Friday afternoon we picked the kids up from school, came home and loaded the van and got on the road to Orlando around 4:30. We went directly to the Kissimmee Civic Center for Clay to weigh in, before heading to the hotel and getting something to eat....we arrived around 7:10 pm and found
the most disorganized mess I have ever experienced - including the gymnastics meets and swim meets we've gone to, and there were some real doozies there! There was a humongous line for weigh ins. Apparently, some people were showing up and saying that they weighed 110 lbs.....then stepping on the scale and they weighed 130! So everything had to be changed - weight classifications, etc. I don't know if this is really what the problem was or not - but we waited in line for almost two hours before Clay could finally be weighed in. We finally left and headed to our hotel around 9-ish. We arrived at the Clarion Resort to face another disappointment. This was NOT a Clarion, nor was it a resort....well, anyway, it wasn't like any Clarion we've ever stayed in before. Basically, it was a MOTEL. Yep, doors to the outside, noisy, small, cramped, dirty. We were supposed to stay two nights, but once we saw what the hotel looked like, we cancelled the second night. Yuck. In the morning when I tried to take a shower, the water TRICKLED out. Gross. So......we went to breakfast and then headed back over to the Civic Center. Even though Clay wasn't supposed to compete until 6:00, he wanted to be there to support his teammates who were competing earlier. We went in hoping for the best but found more disappointments. First, $5.00 to park the car - 1/2 mile away!!! Then, $25.00 for Tim, Paige and I to be allowed into the venue. Then, they wouldn't allow any food or water in. The photo above is what it looked like inside. Small, and the parents were all upstairs so we couldn't see very well, and couldn't really take photos. VERY crowded and VERY noisy. Finally, they were running about 1 1/2 hours behind schedule. Big surprise, huh? So, the highlight of the day was walking to downtown Kissimmee to get lunch. We found a cute little Cuban diner with wonderful food and the owner was a sweetheart! Unfortunately, Clay didn't go with us - he was off with the rest of the team eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that one of the parents brought in. Tim, Paige and I walked around a bit (just to get away from the noise!!) and returned around 3:45. Clay found us and wanted to get a hot dog. Shortly afterwards he was taken to the staging area and then we didn't see him again until......
He marched in with his age group........OK, so remember - Clay is a pretty skinny kid, high metabolism.....I was a bit concerned because it was about 6:30 at this point, and all Clay had had to eat all day was a BIG breakfast around 9:00 am, a peanut butter sandwich and some chips around 1:00, and a hot dog abount 4:00.....He did his form, and it was terrible. No sugar coating it! It was sloppy and loose and he didn't place at all....so now, I am starting to get a bit concerned....Finally, he goes to spar. Hmmmmm......ok, well, the good news is that he got a silver medal (2nd place). The bad news is that the kid who took gold was really good. Clay held his own though, although the judges didn't seem to acknowledge it when HE would score...Clay took a pretty vicious kick right above the knee and fell to the floor. The medic came over, his coach, the ref......I shoved my camera at Tim, and took off. It was probably pretty funny - I was shoving people aside and FLEW down the stairs to the floor level and into the ring. I didn't know I could move that fast!!! Thankfully, Clay is OK - just a bruise and he will be sore for a few days.....
He was taken over to the athlete's table and checked over....they had him sit there and ice it.....This is the first time he has ever had an injury - thank goodness it wasn't anything serious. I think his pride was more injured than his leg!! We headed home around 9:30, FINALLY got something to eat around 10:00...and got home about 12:30 am.....
Friday afternoon we picked the kids up from school, came home and loaded the van and got on the road to Orlando around 4:30. We went directly to the Kissimmee Civic Center for Clay to weigh in, before heading to the hotel and getting something to eat....we arrived around 7:10 pm and found the most disorganized mess I have ever experienced - including the gymnastics meets and swim meets we've gone to, and there were some real doozies there! There was a humongous line for weigh ins. Apparently, some people were showing up and saying that they weighed 110 lbs.....then stepping on the scale and they weighed 130! So everything had to be changed - weight classifications, etc. I don't know if this is really what the problem was or not - but we waited in line for almost two hours before Clay could finally be weighed in. We finally left and headed to our hotel around 9-ish. We arrived at the Clarion Resort to face another disappointment. This was NOT a Clarion, nor was it a resort....well, anyway, it wasn't like any Clarion we've ever stayed in before. Basically, it was a MOTEL. Yep, doors to the outside, noisy, small, cramped, dirty. We were supposed to stay two nights, but once we saw what the hotel looked like, we cancelled the second night. Yuck. In the morning when I tried to take a shower, the water TRICKLED out. Gross. So......we went to breakfast and then headed back over to the Civic Center. Even though Clay wasn't supposed to compete until 6:00, he wanted to be there to support his teammates who were competing earlier. We went in hoping for the best but found more disappointments. First, $5.00 to park the car - 1/2 mile away!!! Then, $25.00 for Tim, Paige and I to be allowed into the venue. Then, they wouldn't allow any food or water in. The photo above is what it looked like inside. Small, and the parents were all upstairs so we couldn't see very well, and couldn't really take photos. VERY crowded and VERY noisy. Finally, they were running about 1 1/2 hours behind schedule. Big surprise, huh? So, the highlight of the day was walking to downtown Kissimmee to get lunch. We found a cute little Cuban diner with wonderful food and the owner was a sweetheart! Unfortunately, Clay didn't go with us - he was off with the rest of the team eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that one of the parents brought in. Tim, Paige and I walked around a bit (just to get away from the noise!!) and returned around 3:45. Clay found us and wanted to get a hot dog. Shortly afterwards he was taken to the staging area and then we didn't see him again until......
He marched in with his age group........OK, so remember - Clay is a pretty skinny kid, high metabolism.....I was a bit concerned because it was about 6:30 at this point, and all Clay had had to eat all day was a BIG breakfast around 9:00 am, a peanut butter sandwich and some chips around 1:00, and a hot dog abount 4:00.....He did his form, and it was terrible. No sugar coating it! It was sloppy and loose and he didn't place at all....so now, I am starting to get a bit concerned....Finally, he goes to spar. Hmmmmm......ok, well, the good news is that he got a silver medal (2nd place). The bad news is that the kid who took gold was really good. Clay held his own though, although the judges didn't seem to acknowledge it when HE would score...Clay took a pretty vicious kick right above the knee and fell to the floor. The medic came over, his coach, the ref......I shoved my camera at Tim, and took off. It was probably pretty funny - I was shoving people aside and FLEW down the stairs to the floor level and into the ring. I didn't know I could move that fast!!! Thankfully, Clay is OK - just a bruise and he will be sore for a few days.....
He was taken over to the athlete's table and checked over....they had him sit there and ice it.....This is the first time he has ever had an injury - thank goodness it wasn't anything serious. I think his pride was more injured than his leg!! We headed home around 9:30, FINALLY got something to eat around 10:00...and got home about 12:30 am.....
