Ok, we have been up for 24 hours, but it was a unique experience and one that will, most likely, transcend the fatigue. After getting a little rest, we headed to Grouse Mountain last night for a late dinner reservation at the Observatory Restaurant at the Peak Chalet. This is the home, up until this early morning, of the Today Show on NBC. In our previous Olympic travels, we have been a part of the Today show in Athens and Beijing. While in Athens, we knew someone (Richie) who was a sound technician working for the show. We made contact with him and he got us onto the set, introduced us to Matt Lauer and Katie Couric, and, basically, gave us a chance to meet many Olympians. We also were introduced to Howie who worked in the control room. When we went to Beijing, we tried to connect with Richie and found that he had contracted cancer and did not make the the trip. We did hang with Howie and had some great experiences. Just out of the blue today, I ran into Howie in downtown Vancouver. He did not remember me, but was clear about interaction with people in Athens and Beijing. Much to the dissappointment of the two women that I am traveling with, Howie told me that Matt Lauer had just left this morning for New York. (Chris was so dissappointed). One thing you have to remember about a live show that goes on at 7:00 a.m. in the EST, it is live in PST at 4:00 a.m. So, we stayed up all night. It started snowing outside of the studio some time after 12:00. By the time we went out around 3:00 a.m., it was snowing pretty heavy. We were not sure where they would originate the show and who would be the guests. As it turned out, they started outside and, since this was their last show, they had a strong group of USA medals winners show up. We positioned ourselves to be on the camera at the start of the show and to meet and greet many of the athletes. These included many members of the Women's Hockey Team that had taken the silver medal that day. What a day. I went to bed and am now writing this while watching the Women's gold medal match in Curling at 5:30 p.m.

Pictures are of on the Today Show set and the men's aerialist Gold medalist.

Rick











































































































m. PST.nti the show was ready.