Like That Thing They Do In France - But In Tulsa!

While waiting for our final Travel Approval, we decided to simply focus on having some fun this weekend. Friday night Angie and I went to downtown Tulsa to watch the initial night of bicycle racing in the Tulsa Tough. Those who know me know that bicycling is a passion of mine, and Tulsa initiated the Tulsa Tough series 4 years ago. In that short time it has grown exponentially, is now on the Professional Cycling circuit, and has the second highest payout - $151,000. Oh, and it’s mottos is, “Like That Thing They Do In France – But In Tulsa!” How cool is that!

The Tulsa Tough is a really neat and unique event which brings in 1500 Pro and Amateur racers from around the country and world. It runs for three days, Friday – Sunday, and the racecourse changes each day. The Friday races are in the Blue Dome District, Saturday races are in the Brady District, and the Sunday races are in a course down along the river, which includes a wicked downhill hairpin turn. The Brady and Blue Dome Districts are home to many restaurants, bars, nightclubs and other entertainment venues, and just adjacent to downtown, which gives some awesome day and nighttime views of the art deco buildings. You can see a couple of the huge jumbotrons in the photo backgrounds, one of which was directly below the Blue Dome. It makes for a real festival atmosphere and is loads of fun to attend. Also as part of the event there are touring rides Saturday and Sunday of varying distances, with those able to do both century rides (100 miles) on back-to-back days in under 5 hours each winning a coveted “Deuce” cycling jersey – not an easy feat! My best century time was an 18mph average on the Hotter ‘n Hell 100 in Wichita Falls about 7 years ago. I’ll let ya’ll do the math on that one! Needless to say, I’d fall well short, and no way I’d have the legs to come back and have any sort of decent time on day 2! The weekend also includes a “spandex-free” Townie Ride for those just wanting to do an organized short ride around town, as well as a festival area especially for kids. They also give away 225 free Trek bikes to kids in 4th through 6th grade. However, in order to get a bike they have to go through an extensive safety course and complete the Townie Ride. The event organizers want to build the Tulsa Tough into one of the premier events in the country, with sanctioned Pro racing bringing some of the world’s best racers, as well as growing the touring rides to 10,000 riders.
This year’s racers included Floyd Landis (2006 Tour de France winner (before getting it stripped) and a number of both male and female National Champions and Criterium winners. It was the first time Angie had ever watched any bike racing, and she seemed to really enjoy herself, although she definitely cringed at a couple of the nastier crashes that occurred right in front of us, including one which took out about 20 of the female Cat 1 and Pro’s! I think it also brings back memories of my nasty crash last year as well.

We grabbed some subs from Subway and headed to the festivities. When we got downtown we located a group of friends and riding buddies affectionately known as Team Crude.
They have a school bus that has been converted to a cycling transport vehicle and home base for camping and viewing rides/races. The inside has storage shelves in the back, a couple large couches in the middle, and tables with chairs in the front. The top of the bus has a full platform extending the whole length of the bus, with built in connectors for bikes (can hold 20+), but which also has attachments and add-ons so that it can be covered to provide a shaded hangout. It’s quite the spectacle. Lee Griffin, who takes care of the bus, had communicated with the event organizers and was able to park it right at the start/finish line all three days. As you can see from the pictures, there simply is not a better way to watch the races than from on top of the Crude bus! No shoulders to look over or craning to get a better view. Angie and I hung out here most of the night and it was absolutely loads of fun. It was also great to meet up with a bunch of friends I haven’s seen or ridden with much lately: Pedro and Sherry, Lee, Sylvia, Patty, Tyrone, Cindy Lou, Tom, Stillwater Kevin, and numerous others. Kevin is leaving next week on a cycling trip from Washington State to Maine, the second time he’s done it. Most of the others will be taking part in Oklahoma FreeWheeel, the cross-state bike ride that starts next weekend. This marks the second straight year I won’t be riding on FreeWheel, after completing 6 in a row……too close to adoption departure, and I must keep all my vacation time. I will probably be in a bit of a weird mood all next week……when you love cycling and all your friends are taking part in a particular event, it really eats at you that you’re not there with them! Nevertheless, I wish them strong tailwinds and mild weather the whole week.

Although I didn’t take part in the Tulsa Tough tours this year, I did get a nice 53 miler in yesterday (home-to-Oologah-to-Talala-to-Ramona-to-Vera-to-Collinsville-to-Oologah-to-home) and a 43 miler in today (home-to-WillRogersBirthplace-to-Oologah-to-Vera-to-Collinsville-to-Oologah-to-home). I’m still on my mountain bike (Cannondale F700 hardtail with road slicks), but it takes a whole lot more energy than a road bike, and I think I’m about to get my Guerciotti prepped for some riding. I’ve done a number of century rides on my Cannondale and, let me tell you, it’s one heck of a workout. I did the Tulsa Tough century on it a couple years ago and, with 25 miles left to go (just south of Avant), my legs gave out………that was one of the toughest last 25 miles I’ve ever done, but luckily was on mostly flat terrain. Two years ago a group of us did an awesome ride from Tulsa-to-Bartlesville-to-Dewey-to-Coffeyville where Oklahoma FreeWheel was wrapping up, then hitched a ride back to Tulsa on the Team Crude bus. What an awesome day that was!

For those with an interest in cycling, there’s a wicked cool video on YouTube that Lance Armstrong posted about on Facebook, and which has become an internet sensation and was the most watched video for a number of weeks. It’s a kid-friendly 6 minute bike stunt video of Danny Macaskill shot in and around Edinburgh, Scotland. The things this guy does on his bike are absolutely unbelievable, and it's got a cool soundtrack to boot! Take a look-see by copy and pasting into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o

Will Cameron be at all interested in cycling? We have no idea. We certainly hope so but, if not, no problem. We’ll find his interests and passions and get excited about those. We’re just anxious to get him home. Will this be the week we get Travel Approval?

Great News!

Well…..there seems to have been a misunderstanding. Imagine that! Evidently we are not waiting on an Article 5 letter, but rather have already been waiting for our TA from the CCAA for about a week and a half! That’s awesome news, as the TA (Travel Approval) is the last hurdle we must clear, and puts us 2-3 weeks ahead of where we thought we were. So…..we ought to get our TA sometime in the next 1-2.5 weeks based on current timeframes. Once we get that, 2 dates/times are set: the US Consulate appointment in Guangzhou, and the Civil Affairs appointment in Beijing. Typically, travel occurs 3-4 weeks after getting TA. Here’s the catch – Civil Affairs has put a temporary hold on these appointments due to the swine flu, so nobody with children in Beijing can travel to pick them up right now, including us. However, since we don’t have TA yet, we’re not impacted…….yet. We are hoping, as are many other families, that Civil Affairs begins making appointments again ASAP. We are getting close. Very close. We (Angie and I) think we will be traveling in early July. Come on Civil Affairs……back to business as usual!

Waiting on an Article 5 Letter

An example of an Article 5 letter can be found here: www.state.gov/documents/organization/105116.pdf.

We are now down to the last 2 significant hurdles we must clear before traveling to get Cameron: issuance of our Article 5 letter by the U.S. Consulate, and issuance by the CCAA of our final Travel Approval. We had originally thought we might travel in mid-June. However, the new I-800 immigration process takes 4-6 weeks longer than the previous I-600 process. It has been just under 2 weeks since our file was sent to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China for their review and issuance of an Article 5 letter. Our file actually was sent to a courier in Guangzhou who hand delivers it to the U.S. Consulate, then returns several days later for the letter, which the courier then hand delivers to the CCAA. We were instructed that this step would be fairly quick…..about 2 weeks or so. So…….we had planned to call our case manager last Friday to get an update, but found out that she was on vacation until after Memorial Day. We hope to find out this week that the Article 5 letter has been issued and that we are now finally awaiting the last hurdle, the issuance of our final Travel Approval. If so, Travel Approval has been taking between 2-4 weeks recently. I will post to the blog as soon as we get some additional information. Hopefully we are still looking at an early July travel date.

One thing that we have been following closely is the impact of swine flu on travel in China. We received an email from our case manager last week stating that China had put a temporary hold on Beijing adoptions due to the swine flu. However, there are a number of folks who are still traveling, so we are unsure what to think or how this may impact us…..hopefully not at all. Since we don’t yet have our Travel Approval, this is not pertinent to us yet. But in another few weeks…………

Angie has been experimenting a bit with her new wok. So far she has made a chicken and shrimp stir fry that turned out to be quite good, and a sweet and sour chicken dish that, to use her own words, needs a bit more refinement. She really likes the wok and how easy it is to cook with.

After a record 22 straight days of rain (the previous record was 13 straight days in 1935), the weather for the last week has been awesome. The Corps of Engineers was able to get the lake water level down enough to open the boat ramps and most campgrounds, although the beach is closed. Hmmmmm…..actually the beach is underwater! Nevertheless, it was great to see some boaters, tubers, water skiers and jet skiers cruising around the cove. On Friday night we stopped by the Redbud Bay Marina for some pizza. The marina is about a mile from our house and some entrepreneur just opened a pizza joint on the dock where he specializes in pizza and Italian Ice. Cookies and cream? Not so much. Cherry? Awesome! Made with ice and real cherries. If you’re on the water you can call them via cell phone and they’ll deliver the pizza to your boat at the dock! While waiting for our pizza we wandered around the dock and admired all the nice boats. Redbud Bay has a certified ASA (American Sailing Association) school, so there are loads of sailboats that call the marina home.

I-800 Approval Has Arrived!

We received notice today that our I-800 Provisional Approval had been received by our adoption agency in South Carolina. For some reason, they received their copy today but we still have not gotten ours. However, it makes no difference, as we are overnighting tonight to our case worker the supporting documents she needs to then overnight it tomorrow to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China. So…..one more step in the process is done. Next up…..the US Consulate reviews our documents and issues an Article 5 letter. Hopefully this will not take more than a couple weeks.

Waiting.....

Not much new on the adoption front to report in this post, although I will ‘ramble’ nonetheless. We are currently awaiting receipt of our I-800 Provisional Approval from the US Immigration Service (USCIS). This typically takes about two weeks to process, and we overnighted our application on Tuesday, April 21st, so they received it on the 22nd. Assuming we get it this week, our next step is to wait for an Article 5 Letter. Here is how that process works: After USCIS provisionally approves the I-800 it transfers the case to Consulate Guangzhou through the National Visa Center (NVC). At the same time, we will send a copy of the Provisional Approval along with a DS-230 Visa Application for Cameron to our agency. The agency will then send these items along with a copy of Cameron’s growth and medical reports, original signed LOSC (Letter of Seeking Confirmation), and a passport sized photo of Cameron to Consulate Guangzhou. Upon receipt of all required documents and fees, Consulate Guangzhou provisionally adjudicates the DS-230. Consulate Guangzhou signs the LOSC and issues and signs an Article 5 Letter which gets sent directly to the CCAA. An Article 5 Letter is a document from the Consulate stating that Angie and I are suitable adoptive parents and that Cameron will be able to enter and reside permanently in the United States. This is what the CCAA needs in order to issue Travel Approval.

It still looks like we are on track to travel in mid-June. However, there is just a bit of uncertainty right now as a result of the swine flu scare. We are hopeful that this does not impact us; however, there are some indications that the CCAA is advising against travel for adoption at this time, and may hold processing of TA’s until they get a better feel for the severity and scope of the flu’s impact.

Nevertheless, we continue to prepare for Cameron’s arrival. We have been working on two online older child adoption courses, have completed one, and should complete the other within a week or two. Upon updating our home study with our social worker, we agreed to complete these courses when we decided to adopt an older child, and have found them to be quite beneficial.

Angie’s workplace is planning a ‘baby’ shower for us within the next few weeks. It is so difficult for us to recommend what to get, as we are unsure of Cameron’s clothing size. We are planning to do most of our clothes shopping for him upon our return from China. I cannot say enough about the way Angie’s co-workers have taken an interest in and supported our adoption efforts. As I blogged previously, they even gifted us with a handheld electronic language translator that is likely to be invaluable on our trip and immediate return.

Angie continues to work on the master bedroom/bathroom remodeling project. As you can see, she has been painting the bathroom today. Next comes installation of new light fixtures and window treatments. Her next project is to paint Cameron’s bedroom, and she is hopeful to begin that next week.

Angie has been working with her friend Wendy to begin honing her Asian cooking skills. Wendy is a young lady we were introduced to at church who is a native of China, married an American, and is now a US Citizen. Her parents recently immigrated to the States, and her father had been a chef and owner of a restaurant in Shanghai. They invited us over for lunch a few months ago, and the food her dad cooked was absolutely incredible, but quite different from what you are served in most “Chinese” restaurants in the States. Wendy was quite gracious in readily offering her services to assist Angie in learning how to cook some authentic Chinese dishes. They met at Nam Hai (an Asian supermarket) a couple weeks ago so that Wendy could advise Angie on the sauces they use. As you can see from the picture, you are not likely to find these at most neighborhood grocery stores. We also ordered a wok online this morning (once again, with Wendy’s feedback), and Angie picked up a rice cooker last week. I can’t wait for the cooking to begin!!! Wendy’s dad cooked two dishes in particular that I can’t wait for Angie to master. One was a scrambled egg dish that was unbelievably good, while the other was a green bean dish that seemed simple, yet delicious and unlike any I had tasted before.

It’s been raining buckets around here for the last few days and the lake level is quite high. The area east of us (Claremore and Pryor) had quite a bit of flooding, as some areas got up to 8 inches of rain within a matter of hours. Since our house sits on a bluff overlooking Lake Oologah at a height above the top of the dam, we have no worries, but do sympathize with those not so fortunate. A couple years ago the water level in the lake got so high that the whole parking lot at the dam was underwater for quite some time and the boat ramps weren’t open until mid-July. It was strange to see a nearly empty lake until mid-summer. Hopefully that won’t be the case this year.

Along with the Spring comes lots of yardwork. In our case that means LOTS of yardwork, not due to its size, but rather its makeup. We absolutely love where we live and the wonderful views we enjoy from our house. However, most people have absolutely no idea how much work it is to maintain this yard. Our house sits on a bluff, with dropoffs and uneven ground. My father-in-law actually fell partway off the bluff last year and was extremely lucky to suffer only some large and nasty bruises…..it could have been much worse. The area below the bluff is inaccessible to anything motorized, is very rocky and uneven, and steeply declines toward the edge of the lake. Have I mentioned the ticks and poison ivy? Hopefully the photos give some idea of just how rugged it is. Unfortunately, these areas are out of reach of any mower, and get overgrown extremely fast if not kept in check. Due to the sheer number of rocks interspersed throughout, a weedeater is not very effective for much of it. However, I have discovered (or rather was introduced to by the two brothers who built our deck) an effective herbicide – Crossbow. This stuff is awesome, although it’s a pain in the butt to apply. When mixed with diesel fuel, it kills EVERYTHING! That’s the good news. The bad news is that due to our yard’s terrain, I am currently relegated to a hand held (and hand pumped) sprayer. This is extremely time-consuming and sometimes messy. It can also be mixed with water, but doesn’t seem near as effective. Needless to say, since this has to be applied regularly throughout the Spring and Summer, I don’t enjoy this part of our yardwork one bit!

Angie and I don’t watch much television, but recently came across a show we have become somewhat addicted to. It’s called The Locator, and is on the WE channel on Saturday nights. In a nutshell, it’s about a guy who re-connects lost loved ones. How cool would it be to have this guys job? Is anybody following our blog familiar with this show?

I get a quizzical look every now and then when I write down or tell folks about the name of this blog. For those still unsure of its origins, here goes: The Okie part is easy, as I live in Oklahoma The term ‘Okie’ was made famous (or infamous) by John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath. (As an aside…..Will Rogers, an Okie immigrant to California himself, once remarked jokingly that the Okies arriving in California increased the average intelligence of both states!). As for Ramblins, that comes from my alma mater, Georgia Tech. Tech’s mascot is the ‘Ramblin Reck’, a 1930 Ford Model A Sports Coupe. Tech students and alumni are often referred to as Ramblin Reck’s, as in “I’m a Ramblin Reck from Georgia Tech and a helluva engineer.” So there you have it. And no, there is no “g” on the end of Ramblin!!!