Final arrivals trickled in today. Tyler and BJ by train from St. Petersburg at 6:30am, Skip and Spencer after a night layover in Switzerland roll in late afternoon. Everyone has their bags and appears healthy except for Tyler whose week of partying in Paganello finally catches up with him and lays him low for the day.
For the rest, Red Square was on the agenda. A half hour stroll from our pad with host Toli, the square was massive and the day was beautiful. We couldn’t get in to see Lenin (the tomb is closed for an upcoming holiday) but after Ben declared the weather a ‘throwers wind’ Bj pulled a disc and tried his best to prove him wrong. Two police offers disagreed, though, and we moved on eventually to other parts of the town.
At 7:30 we convened at Kate’s office to meet the translators, hash our some more details of the camp, drink some champagne and head to a nearby house for a barbque. By midnight all of Sockeye were on the verge of turning into pumpkins and headed home to crash and get ready for the big day today.
Initial impressions of Moscow: The city is huge and the buildings and public works are all just a little bigger than you expect them to be. “Fantasy Track Suit” is a viable and fast paced game when walking around (1 point for a matching top and bottom, +1 for matching shoes or shirt, +1 for extra bling). Drivers are psychotic and crossing the street seems to be a contact sport. The onion domes are a wonderful surprise on the skyline, even if you’ve already seen twenty of them. Though we packed for weather to be Seattle on a mean streak, it’s been amazing and this morning, on the cusp of the start of camp, it still looks amazing.