Beijing Olympics landing page. You'll also find accurate start times for each of the events. Go USA!

At Last, Something Old

Most of Beijing, and everthing related to the games, is new. We finally saw something old at the Summer Palace.

The games kick off a little later tonight. Tickets to the opening ceremonies are now up to $11,000 each. We'll be watching from the hotel with a family party put on by USA Swimming.

Grizzly Adams Visits Beijing

Here's a funny story about Garrett and his penchant not to shave leading up to big events. And here's a little Seventies trivia for anyone too young to understand the Grizzly Adams reference in the headline. You can compare Garrett to Grizzly by watching his shrimp etouffee cooking video.

These People Are Amazing

A cab driver mistakenly took us to a hotel at the northeast end of Beijing after dinner instead of to ours in the southeast. It was very a long ride. We expected an argument about the fare and got one--the driver would not take any money. I found a bellman to translate and intercede to get our driver to take at least half the fare. (The entire amount was about $10.)

"No. I sorry. I sorry," the driver said. He flat-out refused to take anything.

"This right," the bellman said. "He a good man."

What would it have been like in New York?

There has been much criticism of holding the games here. Garrett is asked about it again and again in interviews. One things seems sure, the crowds of locals ogling the venues today seemed genuinely excited and very happy to see people like us.

Can't Get Close Yet

Most tourists near the venues appears to be Chinese at the moment. Very few Americans, Europeans, Aussies, etc. It's all cordoned off but we wanted to do a dry run to figure out how to get there. Subways are easy but it took 1.5 hours in a non-rush period. We think USA Swimming has a bus for us. If not, a cab is $6 but they say traffic for cars will be a mess. Many American swimmer families are staying at our hotel. It's kind of easy to pick us all out.

As the video clip will show, there is a haze. That's the the Water Cube followed by the Bird's Nest. Olympic volunteers are absolutely everywhere and could not be more friendly or willing to assist.

Garrett's First Event

According to this preview, the USA is one of the favorites in the 4x100 freestyle relay. It all starts soon.

Happy Birthday GWG!

Narita Airport, Tokyo: Just 23 years ago, I was cradling my newborn son in my arms and marveling that this child wasn't exactly like his sister at birth--no hair, placid. Instead I held a hairy beast who squirmed. It's no wonder, I suppose, that we are enroute to watch him swim on a flight made shorter by a 500-page book Hillary gave me to read. (The photo is of a very young Garrett on one of our family's sailing trips.)

One Raspberry Sorbet in Over Two Months: GWG in the MJS

There's a nice GWG story in the August 5 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. It covers everything from his determination to make the team after a seventh-place finish in the 100 four years ago to his admission that he hasn't had dessert in months (except, of course, for that one raspberry sorbet after winning the 50 free). Good reading.

Love That Smoker

A quick email to camersonscookware.com yielded a call from one of their owners. She was delighted with Garrett's salmon jerky recipe and video, which uses their stovetop smoker. And now he's a lead item on their website. Go USA!

Newest GWG Cooking Video

Garrett landed in Beijing about the time his latest cooking video was populating on youtube. Fun stuff. Although salmon jerky may not be on the menu at the Olympic village.

Talk of the Neighborhood

The best unexpected thing about being the parent of an Olympian is the excitement Garrett's journey has brought to others. Old friends, distant relatives, lost business associates--they pop up every day or so. All are thrilled and ask nothing more than to convey their best wishes and congratulations.

The sign waiting in our front yard when we returned from the Olympic Trials is a great example. Our neighbor, Wes, explained it this way.

"What can I say. I saw it (Garrett's 50) on TV and I was feeling patriotic."

Viewing Guide

Last updated 8/6/08

4x100 freestyle relay heats
August 10 at 8:00 a.m. CST
Delayed on NBC

4x100 freestyle relay final
Aug 10 at 10:33 p.m. CST
Live on NBC

100 meter freestyle heats
Aug 12 at 5:30 a.m. CST
Delayed on NBC

100 meter freestyle semifinals
Aug 13 at 9 p.m. CST
Live on NBC

100 meter freestyle final
Aug 13 at 9 46 p.m. CST
Live on NBC

50 meter freestyle heats
Aug 14 at 5:30 a.m. CST
Delayed on NBC

50 meter freestyle semifinals
August 15 9 p.m. CST
Live on NBC

50 meter freestyle final
Aug 15 at 9:36 p.m. CST
Live on NBC

Live feeds of race results (without video) are at Omegatiming.com.