Long before Wyatt Allen had even made the Olympic rowing team, his father was already plotting a possible trip to Greece.

“My wife’s a planner,” said Ray Allen. “We’re frequent enough world travelers that we knew if you didn’t reserve something for Greece, things were going to get booked up quickly.”

So Allen and his wife Irena Makarushka, Wyatt’s stepmother, began making plans in March. Wyatt, a Portland native, wasn’t named to the U.S. rowing team slated for Athens until July.

Katherine Allen was a little more cautious. As her son inched within reach of a spot on the men’s eight squad, she was tempted to look into travel plans.

“We were always on the edge because he was getting closer and closer and closer,” said Allen, who lives in Austin, Texas. “Every time you get a little bit closer you want to start making plans, but the big thing is you didn’t want to jinx anything. Finally, when he got the actual work, you go on the internet.”

Ray Allen had booked flight plans in March, using frequent flyer miles to limit the expense. Katherine Allen got a flight out of Austin for $1,350.

Then came finding accommodations. That was a more difficult task. They discovered that the Greeks were charging a bundle for every room in the area. The Allens saw that rooms were running at least $500 per night. Anything under that was already booked.

“We started networking with people from Greece and people who knew people from Greece,” said Ray.

Ray found a place to rent for himself and his wife. He was also able to find a rental for Katherine Allen, their son Bree, who lives in Germany, and Wyatt’s girlfriend, Chris Hillson. The cost was only about $100 per night.

“It was harder than we thought, but we got lucky,” said Ray. “We put out an all-points bulletin for an alternative.”

“So there was a frantic six-day period as soon as we found out to make sure we could actually get there,” said Katherine.

The family also received a block of tickets from the United State Olympic Committee at a discount, running them about $270 for the block.

It became quite a costly endeavor but one that they know will be worth it.

“You just do it,” said Katherine. “You don’t even think about it.”

Now they are thoroughly relishing the idea of being parents of an Olympic athlete. People that they meet are ecstatic as well, showing as much excitement about Wyatt, if not more.

Just a few years ago, Wyatt had given up on sports and took up rowing suddenly in college. Ray admits he just laughed when he heard Wyatt was trying something new – again. Now he couldn’t be more excited.

“This has been a big lead up,” he said. “He’s been at this for three years. He’s been training steadily. It’s pretty remarkable when you can admire your child. I admire Wyatt. I’m so impressed with his commitment and his stamina.”