It was once again time for Andrew's end-of-season wrestling tournament. Andrew had worked hard in practice and at home doing push ups (he can do almost 40 in a row now). He was hoping for a repeat of last year's gold medal. As usual, the tournament was emotionally charged, with parents shouting their support, moms with their hands against their faces, wrestlers with tears because the matches didn't go their way, wrestlers experiencing the joys of getting their arms raised in victory. Wrestling moms don't need to know the difference between an arm bar and an ankle pick to shout instructions. They shout anyway. It is kind of awkward to yell for your kid to win while the other kid's parents are right there yelling for theirs. It is hard to say exactly what it is that brings out so much emotion at these things. After all, there wasn't much at stake except the self esteems and developing self confidences of young boys (actually, these might be the greatest stakes). I think Heavenly Father might experience similar emotions when he watches us struggle through life sometimes. Anyway, Andrew wrestled very well in a competitive weight bracket and came away with 2nd place. This was a really good accomplishment, but not getting the gold was a huge disappointment for Andrew. There were tears. At one point Andrew almost had the kid on his back. That would have been a Gold medal for Andrew. When Andrew gets them turned, it takes too much out of his opponents to get back into the match if they escape the pin. I made the decision in the 2nd period for Andrew to choose "both up" or neutral. I should have had him choose top position and he likely would have turned the kid. We found out after the match that the kid is in 4th grade (Andrew is only in 2nd). That was some consolation. The kid also looked bigger than any of the other wrestlers in the bracket. Jennie wanted me to have the kid step on a scale, but we decided not to do something like that. This was a good wrestling season for Andrew. He has developed incredible balance for as young as he is and he's starting to use some of the advanced techniques that he is being taught. On the way home, Andrew asked if we could do some push ups when we got home. He has the heart of a champion!
Bronze, Silver, Gold:
Nacho, Silver, Grandma Debbie
Our Family plus Maylee:
Silver, Bronze (Andrew's friend Logan):
Silver & Gold:
Gold Medal match:
Grab his head and the Gold is yours, Andrew!
Working for a cradle:
Head & Arm throw:
Crossface!
Half!
Former & future state medalists:
This was the first stop on our tour. It was some sort of weird but cool theater. The women up top are said to be weeping for the lack of arts or something like that.
Another photo of the same thing plus someone's head.
This is the Golden Gate Bridge. We were told that the weather is rarely clear enough to get photos like this, so we lucked out. On the way back the bridge was mostly obscured by fog.
Without too many native weeds, the landscape is very handsome. Here is another of the same basic shot:
Haight & Ashbury. Psychedelic colors. So, what? Most cities have their drug problems. San Francisco's drug culture is nothing to be proud of. There are still hippie people walking around Haight dressed weird and acting mentally ill.
A tugboat towing a freighter under the Golden Gate Bridge (photo taken from the bus):
A 5,000 piece jig-saw puzzle or just another one of our photos:
With the horrible economic problems, the bridge really is for sale. Just kidding.
No LDS churches were seen while touring the city. This Russian Orthodox church was interesting:
Oceanside from Twin Peaks:
Bayside from Twin Peaks. The view is 360 degrees, weather permitting
Sea lions are dogs of the sea. There were a lot of large jelly fish. There were people swimming in the cold, jelly fish infested waters. They must have been navy seals.
This is not the bird man of Alcatraz, but probably just as crazy
This sea lion that came up to us looking for a hand-out. It had a damaged left eye, but no shark scars.
Jen, sailboat, and Alcatraz
At the museum near Fisherman's Wharf we found an article about extreme brutality that happened on ships in the 1800's. A warrant for arrest was issued for a F. Ryan and J.W. Robbins for some of the brutality. This is not kind of geneology that most people hope to find (the photo is poor because it was taken through thick museum glass).
The Rainforest Cafe: a cool place to eat.
A lovely resort island (Alcatraz: island of the sea birds), which housed the worst of the worst. It is indeed possible to swim the 1.5 miles from Alcatraz to the mainland. Note: the bridge is behind the island in the photo, but the fog had rolled in and obscured it.
This was cell block "D" for isolation.
A spacious exercise yard, complete with a view and hopscotch:
A healthy breakfast was a must for Alcatraz prisoners:
This is Jennie looking thrilled to be visiting the Muir Woods, the only remaining coastal redwood forest on the planet. It was only about 8 miles after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, leaving San Francisco.
These pictures don't show how incredible these trees are. One tree that had fallen was cross sectioned and a time line was drawn on its annual rings. The thing was over 1,100 years old, but there were trees that were twice it's diameter.
Even the clover was huge in this forest. It was about the size of your hand. The words "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum" came to mind and I almost expected to see footprints in the 20 foot range and maybe a table the size of a house.
