Home!!

Ok so I said I may not post anything more. However, I think I need one last post. First, I must again say that the Brazilian people are great. Not once did I feel afraid or as if I couldn't explore the city of Rio. 

The volunteers at the park were friendly and did their best to help....even when there was a language barrier. 

I would have loved to explore the country more, I'm sure it would be unbelievably beautiful!  I was pretty much done with the city!!!  Way too much traffic, people and congestion. 

Home!  So very blessed to be back...love my country and feel very lucky with all I have. 

Landed in PDX with Eva and Mason waiting to pick us up!  Came home to this at our back door! 

We really love our neighborhood and  neighbors!!

Fall is definitely here. 

Congrats to all the Paralympic athletes and until next time take care and keep moving towards your goals!

Tchau!  

Out and about in Rio.

Today we all went out exploring Rio. Our goal was to see Christ the Redeemer, and possibly other notable spots in Rio. Well, as it turns out we spent a lot of time in the van. Traffic was unbelievable!!  It took us about 2 hours to go 20-25 miles. When we first got to the ticket booth at Copacaba beach area, to buy tickets, they said there was little or no visibility of the statue or Rio. So, plan "b", walk the beach path for a bit deciding what to do.  

Kim, Shane, David, Patti, and Cathy went to lunch. Tracey & I wandered around the city.  

We finally found a juice bar and tried one.  I had acai and banana. While drinking these delicious drinks we spotted an outdoor market to wander through. 

It was very busy and the fruits/veggies were unbelievable. 

Time to head to the van again 😁, to see Christ the Redeemer. 

First view up top.....about 20-30 minutes later. Check the view. 

Again check the view 20-30 minutes later. 

Glad we got to see this, but we were pretty frustrated that traffic and so much sitting in the car.  Tomorrow is our last day here so we may get to explore a bit more......we will see. 😄

Hope everyone is well. 

Tchau!

Final day of tennis. David wins bronze!!

The last day of tennis, David against Lucas Sithole of South Africa.  You could tell he was exhausted after last nights tough doubles match.  He made a unbelievable come back after being down 5-1 in the final set to win the match.  He showed unbelievable heart and determination. 

We are all so impressed with what he has accomplished and feel lucky to be part of his journey here in Rio. 

He has gained many new fans!

And of course his regulars. 😃

Way to go David......USA, USA, USA!!

Tomorrow we go see the site in Rio.  Which by the way has been a great place, nothing like the media's portrayal. 

Final doubles match.....David & Nick take silver in a super tough match.

What a match!!  

David played awesome, it was a tough match against Australia.  Wish the outcome were different. 

However, Nick and David should be very proud of their play.  They certainly fought hard for every point and they gained many new fans. 

They are still the best quad team in tennis & David is the most decorated tennis player in the USA. 😃

Silver.....pretty awesome. All Paralympic medals this year have rattles. It's kind of cool. 

Shane & David! 

Tomorrow last match.....singles for the bronze metal. 

Rough night.

Well if you've been on Facebook, you already know David lost last night to Lapthorn from Britian. It was a rough match. Unfortunately, David didn't play his best. Which made it all the more hard to watch. You wanted to do something to help him get into his groove, but there wasn't anything we could do. He isn't out completely, he will play in the singles Bronze medal match and tonight has the doubles gold medal match. It should be streaming around 4:30 Rio time:

 http://www.teamusa.org/Rio-2016-Paralympic-Games/Paralympic-Live-Stream-Landing/Paralympic-Video/2016/08/14/Wheelchair-Tennis--2016-Paralympic-Games

Hope everyone is well. 

More later. Tchau!  

David and Nick doubles!!!

Today was a pretty long day. Not with the tennis, but that we didn't have a plan for the day. David and Nick had the evening match with Israel. So, we pretty much wasted the day. 😮 

We did get passes to the family area so headed to the park early and enjoyed time with Kim and Shane. Lots of food, beer, water and ice cream. Plus, many many laughs!!!! 

We handed out the fat heads to some of the Brazil fans and they loved it, cheering USA, USA, right along with us. 

David and Nick played really great tonight winning 6-4 6-2. David was AWESOME at the net. Some great volleys and great shots.....on of their best matches.  Or at least one of their best that I've seen!!  

Sporting the head bands just like David!

What a great night!  

Hope everyone is well.  Boa noite, it's late!  

Cycling and another win for David.

First thing this morning we headed to the Olympic park to watch cycling.

This is something I have never seen & was really blown away by these cyclists and fans. We sat with other USA spectators and found out they were supporting a couple of the riders. 

However, they seemed to cheer for most all of the riders......of course they were much louder for the USA riders!  Of course so were we. 

David played in what, we believe, was the hottest part of the day. He played 

Moroishi from Japan winning 6-2 6-3. He did a great job and we all were happy to get out of the heat. 

We, Tracey & I stayed at the park & got in a super long line for a Brazilian burger!  An hour or more later we were eating!  Good thing it was a really good one. It's the best food we've had so far!!  It wasn't really anything different than we'd have in the states, but it was angus beef. 

Ended the day with more cycling and some doubles tennis.

The park at night. 

Panoramic.....not sure how this will come out on the blog page. 

Hope everyone is well. Tchau!!