A great weekend ... for me and the girls

Sam and Tika had another NKF tournament this past weekend. They drove down to Richmond for the tournament on Sunday. The competed in weapons, Kata and sparring. Both Sam and Tika won their divisions in Kata bringing home trophies that Sam described as "almost as big as me". Sam also placed second in sparring and Tika placed third in her division in sparring. They both were happy with their Kata performances and only mildly disappointed with some of the refereeing during sparring. Next up for them is a trip to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks for a weekend tournament.

While the girls were in Richmond I was in Victoria, BC. We flew out to Seattle on Friday and then drove to Victoria for the weekend. Found a GREAT hotel called the Magnolia which was near the inner harbor and some great restaurants. I managed to get a nice run in Saturday AM - running around the harbor to Esquimault. Sunday we drove back to Seattle, staying in one of the classic old hotels in downtown Seattle. I have had lots of time to get out and run as well as walk around to see the sites in downtown Seattle (pic on the left is looking out over the water from near Pike's Place) - an afternoon at REI and another at Pike's Place Market where I managed to find some cool stuff for the girls (pic on the right was taking in one of the market buildings). I found a couple of hole-in-the-wall places to eat, getting some great smoked meat and fantastic homemade sausage. Even though it has been a bit cool it has been a great few days. Heading back to DC tomorrow to get ready for the Cherry Blossom race on Sunday.

I will post some pics over the next few days

.... cu