Tennis Action at the WTA Finals

The WTA Finals are in town this week and since we recently got Noey started on tennis, I thought it might be fun to bring him bring him down to catch a match or two. I figured watching a match live, by court side, being played by some of the best players in the world might give him a better appreciation of the game and maybe inspire him a little.

And ok, I wanted to watch some matches! It isn't everyday that THE BEST female tennis players in the world stroll into our neck of the woods to play top level sport. I'm not a huge tennis fan but I watched enough television sports with my Dad to know the rules and enjoy most sports. (Just don't ask me about cricket.) So I don't do any sports any more but watching, that's still fun.

After identifying affordable tickets -- the day tickets for the round-robin matches -- I persuaded my dear ol' Dad to join me with the children for an afternoon of tennis action. On the schedule were Maria Sharapova v Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki v Petra Kvitova. I was excited.

It was my first time watching tennis live, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a Friday afternoon but lots of people turned up and there was a good buzz around the stadium. I can only imagine it would be even better in the evening when I assume more people would turn up. The kids were excited too as I tried to give them a run down on the players, the game, and who the various persons standing around were (ie. the linesmen and ball boys!). Noey was also very amused by the signs being led up by supporters, in particular the one when words flashing in hot pink, asking "Maria, will you marry me?"

Sharapova serves...

Excited to join in the cheering!

Well, unfortunately (or fortunately, if our objective was to get our monies worth) the game turned out to be an epic 3-setter with a really tight first two sets! We watched Sharapova take the first set 7-5, then reel off most of the points to race to a 5-1 lead. At that point the kids started being rather restless and I told them that it was going to be over soon and we could go outside to play at the Fan Zone. Except that I was so wrong. Radwanska started returning everything and despite there being a few match points, Sharapova just couldn't finish to take the set. Radwanska staged an incredible fight back and unbelievably managed to take the set 7-6 (7-4). It was exciting for me but not so much the kiddos.

When Radwanska started pulling back the points.

Little Miss restless and tired.

Lots of good tennis but I must confess that throughout the entire period the one thought that kept running through my mind was that Women's tennis has the best outfits! I mean, with badminton, table tennis, squash (well, if anyone even plays squash any more) it's mostly shorts and tees, but tennis! Radwanska was wearing a dress with colourful butterflies on it which I couldn't help but keep staring at. It wasn't exactly my taste but I was just fascinated by the fact that they have options like that! As good a reason for me to pick up tennis as any, no?

Agnieszka Radwanska concentrates on the job at hand, unlike me -- I'm staring at her dress!

We left after the second set and didn't stay for the tie-breaker since it was already 2 hours and 20 mins of sitting still and the kids really couldn't take it any more. Naomi fell asleep near the end of the second set, so it was only Noey who had a go at the Fan Zone.

Out like a light! Luckily for me I had my Dad to help with the carrying!

If you're in the area over the weekend, I would recommend that you check out the WTA Fan Zone, which is located next to the Singapore Indoor Stadium, in the area right outside Kallang Wave Mall. It is open to all and both you and the kids can try your hand at a number of activities like trying to clock the fastest service, bouncing on a trampoline while trying to hit balls being served to you by a ball machine at a target, and hitting a tennis ball covered with paint at a wall to create art work. You can also access the social media wall and learn more about the players and their game stats, as well as see computer generated replays of the game. There are also autograph sessions with the stars at certain times.

A different kind of paint ball.

They take a photo for you and e-mail you a free soft copy.

Jump tennis!

That's the closest we get to the trophy!

We had a great time wandering around the Fan Zone, the experience enhanced by the many friendly hosts in the zone, who were lovely and helpful and very happy to talk about tennis. The Fan Zone will be open for the duration of the tournament which ends on Sunday.

Despite all the complaints, when their Papa asked them how the event was after he returned home, both children told him they enjoyed it! Hur hur. Well, since Singapore will be hosting the WTA Finals for the next 4 years, I dare say we'll be back again next year.

World Cup 2014: Germans Always Win

After a month of excitement and too much late-night TV, the World Cup has drawn to an end, with Germany being the worthy winners. Guess I should have bought that Germany shirt huh! But I'm glad the Germans won. They were my 3rd team, after Italy and Spain. I was quite taken by the "new Germany" when Jurgen Klinsmann and his then-assistant Joachim Loew first unleashed Lahm, Schweinsteiger and gang 2006, though glad that they still lost to Italy in the semis. Since then I've sat up whenever Germany played. They were going to be the next big thing, I was sure of it. It didn't happen in 2010 though I was again impressed. There was nothing to stop them this time.

It was honestly one of the better World Cups I've watched in recent years. Highlights of the World Cup for me:

• Colombia! When the tournament started, DD declared that he was supporting Brazil, Argentina and the first team that beat another team 3-0. Two days later, Colombia beat Greece 3-0 and they became the team he backed. (He insisted Netherlands earlier thrashing of Spain 5-1 didn't count because it wasn't 3-0. Also, DD doesn't like the Netherlands, period.) We laughed about it at first then stopped laughing, because they were so good! James Rodriguez was totally the breakout star for me, and his goal against Uruguay was the goal of the tournament. I wanted them to beat Brazil, I did, even if DD didn't!
• Great goalkeepers -- Neuer the sweeper keeper, and I-can-save-anything-you-throw-at-me Ochoa, Navas and Tim Howard. It is rare that folks celebrate a goal NOT being scored, but these keepers did it in style and won the plaudits. Oh, and let's not forget the penalty shootout star Tim Krul!
• Watching Messi light up the stage in the earlier stages. Given that I don't watch La Liga, I've never seen Messi in action. Or at least, I'd never seen him play well, since his previous appearances at the World Cup were really quite disappointing. But this time, I got to see why he's considered the best around.
• Germany beating Brazil 7-1. 'Nuff said.
• Miroslav Klose beating Ronaldo's all-time World Cup goals record with 16 goals. I've never thought much of Klose but he really just keeps scoring! Watch out for Thomas Mueller who looks like he will top Klose's record one day.
• THAT advertisement by the National Council on Problem Gambling that even started making round in other countries. At least they had the good sense not to run it during the final!

(The low points were Suarez's idiotic biting of Chellini and Italy failing to make it out of the group stages.)

The biggest thing about this World Cup however was really being able to share it with my kids. We watched the highlights game in the morning and I would show them some of the highlights on my laptop in the day too. Noey supported Argentina all the way and was so chuffed when his team made it all the way to the finals. He even trotted out to watch the game with me at 3am! (He was really trying to make his usual break for my room in the middle of the night but curled up next to me when he caught me watching telly.) 

He'd be 10 the next time it rolls round. I'm looking forward to that.

"Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win" -- Gary Lineker. Now, as true as ever.

My Young Musketeer at Absolute Fencing

This June holiday, we have been trying to train a little fencer in the family with Noey taking part in the Holiday Young Musketeers programme at Absolute Fencing.

He has always been keen to pick up the art of swordplay, and our family fencing session only fuelled his interest further, so I thought this was a good opportunity for him to really get  a taste of what fencing entails. My husband and I were keen for him to try this out as, if you know my son, you'll know that balance and hand-eye-coordination are not his strong suits. Of the many things he inherited from me, the uncanny ability to fall over his own feet was one of them. When we discussed some of the ways we could help him some time back, fencing was one of the sports that we identified. It seemed a good fit. From what I know of fencing, it:

• Work on overall body coordination
• Trains the reflexes
• Requires one to think quickly on his feet
• Improves fitness and flexibility (from all that lunging!) 
• Is fun! 

Which boy doesn't like swordplay, right? 

So for an hour twice a week this June, Noey has been learning the basics of fencing under the tutelage of Coach Wenying at Absolute Fencing. He couldn't have asked for a better coach. On top of being an extremely competent medal-winning fencer, Coach Wenying is experienced with dealing with young budding fencers, having started and trained many school fencing teams. On top of that, she's a left-hander, just like him.

Noey was surprised during the first lesson to find that he didn't get to touch the foil at all. He certainly had much to learn before he'd get near the weapon! The kids first started out with fitness and footwork drills and were schooled in basic footwork. It was definitely good exercise and Noey learnt a new skill -- skipping.

En-garde!

it was more footwork for Noey before he got to hold the foil. From there the children were taught how to hold it in en-grade position, how to advance, retreat and of course, lunge!

Getting moving during warm-up drills 

En-garde with the dummy

Attack!

Over the next couple of weeks, the kids were taught how to salute each other at the start of a bout, the mechanics of the right of way, simple offensive movements, and how to parry in defence, the latter being more complicated than I realised.

Learning how to parry and attack

After 3 weeks, I could see that Noey was getting the hang of it and getting more confident with his movements. Well, he'd better be because next up would be some real sparring! We'll be heading down for one of the regular kids' training sessions for him to be able to fence with others his own age and size this coming weekend, and I really hope he remembers what he's been learning! I'll be back with an update on how that goes!

Absolute Fencing
18 Boon Lay Way
#01-127
18@TradeHub 21
E-mail: administrator@absolutefencing.com.sg
Web: www.absolutefencing.com.sg
(Click here for further driving directions and information on public transport)

*This is Part 1 of a series of posts on Noey's fencing experience with Absolute Fencing. Noey was invited by Absolute Fencing to participate in their Holiday Musketeers programme for the purposes of this review and all opinions expressed herein are strictly my own.

Crossing Swords at Absolute Fencing

I'm always looking for activities we can do as a family and fencing? That wasn't one I would have thought of.

But when we were invited by Absolute Fencing to a family fencing session, I was pretty excited. Primarily because Noey has been asking about fencing lessons for a while. I had actually previously brought him for a trial assessment at a fencing club not far from our home but was unable to find a suitable time slot. I knew he was going to be thrilled. And the second reason was that I was going to be able to suit up myself and have a go… at my husband. Now THAT was going to be interesting!

We rocked up on a Saturday afternoon and were received by our affable coach for the day, Coach Zhenggang. A national fencer himself and coach at schools and various fencing clinics, he quickly put us at ease while helping us to get changed in preparation for the session. I thought the kids looked especially cute in the fencing breeches! Coach Zhenggang then introduced us to the weapons used in fencing -- the foil, epee and sabre. For this session, the kids used the foil as it was the lightest weapon of the three. The adults got the epee.

Coach Zhenggang showing us the epee. The foil is the weapon lying in the floor.

The children - Noey, together with HR and XY from thekamfamily - getting familiarised with the foil and how to hold it. 

Thereafter, we were all taught some basic fencing movements. How to stand in rest position, en garde, how to advance and retreat. And of course, how to lunge! We had quite a bit of fun practicing these and Coach Zhenggang also rolled over a number of dummies for us to practice on. You have to push hard enough for the tip to bend in order to score, so it wasn't that easy, though we got the hang of it pretty quickly.

En-garde...

Lunge!

My two swordsmen.

There's nothing like giving it a go on real targets to actually hone your skills, so we were suited up to give it a go! The kids on the foil went first. They put on a protective chest plate, then a fencing jacket on top of that, and an electric jacket over the fencing jacket. I thought Noey looked a bit like a marshmallow man after that with all that clothing! The electric jacket was necessary as with foil, you only score when you hit the chest area, ie. the areas covered by the electric jacket, and only with touches with the tip of the foil. Hits with the side of the blade do not count, and neither do touches outside the target area. You also had to run a wire through your sleeve which hooked up on one end to the overhead scoring system and on the other to the weapon. I thought it was rather interesting, and not too different from being in a live computer game!

My little marshmallow man being guided by Coach Wenying.

Noey was very excited to start sparring. A bit too excited I think. When given the signal to fight, he charged! Not always the best strategy, as he was to learn. Calm and steadier HR took his opportunities better and scored all five points to win the bout. With the foil, only a single hit can be scored by either fencer at any one time. When both fencers hit each other at the same time, it didn't count in the kids' bout.

Shaking hands at the end. Still friends!

The husband and I had an epee bout. With the epee there was no electric jacket and every part of the body is a target, though again, you can only score with a hit with the tip of the  touches of the tip of the weapon. In our bout, the first to reach seven points won.

I can tell you it was really a good workout! The husband and I had a good go at each other and after few exchanges, we were both sweating away. All the lunging and hasty back peddling when failing to hit the target was hard work. The epee isn't a terribly heavy weapon, but after a while, I started to feel the weight in my hand and my thigh started to burn from the lunging. It was a close call but I managed to edge out the husband 7-6. Yay!

DD had a round with Mr Kam while I took a well-deserved break after winning our bout.

Our little family of fencers!

It was definitely a fun way to spend an afternoon and I'm now thinking maybe the next time the husband and I have a disagreement, maybe I should invite him to suit up and fight it out, huh!

If you're thinking of trying it out, Absolute Fencing has a couple of interesting courses coming up. For kids there's the Holiday Musketeers Programme where you can learn to fence in one month through 8 carefully structured lessons. Kids should be 5 years and above to participate. I'll be sending Noey for this and we are both looking forward to it!

And for the adults, do consider Epee Jump Start, 10 weekly sessions for an hour on Saturday evenings that promises to teach you the art of swordplay. 

If you'd like to try fencing out before signing up for a course, you are in luck as Absolute Fencing is currently running a promotion for FREE TRIALS. Just click here to find out more and to register for a free trial slot.

Thanks for hosting us, Absolute Fencing!

Absolute Fencing
18 Boon Lay Way
#01-127
18@TradeHub 21
E-mail: administrator@absolutefencing.com.sg
Web: www.absolutefencing.com.sg
(Click here for further driving directions and information on public transport)

Returning to the Shuttle

One of my (unofficial) goals for the year is to improve both DD's and my fitness level. It's unofficial because I, erm, haven't gotten round to writing down any of my goals/resolutions for the year yet. Perhaps being less of a procrastinator should be one of them.

Anyway.

I realised that asking my husband to go jogging on a regular basis just wasn't going to happen. And it was unlikely to happen for me too. Friends who remember how I used to be a competitive long-distance runner who pretty much ran everywhere (I was incapable of walking), please don't judge! That was my past but unfortunately, this is my present. And the present me has not run regularly in years.

I did try to kickstart some running a couple of months back. I found a slot that kind of worked for a while between 8.30am-9am in the morning, right after I dropped Noey off at school and before I had to give DD a ride to the office. I kept it up, running once or twice a week for 3, maybe 4 weeks, then a combination of scheduling issues and laziness killed it. I'm still thinking of re-starting this. Maybe. But my other consideration is that I want to do something together with DD to get him moving as well, and running didn't seem that enticing.

So.

We went to play badminton!

In our usual fashion, it was completely unplanned and on the spur of the moment. One minute we were talking about possibly playing badminton in the evening, the next thing I know, I am booking the only available slot for the badminton courts at a nearby Community Club for the end of the week. We decided to rope in my parents, in part because we have no racquets and no shuttlecocks, but also because my Dad plays badminton regularly and we thought it would be a fun thing to do together.

It turned out really great when my sister and brother-in-law were able to join us, albeit really late. Our impromptu decision ended up being a fun family get-together.

The kids got involved too, though Noey couldn't do much more than stand in first position (with one foot in front of the other) and return the shuttlecock that we tossed, no, carefully aimed directly at his up-turned racquet. Sometimes he still missed so I guess he has his mother's genes. Naomi had her own fun stomping around in her favourite boots and messing about at the net. 

DD and I, we got a really good workout. So much so that our arms were aching the next day! I was totally surprised to find that I wasn't as bad as I remembered. Could it be that years of not playing had improved my badminton skills? Or that my hand-eye co-ordination had actually improved? In the end, I agreed with DD that it was probably beginner's luck.

No matter. We've been so inspired that we booked the courts again for the coming Fri. I'm hoping that this would turn out to be something that we could do regularly as a family. And get fit and have fun at the same time. (Maybe without all the hawker food that we happily tucked into at the nearby food centre after all the exercise!)

Goodbye, London 2012

The London Olympics drew to a close this weekend and I'm sorry to see it end. It has been a fascinating two weeks. 

I wasn't too interested before it began, but as usual, once the action started, the sports fan in me was totally sucked in. 

It was the first Olympics ever for the two kids - Noey was still in utero during the Beijing 2008 games - and I sat down with them every evening to watch the highlights for the day. And as I did so, I was reminded of how this is a tradition that my father started with us.

My father played a huge part in my love for sports. He loved sporting activity - both getting active and watching sports on TV. My father is quite a natural sportsman. While he claims never to have excelled in any sport, he picks up every sport easily and is competent at every sport he tries. He is also quite a tv addict, and I remember hours of sitting with him as he patiently explained the game, tactics and strategy of every sport in such a way that I too would be engaged and absorbed. I learnt about golf, billiards, darts, F1 racing, and of course, football, just by sitting beside him. The Olympics and the World Cup were the highlights of our tv-watching sporting calendar.

With this Olympics, it was a joy to me to see Noey gradually get converted. From complaining that he wanted to watch his kids' programmes when I turned on the television in the evening, he was soon grabbing the remote control from me to prevent me from changing the channel when the Olympics came on screen. "Don't change the channel! I want to watch 'Today in London'. I LOVE the Olympics!" he would tell me. 

He has his favourites. "Usain Bolt!" he would announce delightedly when the Jamaican comes on screen, or when he hears the tv presenter mention his name. The big man's lightning fast runs coupled with his entertaining poses at start and at the end of his races won him one little fan in my household. I have a soft spot for athletics, having run competitively for many years while I was in school, and I joined him in celebrating the achievements of athletes in this, the purest of sports.

While we watch the Olympics for the stars, even at 3.5 years of age, my son gets excited when he sees a Singaporean in the line-up of a race. "Where's the Singaporean?" he'd ask me, straining to see our local representatives in the different sports. We watched Singaporeans in many games where they featured - rowing, women's 100m hurdles, and swimming, to name a few. Each time our representative didn't do so well, he would ask me why they didn't win. I used the opportunity to give him a lesson about how participating in the Olympics is an achievement in itself, and that it was as important that these athletes gave their best.

And then there was table tennis. I missed catching Feng Tianwei's bronze medal match in the women's singles, but Noey and I managed to watch the women's team bronze medal match against South Korea together. The 3-0 scoreline did not tell the whole story. The matches were hard fought and exciting. My heart was in my mouth at some points. Noey, on the other hand, kept bouncing around in excitement. "Which one is Singapore, Mummy? Is it that one? Singapore is very good!"

To my little boy, who knows nothing about the politics behind naturalised athletes nor questions whether any player is a "true Singaporean" or not, he only knows and recognises that it is our country being represented. That Singapore won a medal, and it is something to get excited and be proud of.

The issue of imported, naturalised sportsmen continues to be a contentious one, and I am sad that it is the case. Singapore is certainly not the first country to have naturalised athletes, and is certainly not the last. I can understand some (though not all) of the unhappiness with the money being spent on foreign talent. Yes, perhaps some of the money would be better spent helping the needy or supporting local talent. But sports and sporting achievements have their place too. And I believe local athletes who show potential are fairly well looked after here in Singapore.

For a society with immigrant roots, it seems particularly ironic to me that we tear down and treat as outsiders those who come to seek their fortunes and ply their trade here. And if we do not embrace new comers, then why should they do so in return and how can we complain if they don't assimilate?  

It is one of my desires for my children that they would take to sports and enjoy it. Since starting on the Olympics, I have seen Noey start to involve some ball play in his play time instead of only messing around with his usual Lego and cars. He wants to play football, and basketball. "And table tennis!" he added, just today.

I remember DPM Teo speaking after Feng Tianwei's bronze medal win spoke of inspiring the next generation of athletes. Here in my home, I saw that happen.

Sports and Singapore Songs at the Little Olympics

In the midst of the 2012 Olympics in London - and days after Feng Tianwei's historic bronze medal in the table tennis singles - Noey here had a little olympic activity of his own.

As part of his kindy's National Day celebrations, they held a Little Olympics meet for students and family. This is the 3rd year running that they've had this event. What started as the K2 project in 2010 (then inspired by the Youth Olympics that were held in Singapore) has grown into a new school tradition. This is Noey's 2nd time taking part, and compared to last year, he was much more ready to get involved and have fun. 

They started the day singing National Day songs. This, by the way, is one of Noey's favourite activities. Last year, as a 2.5 year old and barely one month after he started school, he totally surprised us with his ability to sing one verse and the chorus of Reach Out For The Stars. This year, he was singing along with gusto to all the songs. It was very cute.

When are we going to start??

"Don't worry Gor-gor! There's going to be plenty of opportunity for singing and flag waving once we get going!"

Can you spot Noey enthusiastically singing?

The event was the Little Olympics, and so after exercising our vocal chords, it was time to exercise our muscles! The kids got to visit sports stalls sited in various classrooms and common areas and try their hand at different sports.

Basketball.
He was SO PLEASED that he managed to get the ball into the net himself, and twice too!

Table Tennis.

Tennis.

Bowling.

Jungle Gym Obstacle Course

In between, we also had time to have some snacks. I closed an eye and the kids enjoyed the free-flow popcorn and cotton candy. (Ok, no cotton candy for Naomi and I tried to pick out the less sugar-coated piece of popcorn for her. I closed one eye, not both!)

Cotton candy dreams

This year, I also signed Noey and his Papa up for the triathlon event. Noey had been absolutely fascinated watching the race last year. In fact, after all the participants were done, he took off on the course on his own, working his way through the stations correctly. So this year, I thought he'd enjoy taking part. It wasn't a real triathlon, of course. It was a child-parent relay and they each had to scooter, then run, then hop through a series of hula hoops before scootering back to the start. I have a very shaky video of the whole thing as I was too excited and kept cheering and didn't look through my camera. DD was a good sport too and put in his best for the event. They didn't win any prizes - the K2 children were much faster - but did get a nice certificate for participation as reward for their efforts.

The boys get a prize!

It was a fun morning of our favourite things - sunshine, sports, snacks and Singapore songs! And it was a nice way to get into the National Day spirit.

Happy birthday Singapore!

Fishing Fun at Harris

Our church conference was held at Harris Resort, Batam this year. It was the first time for the church, heading to Batam, and the first time we were there as well.

The hotel was very very average. Thankfully I have lower expectations for these group holidays! We don't go for the hotel anyway, but to get away, to enjoy fellowship with one another, and to spend some time learning something new from the word of God. We were warned before hand that the food was pretty bad but somehow, by God's grace, the food actually turned out quite good. We all believe that picking the right sister to be in charge of F&B really made the difference, though she was quick to praise the Chef instead.

We had lectures every morning and evening, but had the afternoons free for exploration. One thing the resort had going for it was the large number of activities there were available. On top of the usual swimming pools, tennis courts, squash courts, table tennis table and pool & billiard tables, it also had a bowling alley and an air rifle range and a large site for paint ball, if you were so inclined. There are water activities like canoeing and banana-boating available too, but I didn't pay much attention to these since they were obviously not suitable for my little ones. What I did discover was their Kids' Club, with an air-conditioned kids' activity room containing some swings, a couple of slide sets, a TV screening kids' videos, colouring sheets and materials, and various other toys. Needless to say, we easily found ourselves gravitating that direction during the hot afternoons!

Commander of the Fort, Naomi, directing her troops.

Another thing we were surprised to discover was that the Kids' Club organized activities like games and even cooking classes for young guests, a lot of it for free. My helper noticed that they had fishing on the schedule, and persuaded me to check it out. When I confirmed that it was REAL FISH we would be catching in a pond on the property (as opposed to plastic ones like I originally thought was the case), I decided we should try it.

Noey & Sophia, our anglers for the day, selecting their equipment.

Stoic looks from my little man.

I did wonder how they were going to catch any fish at all when we started. Having been to Kids' Kampong with both kids where I ended up having to catch all the fish while Noey directed me, I was anticipating my call into action again. The good thing here was that there was bait. The staff member leading the group came with a big bag of bread and the fish just went into a frenzy trying to get at it when she threw some pieces in to start. I took that as a good sign. She helped the kids put bread on their hooks and showed them how to cast their lines in. Most of the time, the tiny fish that attacked the bread were too small to be hooked, but just as I was starting to have my doubts, a girl in the group managed to catch a fish! That was when we realized that there were bigger fish deeper in the murky water.

The staff member moved over to help Noey with his line and in a short span of time, helped him pull one up! Noey was beside himself in excitement, and I felt quite sorry for the poor fish who was left dangling at the end of his line for a while.

The first fish he's ever caught on a line! 

Upon seeing Gor-gor's success, Naomi wanted to have a go too. We found her a safe fishing rod with no hook and let her have a prod in the water.

Poke, poke!

Would you believe we caught 3 fish by the end of our 40 min session? I helped Noey and together we hooked another fish, and after he started losing interest I continued to cast his line and managed to catch one more.

 Two of the catch, lying resignedly in the bucket.

It turned out a lot more fun than I expected. I think I would have gone on trying to catch more fish but Noey had had enough. So we returned the equipment and headed back. I figured they'd throw the fish back into the pond once they were done. We couldn't have brought them home anyway.

It was a kiddy activity, but it was definitely one of the more memorable moments for me on this trip.

We'd make an angler of him yet.