Month: April 2010

Olympic Gold, Silver, and Bronze medalist Chad Hedrick

According to this Proctor and Gamble press release , Rentonites have a great opportunity to meet with and even skate with a US Olympic Speed skater this afternoon.

Chad Hedrick will be in town much of the day. Here is his public schedule:

10 a.m. – 11 a.m. – Third Street Safeway; 200 S. 3rd Street, Renton, Washington (with WARM 106.9)

12 p.m. – 1 p.m. – Hyland East Safeway; 4300 N.E. 4th Street; Renton, Washington (with Movin’ 92.5)

Area residents will also be able to meet and skate with Chad, for free, from 2-4 p.m. that afternoon at The Castle Ice Arena in Renton, Washington. WARM 106.9 will be joining Chad again to entertain skaters by playing today’s hits and providing great giveaway items.

(View full-size on MSNBC site here )

I’ve always been an Apple fan, so I found this cartoon amusing. It’s always fun to see what Steve Jobs will dream up next.

I also know many young men and women who work for Apple retail outlets, where they have a lot of fun and receive medical and retirement benefits if they work more than about 35 hours per week.

I’m posting one last group of photos from our trip to Japan (which ended 12 day ago). This group of photos features a suspended monorail, which whisks commuters and tourists around Chiba Japan in suspended coaches four stories above city streets.

All the pictures below that look like aerial shots are taken from this monorail. For those familiar with Disneyland, this monorail reminded me of the Peter Pan ride.

We also met up with a very good friend of our family, a former exchange student whose older sister was also an exchange student…our family’s first exchange student in 2001. Both sisters made it to Seattle again for our daughter Katie’s wedding four years ago. If you are in the right situation, I strongly recommend you consider hosting an exchange student sometime in your life. You can learn so much, and the friendships you gain are life-long. I still keep in touch with a friend in Sweden who lived with my birth family for a year when I was a kid.

View through front window of suspended monorail (the drivers hand can be seen on the left)

Typical aerial view of the city from the suspended monorail

 

The Olympian ran a nice story today about visiting Renton. Herons, Coulon Park, Uwajimaya, Jet City Espresso, the Landing, Boeing jets, and many other notable attractions and features are mentioned. Click here to read the article.

Iliana and Eric Sach, co-owners of the Balanced Athlete; they had just completed the 12K run at the Landing when I took this picture

They stock lot’s of Keen shoes; my wife says this brand is her favorite for active active days. I’ll need to give them a try.

The Balanced Athlete has opened a new location at the Landing, just in time for today’s block party and 12 K and 5 K runs.

The Balanced Athlete is owned by two athletes who are intimately familiar with the gear they sell; as runners themselves, they know proper gear. The store offers free treadmill and video foot and shoe analysis, and training advice. They can show you how to decrease injuries and run with less effort.

They will also offer group runs, to help make your training fun and motivating. Their group runs are Tuesday and Thursday at 6PM, from 2-6 miles, and Sunday at 8 AM, from 4 – 20 miles.

Be sure to stop in to say hello to Eric, Iliana, and their friendly staff, and welcome them to Renton. Take time to browse the merchandise in their bright and beautiful new store.

My wife Cathy gets her passport stamped at the Regal Cinema Booth, to make her eligible for the prize drawing, at the Seahawks Block Party and 12K Run at the Landing.

It was a PERFECT day for the Seahawks 12 K and 5K runs down at the Landing today, as well as for participants at the Landing’s second annual block party.

Almost TWO-THOUSAND runners participated in the races! Local businesses, like Caffe Felice, had been preparing for days to help cater to the record numbers of customers.

I missed the race, but made it down for the block party. There was an excellent band filling the scene with great music… Van Morrison, Commodores, and other classic rock.

The kids were enjoying chalk art and inflatables, and their parents found art exhibits, items for sale, and many other booths.

And being a Seahawks co-sponsored event, the Sea-Gals were signing photos for visitors.

The block party had grown considerably from the year before, and will no-doubt continue to build in future years.

Thanks to all who helped make this a success.

Here are some more photos:

Kelly, co-owner of Caffe Felice, reports they enjoyed a record-breaking morning as runners filled their large coffee house

 

My youngest and oldest children, Susie and Katie, pose with Susie’s birthday cake. Our girls are like the “bookends” on our brood, with three boys in between them. This year Susie reached half of Katie’s age.

The strawberry birthday cake reminded me of the one that the Mayor of Nishiwaki suprised Susie with two years ago, when Susie celebrated her birthday with our sister city in Japan.

Click here for that photo