Here it is, everyone! Part 1 of Sami & Kati's Seafair report

A week before our trip we made t-shirts. We used puff paint, glitter, and red-white-blue ribbon to decorate them. The fronts said Apolo Ohno on the collar and "Sami/Kati *heart*s Apolo," the backs said "Apolo call me *our phone numbers*" Under that we made two lines that said "Apolo's spot" and "Yuki's spot," plus #1 Dad next to Yuki's name!!! Kati also made a poster, it said "Apolo Ohno you ROCK!!!, Sami and Kati *heart* you, and #1 Speed Skater". We had decided on three goals for our trip: to get Apolo and Yuki to sign our shirts, to get Apolo to sign my Apolo Ohno bear's underwear ([it] looks like Apolo, it has a blue bandanna, red shorts, a gold medal, a USA flag, little skates and tightie-whitie underwear) and to get a picture of me, Kati and Apolo sticking our tongues out!! We were skeptical.

We arrived in Seattle on Saturday. We were all Apolo'ed out in our shirts, Apolo necklaces, red-white-blue flip flops, and Apolo buttons that I had bought off E-Bay a long time ago. We stopped over at the West Lake Center, where Apolo Ohno Day was, and decided we would go find Yuki's Diffusion first. At first I thought it was closed because of its darkly tinted windows but as I was leaning against the door looking in the window it pushed open. We walked in looking around and it seemed as if no one was there. Then all of a sudden we heard a "Hello". I was SOOOO surprised when I looked up and saw YUKI leaning over the balcony of his 2nd floor hair cutting area where he was doing a woman's hair!! When I looked up and saw him I said, "YUUUKI" and started laughing!! I couldn't believe he was there and that I was meeting him. Complete shock!! Yuki came down the stairs to greet us and I told him we were huge fans of his son. We then showed him our shirts and asked him if he would please sign them and if we could take some pictures. He seemed somewhat suprised that we wanted him to sign our shirts, it was so cute. Yuki invited us behind the counter to take pictures with the HUGE framed Apolo photograph. We took about three with him, two of us smiling and then one of us making funny faces. Kati and I stuck our tongues out and Yuki just smiled real big and raised his eyebrows! He showed us around the salon and also pointed out the pictures of Apolo, then he went back upstairs to work on the women's hair but he kept talking to us. We talked about a bunch of different stuff, he asked us if we had seen the W Magazine, we sat and flipped though all the magazines he had with Apolo in them. We then went upstairs where Yuki was and asked if we could take some more pictures, we took one of him, the little kid pictures of Apolo on his desk, a huge collage of Apolo pictures, and the Nike Swoosh poster. Yuki then gave us some of his business cards and told us that we could send letters to Apolo or pictures we wanted him to sign to the salon and that eventually Apolo would definitely send them back. My dad then asked Yuki what Apolo was doing and if he knew what hotel he was staying at. Yuki said that Apolo was at the airport and (AHHHH!!) that he believed Apolo was staying at the Washington Athletic Club. We then told Yuki we would see him at the parade and that we would let him get back to his customer and we thanked him a lot. Once we got outside Kati and I flipped out!! We also took pictures in front of the salon. Yuki was so nice, friendly and down to earth. You could really tell how proud he was of Apolo too. We could have sat and talked to Yuki forever.

After leaving Yuki's Diffusion we decided we would go check out the hotel Apolo was staying at. When we found it Kati and I were discouraged because the doors said Members Only. lol, we were also scared to go in but my dad pushed us through the doors. We quietly walked past security to the front desk. The women at the front desk asked if we had a membership card or a referral from another member, my dad then asked if Apolo Ohno was staying at the hotel, she said she couldn't tell us but leaned over the desk laughing and whispered, "Yeah he is, he checked in about an hour ago," she also admitted how hot she thought he was. Kati and I were just standing there giggling!! My dad then told her that his dad had told us Apolo was staying there and he showed her Yuki's business card. That was when Kati and I let it out and excitedly showed her our shirts and where Yuki had signed them!! She told us she really wasn't supposed to do this but that she would try to get us a room in the hotel on the SAME floor as Apolo!! After looking in the computer she told us there was a room. It was small, but on the SAME floor as Apolo!! After handing us our keys we asked her all about Apolo. She gushed to us how gorgeous and clean looking he was. She sounded as excited as we were!!

[After lunch] she told us that Yuki had come and was up with Apolo. Then we tried to figure how we could meet Apolo. First we went up to our floor, the 11th, and thought about knocking on every door, but then we decided that it would also probably be a pretty good way to get kicked out!! Earlier one of the other desk workers had invited us to come down to the lobby and sit on the comfy couches they had so at about 2:30 we decided to take him up on the offer, he had also assured us that the front door was the only door and the only way they would be leaving. We were determined to sit there and wait for Apolo to come down. We talked to just about everyone that passed by and we became friends with every worker in the lobby (lol, even the mean looking ones!!). After sitting there for about an hour we heard the security guard talking to the guy behind the desk. We heard the words APOLO OHNO and A GROUP OF GIRLS OUTSIDE... lol, Kati and I looked at each other and started laughing... but we knew we had to go outside and talk to these other Apolo fans!! Before the trip we had told ourselves we would talk to and be friends with every person we saw who was there for Apolo!! We went over to where we could see the group, and laughing, we went outside to meet them!! I immediately recognized MOLLY... but I asked if they were from the OZ (just to make sure) lol... well they turned around and showed us their shirts that said, "OZners in Seattle" and mentioned the In Apolo's Name project. I told Molly that I recognized her, then I learned that also in the group was Abigail, her sister Elsa, Judie, Janet, and I believe Janet's daughter and a friend. After talking for a while Kati and I felt bad but we went back inside and sat on our couch in the lobby. We kept going outside to talk to them though. LOL, Kati and I took turns going to bathroom because we didn't want to risk missing Apolo... even though we would sit there for like another 3 hours after our bathroom break!! We also went in the gift shop and bought the W Magazine that neither of us had, we used that magazine to show everyone who we were waiting for... plus we used my bunch of pictures that I constantly keep in my purse...lol. We met two guys who were looking for their friend Sam who was at the club so we sat there talking to them for awhile... we told them what we were doing and they cracked up laughing!! After a while Sam came down to the lobby and the two other guys told him about us... then Sam told us that he had been sitting in the men's sauna with Apolo and Yuki about a half-hour earlier!! LOL, we went to the men's floor but we knew we wouldn't be able to get in!! At 5 my dad came down to the lobby but there was no way Kati and I were leaving so we decided we would meet my dad and his friends toward the end of the parade at 4th and Jackson after Apolo came down or we just couldn't sit there any longer. It was about 6:30 when we decided that maybe we would go sit up on ours and Apolo's floor and wait for him... we were bored and just acting dumb so we hopped out of the elevator and were figuring out what to do when Kati put her hands up to her mouth and started turning and yelling, "YUUUUUUKKKIIIII OOOOHHHNNNNOOOO" pretty loud and as if calling for a dog or cat. I was cracking up laughing but telling her to be quieter... she had done it about 5 times when all of a sudden YUKI CAME AROUND THE CORNER. I don't know what Kati was thinking but I was thinking, "HOLY SH!T!!". He must have thought we were completely crazy!! Well Yuki hadn't come down the hall because Kati was calling his name but because he had to run to the parking garage and get something... he said hi to us and jumped in the elevator, so we hopped in with him!! We asked him where he was going and he said he was in a rush and they were late. We also asked where Apolo was and I guess Yuki probably didn't want to tell us because he said he didn't know!! The elevator got to the lobby and we walked with Yuki until we got to the security desk and when Yuki got outdoors he started running!! After about 5 minutes he came back in with a pair shoes and either a cell phone or a camera. He was jogging over to the elevator when Kati said, "You better hurry!", and Yuki said, "I know!!" Kati also yelled, "Tell Apolo we say hi!!" then Yuki turned around and said, "I SURE WILL!!" It was so cute!! A little after that a red Chevy Avalanche pulled up outside and eventually 6 motorcycle police officers to escort Apolo and Yuki. That was when the police officers told Molly, Judie, Abigail and Elsa that they couldn't stand there so the security guard of the WAC let them come inside. Kati and I had set up our poster on a stand outside the elevator and prepared by getting our cameras ready and taking deep breaths. We were all waiting there, even all the workers of the lobby because they wanted to see what Kati and I had waited 4 1/2 hours for, we were getting extremely anxious when we saw an elevator start coming down from the 11th floor. We stared at the elevator expecting it to open up carrying Apolo and Yuki but instead it was empty!! We all sighed and continued to wait. It was 7 and we knew they had to be coming down soon since the parade was at 7:30!! Then we saw another elevator start coming down from the 11th floor. Kati was standing up in front of the elevator but then decided she should probably just sit on the couch and act cool! The elevator reached the lobby and we all stared as it opened up, carrying Apolo and Yuki!! I was in a complete daze but we all kind of mobbed him and Kati and I asked for him to sign our shirts, he said yeah but that he was in a hurry. I turned around for him to sign mine, he put his arm up on my back and was about to start signing it at the top when I said, "Um no wait, down there, see? Your dad signed it!" then I held the bottom of my shirt out for him. Apolo then turned and started signing Kati's. As he was signing hers I grabbed my Apolo bear and started pulling down his red shorts so you could see his little tightie-whitie underwear. Once Apolo signed Kati's shirt I asked Apolo, "Could you please just sign my Apolo bear too?" I'm pretty sure he laughed, but he said sure and that he was in hurry (he said that a lot) so he leaned it on the couch and started signing my bear's underwear!! It was kind of hard for him because it kept bunching up, lol!! So then it was time for pictures. I think Molly, Abigail and Judie got pictures then Apolo and Yuki started walking towards the doors. Well there was no way I was going to let them leave and be left without a picture with Apolo!! Soooo I go, "Apolo wait... pleeease just one more picture... please!!" so he stopped, I think I threw my camera at Judie and Kati and I ran up to Apolo and smiled!! Then Apolo and Yuki went out the door to the Avalanche and we followed taking pictures as they got in and left.

Afterwards Kati and I were flipping out. I told Abigail, Elsa and Molly where I was meeting my dad and invited them to come sit with us down at the end of the parade. They decided it would be a good idea so we set off for our walk to the end of the parade and OMG was it a walk!! It was a pretty long ways but it was fun, we walked in the middle of the street on the parade route with our Apolo sign and shirts. We got many "Yeahs!" and "Woo Hoo Apolo!'s plus one "APOLO SUCKS!"... lol, OMG when I heard that I turned around and said "What did you say?," the guy just sat there and laughed so I said lol, "You suck!" Molly was like "OMG I wouldn't do that!!", I was just laughing!! There were a few other people with Apolo signs so we stopped to talk to them and get pictures, there was even a little girl who wrote really big with chalk "Apolo" and an arrow pointing to her... it was so adorable!! We finally found my dad at 4th and Jackson and we took a break. That was when Molly called Judie to tell her where we were so Judie took a taxi and came to join us. She told us which side of the car Apolo was on which was the opposite side of the street so Kati and I decided to go ask the fire fighters who were across the street if we could stand in their huge driveway and we told them why. They laughed and said it would be fine plus we met the one woman fire fighter working (Susan) and learned she was totally in love with Apolo too! Finally the parade started, we were all waiting for Apolo in his little red Corvette, as he started getting closer Kati and I were jumping up and down with our sign and screaming APOLO. Once the Corvette was next to the fire station one of the fire fighters ran over to the car and asked the driver to stop for a second then he waved for Susan to come to the car but she was a bit embarrassed so Kati grabbed her by the arm and pushed her up to Apolo and she gave him a side hug type thing... it was soooo cute!! Then the Corvette kept going and Kati and I ran ahead of it taking pictures, screaming Apolo and waving our sign!! We get to the end of the parade and waited for Abigail, Judie, Elsa and Molly to get there too. We were thinking the Corvette would get to the end of the parade and stop, then we would get some good pictures and maybe a chance to meet him again. But then just as the Corvette is getting to the end it does a flippin U TURN!! We were standing there like what just happened? So we stood there for a while longer hoping that maybe the Corvette would come back. Well it didn't. We walked back up to where my dad was and he told us that the Corvette came back up to the street RIGHT next to where we were sitting and Apolo and Yuki hung around for a little while taking pictures with people and then they got in the red Avalanche and left!! We were kind of bummed but continued watching the parade until about 10:30. My dad offered everyone a ride back to their hotel so we all walked to the car and piled into his Subaru. Kati and I in the trunk!! After we got back to the WAC we asked our security guard guy if he had seen Apolo again, he said that they had arrived after the parade looking pretty tired at about 9:15. We also told him and all our other WAC lobby worker friends how the parade went. Then we went up to our room exhausted and went to bed. We had no idea how the next Apolo day would be!!

To Be Continued...

Here are some of Molly's Seattle-fest pics!

Molly and Apolo

Yuki films his son

Here is Miss Molly's Seafair report

Hey Everyone! Yes, I was in Seattle too! It was SO much fun, more so, it was fun meeting the other fans. (See y'all? I'm not the ONLY crazy one! LOL) Anyways, Abigail pretty much summed out our account that day, so my pics are just from my camera. When I saw Apolo at the hotel, though, he just said, 'Hey Molly!' and I said, 'Hey Apolo, what's up? How are you?' and he said, 'I'm fine'. (I'm thinking YES YOU ARE, FINE!' LOL) He was really in a hurry, but he still stopped and gave us his time. I always admire him for that. He's such a gracious and classy guy. He never made us feel like we were bothering him or he was annoyed in any way. For that, I THANK YOU Apolo. We had a blast at the parade! It's really too bad we didn't get a chance to meet up with Kimo and Jan! Oh well, next time! The next day I got tickets for the game. I had good seats...18 rows behind home plate. I got to see Apolo's interview from about 30 feet away from him! Yuki was videotaping the whole thing and as he was scanning the crowd, he stopped at me and I waved and said 'Hi Yuki!', he smiled and said 'Hi!' back and waved. So I guess I'm on the Ohno Home videos now! LOL Overall, we had an AWESOME time in Seattle!

News from Lucinda, about the Teen Choice Awards this Sunday:

Presenters scheduled to appear include: Apolo Ono (sic), Ashanti, Britney Spears, Jack and Kelly Obourne, Justin Timberlake & Chris Kirkpatrick of N*Sync, Mark McGrath, Pamela Anderson, Reece Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tony Hawk, Usher and more to be announced! (Celebrities are subject to change) Click for details

Here are Abigail's wonderful Seafair photos

A lovely group of Seafair OZers

(clockwise from left) Judie, Elsa, Abigail, Molly, Sammi, Kati

An article about Yuki, from Jena

Single dads aren't unique

Dianne sends these lovely photos from Apolo's Kentucky visit

Aloha everyone! Kimo has sent his and Jan's Seafair report

Once Jan got off from work on Saturday, we flew up to Seattle at 1:30 pm, stopped in Oakland and landed at SeaTac airport around 5:00 pm. Picked up the rental, checked in at the Hilton and motored our way to the Parade. We arrived and found a parking space on 5th & Jackson St. which was at the end of the parade. We both decided to find a spot at the end of the parade (at the entrance to the Seattle Seahawk stadium) so that not only would we be able to see Apolo and Yuki but perhaps we would be able to talk to them as well. Of course we brought our huge 45" x 36" sign that read " ALOHA APOLO -REMEMBER WE HAD DINNER WITH YOU!!"

Like the other parade spectators, we sat patiently for OHNOZONE'S favorite son. Well, I guess it was around 8:45 pm when we spotted Apolo & Yuki approaching us. Jan and I immediately held our sign out and called to Apolo and Yuki. They both spotted us and Yuki yelled "Kimo-San"!!! Apolo noticed Jan and I holding up the sign and preceded to snap a picture of us. Whoever snapped that picture of him taking a picture, I'm sure that he was taking a picture of our sign. The background looked very familiar. Oh yea, by the way, we had the lei sent from Hawaii to Yuki's Salon on Friday. For those of you who are part of the Hawaiian Connection, the lei was made up of Pakalana entwined with Mock Orange leaves and Kukui Nuts. When I spoke to Yuki on Saturday morning, he expressed his appreciation and thought the lei was just beautiful....If you guys can only smell that Pakalana flower...what fragrance!!! Of course, the lei was for Apolo but Jan and I think that since Yuki really loved the lei, Apolo, being the caring person that he is for his father, gave it to Yuki to wear.

Once they came to the end of the parade, I decided to give them our gifts (sushi & manju)....you know, being the GRAND MARSHALS of a parade can really work up an appetite! Well, as I was walking to their car, the driver decides to turn around and zoom down the side of 2nd Avenue toward the rest of the oncoming parade. No gifts for the Ohnos.... Where are they going???? Well, Jan and I decided to pack it up and head back to our car on Jackson St. (we just came to see the Ohno's) Well wouldn't you know it...but as soon as we turned the corner onto Jackson St., we spotted the red convertible and another red truck. We scurry up to their position and I asked some bystanders if they know where Apolo is and one of the girls tell me that he is in the red truck. Of course we cannot see them behind the tinted windows but I know they can see both Jan and I. At this point, I reach for the sushi and manju again and the truck begins to roll away. I raise my arms up in a "presentation" gesture bearing our gifts and all of a sudden, the truck comes to a complete stop, the back window is coming down and Apolo appears!!!! I walk towards Apolo, gave him our gifts and I hear Yuki again yell out.. Kimo-San!!! We exchange pleasantries and Jan snapped a picture of Apolo and I shaking hands. He thanked us for coming out and I told him that we will see him at the Teen Choice Awards this Sunday at the Universal Amphitheater. I can only think that Apolo and Yuki told the driver to stop for us...What an AWESOME feeling...There was definitely a lot of LOVE in the air!!!

As we proceeded towards our car, I make an attempt to call our friends who live in Woodenville to "hook up". Well, I inadvertently called Yuki instead and I apologize to him for the error and he tells me to call him later in the evening to discuss a possible "hook up" on Sunday. I tell Yuki that Jan and I were catching a 6:25 am flight back to Los Angeles on Sunday because Jan had to work. He was a bit surprised that we would just come only for the parade. I thanked him and that we would speak again.

Well, Jan left for Las Vegas (World Hair Show) Monday morning and she said that she was going to call Yuki. At the dinner in Chicago, both Jan and Yuki were talking "shop" and I think Jan had mentioned to Yuki that she would search for a salon product that Yuki was looking for. Brace yourself......this part is very disappointing...Well tonight, Jan calls me and mentioned that she spoke to Yuki and that he and Apolo wanted us to be their guest at one of the suites at the Seattle Mariner game on Sunday night. Well you can imagine how bummed I was to say the least. What a generous thought for them to invite us. Maybe next time.

Sorry we were not able to "hook up" with the fellow OHNOZONERS at lunch. I will close for now. Pictures to follow.
I will submit my perspective on the Chicago dinner soon.

Awesome! from April

this one is for all of the girls that commented on "Apolo pitching skills." Some say he looked as if he was waving, dancing, etc. Well, I've turned it into an "Apolo Dance" lol. This .gif image may take a minute to load, but it's WELL worth the wait! I hope my fellow OZer's enjoy!

Click this link: The Apolo Dance

New pic from Judie

Abigail, Judie, Molly

Caption: "Abigail before the pirates, see below for Abigail after the pirates."

Apolo addresses the Bluegrass State Games opening ceremony

Via bgsg.org

More wonderful Seafair pics, from Judie

Apolo and Judie

OZers break bread together, in Seattle

Abigail, Judie, and Molly wearing the tees Abigail made

at the Mariner's game from Maya

Here is Abigail's detailed Seafair report!

Ok ladies here it goes, I got to Seattle on Friday around 2pm, so I went to check into my hotel and afterwards I met with Judie for lunch, actually it was dinner. Anyhow, I made these t-shirts with 'Polo's pic and it said on the front "Ohno!!! Oh Yeah!!" (how original!!), the pic I used was the one taken on AAO Day,,,,yes the one where he has that beautiful smile and his hair is just spectacular!!! And the back,,,,"OZners in Seattle, In Apolo's name project, ask me how to help!!!" ,,, after dinner we walked and went to Niketown, wondering if they had an Apolo poster, and what was our surprise,,,,, NOTHING!!! WTH???? We thought that since he was from Seattle, they would have a poster of him, but the guy stated that they had the poster for a couple of weeks after the olympics and that was it,,,,so we were kind of disappointed. Around 8:30, Judie went to her hotel and my sis and I to ours,,,,,but we kinda like to walk so we did,,,,instead of grabbing a cab, we walked on 4th st. Yep, I was looking for Yuki's salon and we did find it. We were walking on the other side of the street, and yes I did 'member what Janet said about jaywalking,,,,,but did I care at that moment???? Nope,,,,I crossed the street like there was no tomorrow, looked through the window and saw the beautiful pic of 'Polo, yep it's huge and beautiful!!! So we kept walking, went to the Space Needle, watched a wonderful view of the city and that was it for friday. Molly arrived to Seattle on Saturday and we had planned to meet with Janet and other OZners downtown, a couple of blocks down from Yuki's, so we did. I met Janet, Dave (Janet's hubby), her daughter and daughter's friend, Sandra, Mary, and Judie. BTW, probably Janet does not want me to say this, but Dave kept his word on the offer he made a couple of weeks ago, 'member??? That he would pay dinner if we all gathered in Seattle and talked about our golden boy,,,,piece of cake!!! LOL,,, so for that THANK YOU SO MUCH DAVE!!!!! (and Janet =0) ),,,,we really enjoyed that meal (which technically was the only meal we had until late, very late Saturday night). After lunch we kinda wanted to see around, check out 4th street again and see if we could grab a spot for the parade. Janet, Sandra and Judie had tickets for the bleachers, but we didn't. Judie, Molly and myself were wearing our tee-shirts and lots of people would compliment on our good taste for the golden boy! We were at the Westlake Park waiting for the other ladies to come, when some of the Seafair crew made a good comment on our tees and suggested we should go to his hotel,,,,,WTH????? You know where 'Polo is staying at???? And he said yep,,,,he's at the WAC (Washington Athletic Club),,,so guess what we did?? We went to the hotel and waited for four hrs.,,,,yep,,,,,that's how our afternoon went by. At the hotel we met two more fans that luckily were staying at the WAC and they knew 'Polo was there!!!! Sami and Katie have a great encounter, which you will hear later on,,,,, Molly and I tried to get a room too, but they denied it since supposedly in order to reserve a room you have to be a member or a guest. Ok to make the waiting short, it was around 6:30pm when a cop arrived to the hotel and went inside, so we figured he was his escort for the parade, so here we were all getting nervous cuz we knew that he was going to come out any moment. We knew for sure that there was no other doors than the main one. Suddenly something funny happens, we see Yuki coming out of the hotel, actually he was running to the garage, which was across the street from the hotel. Five minutes later there he was running back with 'Polo's shoes!!! "Run daddy run" it was all I could think to scream out!!! He just looked at us and smiled to us. We kept wondering what type of car will take 'Polo to the parade, so every time we would see a limo, or a town car or anything it would look suspicious, we would get even more nervous. But the official car was not a limo or a black cadillac,,,,nope it was a bright red Avalanche which said it was an official Seafair vehicle, and behind the Avalanche,,,,,4 more cops. We could not handle it anymore, so we went inside the lobby. The gentleman from the front desk was very kind, and allowed us to wait for him to come out.*Deep breath* 7pm and no sign of Apolo and/or Yuki. Remember, the parade was schedule to start at 7:30, good thing that Apolo was not the first in the parade. The girls kept going back and forth from one elevator to another, wondering if Apolo was in one of them. And finally our waiting got to its conclusion,,,,,there he was walking out the elevator with his hair totally WET!!! But as always BEAUTIFUL!!! Yuki knew he was late, but Apolo was kind enough to sign and take pics with us. It was so fast that we could not believe it!!!! There was not a lot of conversation, just "We've being waiting for 4 hrs. 'Polo", "We love you", Please just another pic", lol,,,and it worked =). He jumped into the car with Yuki and left for the parade. BTW Yuki had the leis around his neck at the time we saw him at the hotel, whether they were a gift from Jan and Kimo, don't really know. And yes ladies, he had his two rings on this time, I did notice them when he was autographing the girl's stuff. Judie had to run and get her spot at the VIP bleachers, and us,,,,well just hang around until the parade started. Sami's dad had a spot with chairs and blankets, so they invited us to go with them, and we did. We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, in some points we walked on the street since the sidewalks were very crowded,,,, some people will give us two thumbs up,,,,we saw other fans with signs and others that did not know that 'Polo was going to be at the parade, can you believe that!!!!,,,,it was fun though!!!! Finally we reached the end of the parade, which it was the entrance of the SeaHawk Stadium,,,it turned to be a great spot. After an hr. or so,,,,the flow started hitting the end of the parade. Judie, at that time, had seen him and wanted to join us, so she did. After many cars, and chiefs, firefighters, police officers, marines, soldiers, bands, cheerleader, there he was,,,,,our beautiful golden boy with his daddy on a Red Corvette waiving like crazy!!! Apolo looked very happy as well as Yuki!!! We ran for two more blocks and suddenly when we thought we were going to get the best pics ever, cuz it was the end of the parade, the car made a complete "U" turn and left the parade. We were in total shock!!!! The driver cheated and took our golden boy away!!!! There was no more we could do,,,,just to keep watching the parade. It was a fun parade, we cheered, scream, danced, sang, etc, etc, etc. Around 11pm we headed back to our hotels and that was the end of Saturday. We did not see Jan or Kimo, but we know for sure that they were there, and I really hope they got to see them again. That's it ladies, it was short, but totally worth it!!! Again thanks to all the Seattleites for their warm spirit,,,,,,Janet, Sandra, Sami and Katie and any other fans that I did not mention,,, thanks for your hospitality. Seattle is a great town, and you are very lucky that Apolo is from there!!! Can't wait for the next event, so ladies if you can go to SLC, don't miss it,,,,,it will be totally worth it and with no doubt I will see you there!!!!

What's with the palm? lol

Via Associated Press

Jena sends these two from the Mariners games

Via Seattle Times

Via Seattle Post-Intelligencer

This Seafair series is courtesy of Sandra

Here's a tantalizing tidbit:

From Publisher's Weekly, 5/20/02
Olympic gold and silver medalist Apolo Anton Ohno made an appearance at the [Simon & Schuster] booth on Sunday; he has a three-book deal with the publisher, one of which is his autobiography, due out in October with a planned 50,000-copy first printing.

And this:

The aforementioned Apolo Ohno will publish a kids' book with S&S. Winter Olympics enthusiasts like ourselves might have been hoping for the title to be "That's Short-Track (Accompanied by a Gen Y shrug") but alas, it will be called All About Apolo.

Janet sends these pics from last night's Seafair parade!

Hey, I have that bracelet! ;)

from Joanna