Wimbledon 2007 - Day 12, July 4th

The day celebrating our nation's birth, and I'm in the country we separated from.  I miss my fireworks, and "blowin' stuff up real good!" almost as much as I miss Colleen.  No, that's not true, I still miss her more.

Woke up early to the sound of sirens again.  Makes me wish I'd gotten a room on the other side of the hotel as my window does face main traffic.  I don't sleep well in hotels anyway.  Well, that's not 100% true.  I don't sleep long periods.  I am prone to very deep sleep when I do but I am easily awakened.

I decided this morning to have breakfast before getting ready instead of after.  Mostly because the continental breakfast isn't very good, but it is distinctly better when I am not feeling crowded.  More Weetabix, which apparently has become my staple.  At least it is low in sugar (none actually) and high in fiber.  Very good for the diet.

I made the call to go in alone this morning.  Mostly because I was bored and ready to go in, but also because I wanted the chance to enjoy some time alone.  Of course that means my own personal soundtrack as my iPod was locked into my ears and blasting away.  I don't hear any road noises and really don't care.  I am definitely in my own little world.  I thought I'd try my tram route.  Mostly because I had scouted it out very early and wanted to see exactly how good or bad an idea it really was.  The walk to the tram stop was about a mile.  Now, I don't want to be critical of ask.com and their walking route maps, but one of the choices they made was somewhat suspect.  There wasn't an appreciable foot path and there was considerable traffic.  I didn't feel in danger, but I wouldn't exactly call it safe either.

I reached the tram stop.  A side note for all you reality TV junkies (well, those that follow or followed the niche that is 'The Real World') that I walked down Lombard Road.  That was where the London cast (sporting Jacinda Barrett as a house mate) stayed during that season (1995.)  I thought it quite funny that I actually remembered that stupid factoid, and I am sure that Colleen would say it was a function of the vat in action.  Once at the tram stop, I pulled a total American move.  I got into the train on the right hand side of the track.  That meant I was now going in the wrong direction away from Wimbledon Station!  I got off on the next stop, but I also passed by the train I should have caught.  That meant I had to sit at the stop for another 13 minutes waiting for the next train.  D'oh!

Got into Wimbledon Station.  It was at that point the folly of this journey became apparent.  There is no train up from Wimbledon station.  I either walk a mile up Wimbledon hill, or I take the District Line train back to Southfields station and walk back almost a mile to the grounds.  I chose to walk up the hill and into the grounds.  A total of 1.2 miles.  That means that I walked 2.2 miles of a 2.9 mile walk from the hotel to the grounds.  And, paid 1 pound for the .7 miles I didn't walk.  Seems that idea is out. :-)  Good exercise though, and it was quite nice being able to walk on my own.

Today is an oddity in my mind.  The Media Centre dining room (our cafeteria) decorates for the American Holiday.  They put up starts, and red, white and blue decor and even have a special cake with white icing, blueberries and strawberries.  For supper, they served chili dogs or fried chicken.  I chose the chili dog, though I suspect it wasn't a sound idea.  It wasn't a bad approximation, but it lacked the substance for good chili, the bun was dried out from sitting under the heating lamp, and the hot dog was about 2/3 the size of the bun.  An 'A' for effort, but a 'C-' for execution.  I ate it with fries, which meant the only healthy part of my supper was the banana I had for dessert.

There was a 2 hour rain delay very early, but overall we got in a solid day of tennis.  That doesn't yet mean we've avoided a Monday final, but we now believe there are chances we won't.  It seemed a foregone conclusion before now that we'd be here on Monday and possibly Tuesday.  They've abbreviated the play for the juniors and invitational doubles, which means the third set is a tie breaker instead of a full set.  Probably not fair to the juniors, but they're pushing hard to not have play on Monday.

Play suspended due to darkness.  I can honestly say I haven't heard sweeter words in some time.  I had tried to call Colleen just before 9, but she wasn't home yet (the 5 hours meant it was still her early afternoon and she was likely running errands keeping the house affairs in order while I'm here.)  So, with play over, I started the walk down the hill toward Wimbledon Station.  We stopped in at a pub, The Alexandra, and had a pint.  Colleen called me since I'd left a message on both her cell phone and the home phone, so I was glad to have the chance to speak to her.  Still, with pubs closing at 11, it was hard to explain that I wanted to finish my beer before they kicked us out.  When I got back, I found out some locals had decided to take some time with some American bashing.  I wasn't all that thrilled to hear it had happened, but I tried to let it fall away.  I did take the time on the way out to give them quite a look, however, since lumping all Americans into a single pot wasn't worthwhile.

Got back to the hotel a bit after midnight.  Took the bus that dropped us off right next to the hotel, so it wasn't too bad.  One more call to Colleen and then off to sleep.

Cheers!