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.

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.

One Great Way to Show Your Support: Eat

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

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.