Leaving Okinawa

In another well-executed exercise by our military friends at Kadena AFB we loaded up our 100+ athletes and staff and made the 3.5 hour flight to Beijing. After having already experiencing the downloading procedure, we reloaded athletes and gear in no time at all (relatively speaking!). As the ambulatory folks climbed the stairs to the aft section of the aircraft, the "wheelies" rolled onto a huge loader that lifted them up to the forward access door. Each athlete was assisted to their seats, as a bunch of us staff took their wheelchairs and passed them out the opposite door outside to another huge loader. We had already loaded all the luggage and gear prior to the athletes arriving at the aircraft, so all we had to do was load their wheelchairs and we were on our way.

Due to a tremendous show of support through volunteer workers, we had all the luggage tagged, transported from lodging and loaded into the aircraft in an hour and a half! That's Dave and Kim on the loader as we're riding it down to load the chairs into the cargo hold.

It was a bitter-sweet departure for the athletes. The training camp was a huge success in terms of Paralympic Games preparation. Everyone's training continued on schedule in a relaxed environment without many outside distractions. The weather held up nicely and allowed them to depart for Beijing fully acclimated to the heat and humidity and with an initial exposure to Asian culture without being totally submerged just yet. And of course, everyone was well fed! The bitter part was that they enjoyed it so much, they wanted to stay! Being the true competitors they are though, they were ready to test all that training on the field of play.

I witnessed one of the most touching displays of respect as we taxied down the runway for take-off. The flight crew told everyone to look out the windows to the right where the flight line staff had formed up and were rendering salutes. My eyes watered a bit as I marveled at how so many of these folks saluting us had just recently returned from, or were departing for, extended deployments in harms way. Yet here they were paying tribute to these Paralympians with the most respectful of military customs. A lot of our athletes are too young or too far removed from military life to fully appreciate all that these military service members did for them, including the departing salute. Having been in the shoes of those standing along the flight line, I was truly moved by the sight and was proud to be a veteran of their ranks.

The arrival in Beijing was smooth and well run. Most of the folks who arrived we bussed to the Olympic Village while a handful of staff, including myself, we transported to a nearby hotel for the duration of our stay here in Beijing. It was a bit of an adjustment to go from a suite complete with a kitchen and living area to a cramped, shared hotel room with Kim as a roommate. It's a good thing that Kim and I get along pretty well, because it's going to be close living quarters for the next 8 days. As we explored our little room, we were half worried, half amused by the amenities provided by the hotel. Along with the standard small vials of shampoo and lotion was a pack of condoms. We opened the "closet" door a stood facing 2 gas masks! Wow, a hotel that provides condoms and gas masks, what more could a traveler want?! We joked with our colleagues staying at the Hilton that they may be living in luxury, but our hotel prepared us for a broad array of situations! As you can see in the picture, we couldn't help but pay the 50 yuan (approx $7) to open the gas mask box and put it on with the robe and slippers also provided! The gas mask amounted to safety goggles and a plastic cup with cloth filters that fit over your mouth. Not sure what it would actually protect you from, but a great souvenir nonetheless!

Our first full day in Beijing was pretty busy and I'll try to fill you in as soon as possible. Thanks for checking in!