July 4th - Wimbledon

this year, july 4th started a little earlier than normal.  for starters, carson was only 5 days old and on top of that, it was the last day to queue for wimbledon tickets.  after getting the clearance from a-k, i decided to go get tickets.  mimi really wanted to come too, but felt bad leaving a-k home alone, so she made the resolution not to go. 

so, at 4:45 i got up, hailed a cab around 5:00 and was at the wimbledon grounds by 5:30.  it took me a little while to find the queue (i'm not the brightest) but by 5:45 i was in line and number 1083...there was a chance for the show courts.  ak called just before 6 saying her mum was coming and asked why i'd left without her...ooops (see "she made the resolution not to go" above).  nonetheless, i asked the queue lady if i could have another ticket (or put it on hold) and she said she could hold it for no more than 30 minutes...lucky us!  ak sent her mum out and lo and behold, at 6:29 arrived at the queue.  we were #1083 and 1084. 

wouldn't be england without a brolly



i may look like i just woke up....because i did...hopefully i'll get a bit more tan this summer!


after waiting 2 hours in the wet weather, being filmed as part of a newscaster's story of the queue (and on the 7pm evening news), and a few calls home to make sure ak was up to feed carson, they started handing out wristbands and the line started moving!  it was the men's quarterfinals so we could see federer (v. doesn't matter...not going to win) and murray (v. ferrer) or djokovac (v. mayer) and tsonga (v. kohlschreiber) play against lesser opponents.  around 10am, we say people come by saying "who wants to see the djok!".  i felt like donkey in shrek jumping up and down saying "oh pick me pick me"...and they did! 

the newscaster doing his thing. 

about to get our wristbands!  the excitment builds

off we were to see the world #1 and #5 play.  we got to the turnstalls and got our tickets...row c!  boomshakalaka.  since it was only 11 and play didn't start until 1, we headed over to the hsbc premier tent (because i have "potential") for some free coffee, snacks, and fruit.

i love the british enthusiasm for big events.  it really is unrivalled.  the olympics are going to be great. 

 

at the hsbc 'tent' getting pastries and a cappuccino...delish

just before one, we headed back into the grounds, watched a few small courts and then took our seats 3 rows up from the court.  not bad for day of tickets.  what an experience.   mrs. e and i took photos on photos just in awe of how close we were.

row c...tough life

mama e in front of centre court...almost as good as court 1

we'll get some of you later!

court 1 row c...bring it on!

the players entry...the djok!

rain delay efficiency

focus

i just liked this photo...got it by luck.

the djok

proper wimbledon usher.

ball boy standing at attention while the ball girl replaces

i thought this was a funny photo with the two young ladies stepping out with two grandmas steppin out...the circle of life.

this guy was my favourite line judge.  i think the reason is obvious, but it was also because when the ball was out, he would yell "ooooooooooooooouuuuttt"

 after djokovac dispatched mayer, we got to watch tsonga take on kohlschreibber.  it was france v germany

alle jo!  he was the heavy crowd favourite

after every point the ball girls/boys would run out with the towel.  i tried to get a pic of the towel pulled out saying wimbledon, but i'm not that good of a photographer. 

it was "crunch" time for kohlschreiber.  hehe.

the ball boys and girls were also very impressive, always on point and quick with the delivery.  it was really neat to see the line judges and how intense they focused on the calls.  about 95% of the time they were right when the players challenged...that's just impressive given how fast the ball moves. 

jo diving to get a point

kohlschreiber trying to replicate jo's dive...with little success

alle jo!  on to the match vs murray in the semi's

women's doubles after the tsonga match...they were loud and grunty, so we left

it was a lovely day (a few rain delays) and a very very memorable 4th of july.  we missed out on our free strawberries and cream from hsbc, but we stopped by sainsbury on the way home and picked up the fixings for burgers, and our own homemade strawberries and cream. 

getting off at the west brom tube, we were so thankful that ak let the two of us enjoy a wonderful day.  when we got home, ak was resting, so we "grilled" the burgers on our stove and found out she had an awesome day with carson.  what a blessing!

even though there were no fireworks to celebrate american independence, it was a brilliant 4th of july for the besancon/evensen clan.