Greetings from AWAC 2006

We are all finally here in Radom.  The boys and I had a great train ride from Berlin to Warsaw yesterday.  Got to see a bit of the German and Polish countryside and several small towns along the way.  Radom is about an 85 km drive from Warsaw so we made it here in about an hour and a half, in time to have some down time before the opening ceremonies last night.

The city rolled out the red carpet complete with a military band, rifle corp and a parade of the competitors and their support staff (coaches, families, etc.)  Kind of a small scale olympic experience.  Brats and fried cabbage at the airport for opening dinner (how the Polish people keep as trim as the ones I have seen is beyond me!).  All in all a great experience.

As of now there are 67 competitors from 21 different countries.  Australia and South Africa are here (the long distance awards) as well as just about every country in Europe and of course, the US.  Flyboy drew 17th in order of flight which he is quite pleased with.  The rental Pitts is flying well....the only thing remarkable is the paint scheme.  This one (by European standards one of the prettiest airplanes at the competition) looks like technicolor Christmas.  I can't wait to upload photos.

Today dawned cloudy and rainy with occasional thunderstorms.  Flights have been cancelled today...tomorrow is iffy in the a.m. but will hopefully clear for the afternoon.  The boys and I are actually enjoying a down day after 12 days of hardcore touristing.  We've driven around Radom, been to the Polish equivalent of super WalMart for a few essentials and eaten well.

We are off to do some more exploring.  We'll catch up with you once the flying gets started.

AJ