Olympic Adventures: Opening Ceremonies

Wow... what a celebration. I received quite a few texts asking if I was there... I was not. I was down in Weymouth holding down the fort. US Sailing staff and myself sent the 16 athletes and 2 staff members off on a bus at 14:00 heading for London. There were actually 5 buses in all to take all sailors up. Thy made it up to London at 19:30 after hitting massive traffic around Heathrow (still 25 miles outside the city). which brought them to a crawl. There are "Ring Lanes" designated for Olympic specific travel which didn't seem to help. Eventually 16 police officers on motorcycles made contact with the bus caravan and was able to escort them quickly and safely to the village. The team made it just in time to eat, shower and change into their Ralph Lauren gear before needing to congregate with Team USA before heading to the stadium.

For those of us left behind, we had some peace and quiet with the athletes gone. A little down time for 20 hours. The guy who owns the Dive Shop next to Camp Billingham invited us to his Olympic Opening Ceremonies Pig Roast & Viewing. What an absolute kick ass time. We told the staff who received the Ralph Lauren gear they had to wear it. It was a USOC mandate:) (Only one staff member may walk with each team. They want to limit numbers so while credentialed staff receives the clothing, they are not able to walk.) I think this will likely be the most memorable Opening Ceremonies ever. To think 4 years ago I was watching from the JeJu Marathon Training Center in JeJu, South Korea by myself getting things ready for our training camp for the triathletes.