Hi everyone. It has been about 5 hours since I last posted. I have planted flowers, cleaned out the pantry from a friendly little critter that took up residence in the fall. We are pretty sure he is out of the picture now. That took all afternoon. I won't mention how many bags of trash I took out with "outdated" canned goods. So much for the afternoon.
We met Allen (now to be known as Jeremy) at the "Garden" on the campus of Arkansas University on Friday morning. It was a really cold day and overcast. Of course we came from 85 degree weather and I knew it would be cool on the water, I never dreamed it would feel like 40 degrees. Most of Jeremy's team had not come yet. While the canoe was on display in the park, each team had to carry their canoe to the swamp tank to test to see if the canoe would float. Jeremy had to recruit guys from other schools to help carry the boat. It weighs about 125 pounds and is delicate.
Into the tank for the swamp test. I was really surprised by the helpfulness of the other teams that were there and their interest in one another's projects.
When they place the boat in the tub, it must be submerged and then has 5 minutes to float to the top. As you can tell from the look on Jeremy's face, they had a problem. OSU's boat was not the only one that didn't float. For the water races, the teams are allowed to tape in Styrofoam to help keep the boat afloat if it takes on too much water and sinks.
The next part of the competition was a formal presentation in the afternoon, with power point and a verbal presentation. The fellow on the far left is Allen too, so that is why my Allen is Jeremy. The kids were really good to me when I would forget and say "Allen,...." They knew who I really meant. This part of the presentation talked about the "mixes and psc (or something like that that meant the strength of the concrete and the kind of things they used as filler to make the thing float (or not) . Jeremy and the guy, 2nd from the left did the presentation and the girl did the computer part.
The next morning, we all headed out to the lake north of town for the rowing part. It doesn't count as much in the competition but is really the most fun. The sun did come out and it warmed up for the day. It was really a very beautiful day for the water races.
Here are several of the other canoes. 
Allen and Jeremy (in the white hat) are rowing out for their two man sprint. They are visiting with the judges while they wait for the second boat to get in place.
Paddles in the air to start the race: Then it is On your mark, get set, GO!
Tired but proud, Allen and Jeremy Allen have placed 2nd in the two man sprint. (They don't know it yet, but will soon.
Several boats swapped during the races. The one above, made sure his team was safe on shore and then pulled the boat back out and through the finish line. They get points for finishing. The boat below never made it to the starting point.
Lunch was provided by U of A and we shared hot dogs, chips and hamburgers. This was pretty much all the orange we saw that day. There were two men who came by that live in Fayetteville and said they had graduated from OSU, and a softball player was there for a tournament across the parking lot. He came over for a few minutes too. We made friends with some parents from KSU, that was fun.
Ralph with Jeremy Allen and Allen, just before we took off to come home.We stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast that was ALL antiques. My mouth was watering. We also got to go to the Walton Fine Arts Center on Friday night and hear the Irish Chamber orchestra while Jeremy was at a dinner. It was a fun trip and I am so glad that we were able to go and support Jeremy on this project. He didn't have a large team in the club this year, so they were in a rebuilding phase with the club. The club didn't place in the top three or qualify for the nationals but I think Jeremy was pleased with how it all came out. What a wonderful learning opportunity for them as they prepare for engineering careers. Jeremy does have an internship that he will begin in OKC in a few weeks. We are excited for him, but I have to say that we probably now are really empty nester's.
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