China Bound

Destination: Changchun, China. Why Changchun, you ask? One of the really good guys in the world of basketball, (former NBA coach, executive and WNBA coach) Tom Newell is coaching the Jilin Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. The Chinese version of the NBA. Tom left the US in September to take the coaching reigns and invited me to join him. This isn't the first time we've done this. Twenty one months ago, Tom was sent by FIBA (the Federal International Basketball Association) to St Vincent and the Grenadines, to run a clinic to teach coaches how to coach youth basketball. We were chatting one day and Tom says, "Hey you've coached youth basketball, why don't y0u come down and help me run some clinics". Huh, a week in the Caribbean, hanging out on basketball courts..... there are worse things in life. It took me about a microsecond to say, "sure". As Rick said to Louie at the end of Casablanca, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." But I digress.......

Since he arrived in Changchun, to coach the Tigers, Tom has posted regularly on a blog, linked here: http://familysportslifetoday.com/blogs/tigers/default.aspx It's been fascinating to read over the fall and winter. Once again he asked me to come visit. As usual he didn't have to ask twice. I'll be there for two Tigers home games.

My travel itinerary is Seattle to Vancouver BC to Beijing to Changchun. Changchun is located just over the North Korean border in the NE section of China. I left Seattle this morning on a Horizon flight to Vancouver. Right now I'm sitting in the Milestones Grill and Bar at Vancouver International Airport blogging, surfing the net and killing the two hour layover. Great flight out of Seattle on Horizon on one of those twin turbo props. Photo above left. I love flying those planes, you just get a great view of everything on the way. Seattle was socked in clouds, but Alki point in West Seattle was visible with a Bremerton Ferry heading into the city, you can see the ferry in the lower left of the photo. The Vancouver Airport has free wireless internet, like Phoenix and Charlotte. Two of the other airports I pass through frequently. Amazingly, Seattle, with it's huge computer based industries doesn't have the free internet in the airport. Boggles the mind. Then again, maybe not.....

Helen, the bartender in Vancouver crawled under an ice bin and hooked up me extension cord so I could have power for two hours and save my laptop batteries for the flight. She was really bored. Did I mention I got a new digital camera? So this blog will have lots of photos. If I can figure it out, I might even have a few movies. Next entry should be from Beijing.