Pan American Championships and USA Team Trials are only two days away!

Emily, Nick, and I are all finally here in Charlotte where the 2008
Olympic Team Trials are being held, as well as the 2008 Pan American
Championships. We arrived to find paddlers who have been here for months
training and getting ready, as well as many long lost friends from my slalom
years of past.

Some Notable people I saw here already.

1. Adrian from Argentina. We hung out together in Nova Friburgo, Brazil in
1989 when I was training for the US Team and became good friends. I was
training with then 3 time world champion, Richard Fox and Miriam Fox.
Adrian drove up from Argentina in his old truck.

2. Jean Michelle Prono- French Coach- doesn’t really like me for my
freestyle exploits or river running, but taught me the closed faced draw in
1993 that he called the "cutting stroke".

3. Jim Jayes- coach for many years in UK is here coaching for the Irish.

4. Cathy Hearn

5. Brazilians, Chileans, costa Ricans, and a ton of Canadians.

6. David Ford has been racing forever and I first raced him in the Spring of
1989, my first year on the USA Team. He is from Canada.

So many more that it is like an interactive history book.