HI!  We're back in the USA after a great trip.  Our last day was packed - Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Hard Rock ( 5 birthdays celebrated) & the musical Billy Elliott.  WOW! 

Yesterday morning, after we loaded the bus, we all refused to get on.  Another Chattooga tradition - we wrote a song about our guide & performed it for him.  Do You Love Us!  (based on our exhibition finale Do You Love Me)  Mark loved it!

We had a couple of good surprises on the trip home.  Danny was upgraded to business class & loved the accomodations & the food.  At the Atlanta airport, Paulette & Arnetha were waiting at the top of the escalator with a Welcome Home Chattooga sign.

All for this trip.  Thanks for coming along with us thru cyber-space.  Now off to unpack & do laundry.  Cindy

HI!  This will be a short, sweet entry.  I had to buy 1 hour of computer time & it's taken me 30 minutes to log on.  I'm standing at the front desk in the lobby so if things go wrong the nice young man who finally got me connected to the internet can fix it.  Plus that, my key doesn't work in the elevator so I'm not sure how to get back to my room anyway.  But - the key word is elevator (or lift as they say here).  We have one!  Made moving in much easier.

Now back to this morning.  We lugged our suitcases down the stairs & out to the bus.  They were MUCH HEAVIER than they were when we checked in.  We had a 2 hour drive through beautiful countryside to Stratford-on-Avon.  We had a walking tour through the city & saw Shakespeare's birthplace, gold painted mimes, and really old black & white buildings.  The buildings that weren't leaning were only about a hundred years old.  We split up for shopping & lunch.  Everybody had adventures!  The best shopping was at the dollar store - called Pound Land.  Many bargains!  We gathered in the park to head for London.  There were lots of street musicians & performers.  A juggler was doing some really great mills behind his back with  Indian clubs, which are bigger than the ones the girls compete with.  I asked him to teach Charlotte how to do them.  She & Ali both tried & finally Ali videotaped him to practice at home.  Back on the bus for a good nap!

We drove through the center of London on the way to our hotel and took a short break at Covent Garden.  What fun!  Musicians, crafts, food & bathrooms.  What more could we ask!  We bought really colorful knee socks & are wearing them tomorrow.  We drank peach tea!!!  Another Chattooga tradition on our travels.  We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express - original, huh?  We said good bye to Colin, our driver for the past 2 days, & hurried inside before he turned our big bus around in the small parking lot.  After we dropped off our luggage, we walked to the O2 building - a giant white dome that looks like a space ship with towers of red, white, & blue lights sticking out the top.  It will be the gymnastics venue in the 2012 Olympics.  There were lots of restaurants for us to choose from - & you would know that we picked the one that was out of most of the foods.  What they had left was delicious!  Tia & Gretchen didn't fare as well at the Oriental buffet - sounded yucky. 

We are in the eastern hemisphere now!  We crossed the meridian today, but didn't feel a thing.

OK - that's all for tonight.  We have a big day tomorrow - London sightseeing, Hard Rock, & Billy Elliott.  If I can get the computer to log on, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow night.  If not, you can hear everything in person when we get home.  I can't believe tomorrow is our last day.

HI!  We've had another full day!  Tonite, Ali echoed all our thoughts - she thinks everyday is the best, until we get to the next day & it's even better.  That has to be the truth about today.

We started out at the Emma Bridgewater Pottery Factory.  Most of the girls, some parents, & Patrick painted pottery that will be fired & shipped to us.  The girls at the factory showed us how to paint, use sponges, & scrape off paint to form designs.  Everyone got a practice cup to learn on & then picked a plate, cup, or something else to paint for real.  You won't believe how artistic everyone is!  We'll have to wait a few weeks to see the final products, but they looked great even before they were fired.  We did alot of shopping in the factory store - everything was really beautiful - alot of polka dots, which is their signature design.  We drank really yummy hot chocolate & walked through the garden to see the resident chickens.  A delightful way to spend the morning!

Then, off to the gym for competition.  We were at a different gym today - in an old brick building with lots of charm & the wonderful smell of gymnasts working out.  The British team set up a scrumptious buffet lunch.  Just one strange thing - we don't think they have drinks with their meals.  The parents saved the day &  rounded up some cups & bottles of water.  The salon was in the crowded locker room, but everyone came out looking georgeous!  Ana has competition as the make-up artist now.  Lindsay did Charlotte's make-up & the 2 of them looked like twins.   The new leos that Amanda made looked great!  Team USA has arrived!  The competition was lots of fun.  There were several artistic teams from the area competing floor & vault.  Plus the local group, Team USA & Team Canada competing rhythmic.  Warm-up was chaos, but we all got the job done.  Ali, Jessie & 2 local artistic people judged - without score sheets - & did fine.  Stephanie & Kiki helped coach Level 1s & were a big help (except when Kiki lost the red ball & her jazz pants - found later - WHEW!).  Emily competed like the true National  Games champion she is.  Katie Kludt was on her toes all day.  Jennifer had a huge smile in every routine.  Gretchen was amazing & had great expression.  Katie Bender rolled the ball down her back & caught it!!!!!  First time she ever tried that in a routine.  Karen smiled in every routine.  Tonya had the best expression - making eyes at the judges.  Lani sparkled  & showed her personality on the floor.  Christina looked like a true champion.  Her fan club held up a huge Canadian flag during each of her routines.  Lindsay & Charlotte got a perfect 40 All-Around score & deserved every point!!!!!  The most wonderful thing about the competition is that it was really hard to tell who was whose coach - Mary, Kathy, the British coaches & I were all helping everyone.  Hard to tell who was on which team - all the gymnasts sat with new friends & cheered for everyone.  & hard to tell which parents belonged to each team because everyone was cheering so loud for all the athletes.  What a great atmosphere!  Energy was bouncing off the walls all day.

After competition was the Gala.  We performed Surfer Girl with ball, I Dig Rock & Roll Music with ribbons & hats, & In My Daughters Eyes.  The British Disabilities Team did their TeamGym floor, the guys did a floor routine, & the whole team did their display to Juraissic Park.  WOW!  Great show & we finished right on time!  Mark, our guide, was in the bleachers cheering the whole time.  We're spreading the word ABILITY in disability to one person at a time!

We came back to the hotel for a celebration dinner of salad (no dressing), pizza & ice cream.  AHHH!  Off to our rooms to pack for our journey to London tomorrow.

We got an e-mail & pictures from the half of Team Galaxy that isn't on this trip.  They had a Stay at Home Hard Rock celebration in the ballet room at the gym last night.  We miss you guys!  But you know, we're a team - all of us at Chattooga - even when we're separated by an ocean.

So - just as we are almost learning our way around the hotel without a GPS, we are leaving.  The staff here has been the best.  They even washed all our Old Navy shirt with the sheets & towels - no need to search out a laundromat on this trip!  We will miss our British gymnastics friends but plan to meet next summer at the Gymnaestrada in Switzerland or at the World Games in Greece.

WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME ZIP MY SUITCASE!!!!!  All for tonite.  Cindy

Cheerio!  We've had another wonderful day in cloudy England.  We've been so many miles I can hardly remember this morning.  After breakfast, we boarded our "coach", not bus, with our new driver Colin.  I tried to explain to him that I'm the coach & the bus is the bus, but he just couldn't understand.  We had a little over an hour trip, with Mark's commentary which is getting better, to a village in Wales called something that sounds like you're choking.  You'll have to ask Emily's mom the name because she's writing everything down.  The country is very mountainous, very green, & very beautiful.  Sheep everywhere - the cows all live in England.  We walked through the village to the canal.  There are long wooden boats that are pulled by a horse.  We boarded our boat & Tia was wondering how they were going to get the horse on the boat!  When she figured out that the horse would walk on the path beside the canal & pull the boat, she was afraid he would get spooked & take off.  I can't remember who, but somebody else was wondering if the horse would swim in the canal to pull the boat.  Everything was sorted out & we started our journey down the canal.  We talked to some people from Holland & guess what - the lady had a fjord horse (like mine).  Small world!  Tonya was excited to learn some Welsh words from the boat pilot.  Ana got a little boat sick & decided to walk along the path when we headed back.  We were a little nervous when she took the rope & started leading the horse!  Now, for the highlight of the canal trip.  About half way, they unhitched the horse & held him on the path so he could pee.  Of course, we all blamed it on Ana.  We did some shopping & took pictures in the village.  Then, we had lunch in little cafes.  In the cafe where I ate, there was no bathroom, so they gave you a pass to go to the sweets shop next door, where the bathroom was located outside.  Smart move - guess where we all went for dessert!  I have to say, we were full from tasting all the kinds of fudge before we decided what to buy.  Then, naptime on the bus.

We had about an hour at the hotel before we headed to the gym for our workout - 30 minutes to find the room & 30 minutes to dry off.  All the girls had a great practice.  They will be stars tomorrow!  We really enjoyed working out with the British team.  All the coaches & athletes were helping everybody else & it was great fun sharing skills & ideas.  The mainstream TeamGym squad from that gym showed us their EuroGym championship floor routine & then tumbling, vault & mini-tramp.  The have a room especially for the tumbling, etc. that has padded walls & mats so thick you can't believe it.  Let's just say the padding was well used.  The gymnasts were fantastic & we had lots of fun watching.  Most of our girls said they are happy to be doing rhythmic gymnastics instead of TeamGym!

Tonite, we went to a marina & saw lots of the wooden canal boats at dock.  We had a private dinner with the British team & it was great fun!  We have so many new friends already.  They gave all the girls a goodie bag with some great things inside.  I think the favorite was the Tinkerbell pin.  We took lots of pictures & then headed back to the hotel for an early night.

Tomorrow, we go to a pottery in the AM, then our competition.  Wish us luck!  If I can stay awake long enough for the internet to connect, I'll give you a full report tomrrow night.  Wish you could all be here with us!   Cindy 

Hello from jolly olde England!  Were you worried because you didn't hear from us sooner?  Well - I've been trying to connect to the internet since we got here & when I finally got connected, it took me about an hour to get to the place where I could write on the blog.  Karen & I have washed 2 loads of clothes in the bathtub waiting for this screen on the computer.

Now, let's see what I can remember!  We had a great trip over.  Tonya & her coach, Mary F., drove to my house from Kentucky to go to the airport,  Danny flew in a couple of days early from NY.  Emily & her mom, Mary B., drove to the airport from Ala.  So we have lots of friends travelling with us.  Katie B. & her family came to England several days early & her dad drove them many miles for sightseeing.  I don't think her mom liked riding shotgun when everybody was driving on the wrong side of the road.  Jessie has been here a couple of weeks visiting family & travelling to Paris & Dublin.  She & the Benders are the only ones not jetlagged right now.  Our friends from Canada - Christina, her mom & dad & her friend Meagan, who is a swimmer, met us at the hotel.  What a great group we have!!!!!

At the airport, we were talking about allergies & Robin was worried about the mold in England - because she was thinking it's such an old country!  The plane ride was long but OK.  True to form, Katie K. was asleep almost before we took off.  Karen was zooming in her seat on take-off.  Kiki (on her first plane ride) dug holes in Charlotte's arm holding on so tight. 

We arrived in Manchester to CHILLY WEATHER!!!!!  Are you jealous or what?  We met our guide, Mark, who kept making jokes that we were too tired to appreciate.  He was almost the only one laughing & he snorts when he laughs.  Our driver for the first 2 days is Raymond & as they say Everybody Loves Raymond.  We had about an hour drive from the airport & since our rooms wouldn't be ready until the afternoon, we went to Chester to do some sightseeing.  It's the rhino capital right now - there were painted rhinos everywhere!  We walked on the ancient wall around the city.  It's mind boggling how old everything is here.  We went to the refectory at the cathedral for lunch - in a beautiful old room with stained glass windows.  We discovered that Robin & Stephanie had euros instead of English pounds.  We didn't let them go hungry.  As usual, Danny had 2 lunches!  After lunch, we did some shopping & then dragged our sleep selves back onto the bus for more of Mark's jokes on the way to the hotel.

We are staying at the Crewe Arms in the city of Crewe.  It's an old brick hotel with lots of character & lots of hidden rooms.  We've been trying to find our way around for 2 days and Jessie & Ali are still rescuing people wandering around in the halls & leading them to whatever room they are looking for.  We are right next to the railway station.  Katie B's mom made her dad go buy a big fan to drown out the noise so she could sleep.  I think there are a few others who might want to borrow that fan!  We were all rested when we came down to our very English breakfast of baked beans & tomatoes.  YUM - really!

I'm jumping ahead a little - I didn't tell you about dinner last night.   Our whole group, plus 6 from the British Disabilities Team, went to the Italian restaurant down the street.  We were taken to 2 rooms on the top floor, where we rearranged the furniture (as usual) to fit us all in.  We ordered & waited & waited & waited & finally the appetizers came - the waitresses carrying 2 plates at a time up the stairs.  More waiting & the food came.  Even more waiting & finally dessert (for those who didn't fall asleep first).  By the end of the meal, we were scraping & stacking the plates to speed things up &  Tia was bussing the table & carrying dishes downstairs.  But - the food was delicious & the company was even better!  Mark ate with us & we tried to convince him to perform in one of the dances at our exhibition.  John was going to teach him the steps & one of the gymnasts on the British team was going to lend him a leotard.  Needless to say, we were all in hysterics from lack of sleep.  I had warned Mark that we weren't like most groups he led & he scoffed at that.  Well - after dinner, he believed us!  Of course, we did discuss our itinerary & added a trip to the monkey forest that he knew nothing about!

We all got our second wind & went back to the hotel to practice for our exhibition.  Our friends from Kentucky, Ala. & Canada had learned the routines from YouTube, so we thought it would be best to practice at least once all together - especially since we hadn't finished the ball routine when we did the video so they had no idea what the ending was.  30 people in a room about the size of the gym bathroom is not ideal, but we got the job done.

OK - now back to today.  What an incredibly wonderful day we have had!!!!!  After breakfast, Ana set up her salon in the lobby to French braid everybody's hair for our exhibition.  We couldn't convince Gretchen & Emily to grow their hair really quickly so they could be braided, too.  We boarded the bus & headed to Doddlespool Hall - an assisted living facility in a 17th century brick mansion.  Everybody truly loved Raymond this AM when he navigated our big bus in their parking lot without causing any damage!  There wasn't a big room in the house, so we performed in the beautiful back yard.  Did I mention that it was overcast & very chilly?  AHHHH - are you still jealous?  Everybody wore the red jackets for most of the routines.  Now - we did have a few difficulties.  Have you ever tried to bounce a rhythmic ball on a lush lawn?  Doesn't happen easily.  And what about rolling on the grass in the long white skirts?  No green stains, thank goodness!   The CD player was so quiet that only the people on the front row could hear it.  But the real challenge was convincing the girls doing rhythmic routines that it really didn't matter that there were little pellets of some animal's poop all over the lawn & it wouldn't permanently dirty their bare feet!   Professionals that they are - everyone performed GREAT!  (Although, Mark declined to join in.) Christina & Ali did their ball routines.  Kiki did rope.  Stephanie did hoop & Charlotte did clubs.  5 gymnasts from the British team joined us.  The residents from the home sat on the patio to watch - some slept & some danced along.  It was great fun!  Afterwards, we got to visit.  The girls were wonderful.  Katie B. was visiting even before the show & already knew most everybody.  Tonya got one of the ladies to talk to her & the staff said she hardly ever talks.   Jennifer made so many friends she hardly had time to eat at the garden tea party they prepared for us.  We took fans & US flag pins to give away.  The girls came back & said the residents had refused the pins.  It turns out they all thought they had to pay for them.  We finally convinced them they were presents & pinned them to their collars.  What a great experience for all of us!!!

Back on the bus for our trip to the monkey forest.  And you thought I was kidding!  I don't have the brochure so I can't give you full details about the monkeys, but I do know they are an endangered species native to Morocco.  There were 140 of them living in the forest.  We hiked on a path & really - there were monkeys everywhere!  You should have seen the tiny babies!  And the monkeys jumping from tree to tree with the babies on their backs.  Tia was so excited she started crying!  And Lindsay wants to move & live there.  It was a beautiful day to hike through the forest & then around the lake.  Did I mention that it was cool & we had to wear jackets?   After our hike, we were starving.  There was a shopping village so we all went in search of food.  Stephanie, Kiki, & Karen got such beautiful desserts they took pictures.  After lunch, we went on a walk through the English garden.  WOW!  You have never seen such a beautiful place - flowers, fountains, pathways, all beautifully maintained.  Very English!   Mary F. & Tonya met a young girl who is blind & deaf.  They signed into her hand & she was so excited to be able to "talk" to people from the US.

Back on the bus for our trip to the hotel.  I announced that we were leaving for the gym at 5:45 & somebody told me it wa already 5:51.  Time surely flies when you're having fun!  So - a quick trip to pick up gymbags & we were off.  It was about a 15 minute walk to the gym (5 minutes back because Ana found short cuts).  The gym is on the top floor of a really old building.  Too bad we're not counting the stairs we've had to climb.  I think I forgot to tell you that there are no elevators in our hotel & I have to go up 3 flights of stairs to get to my room on the 2nd floor - figure that out??  At practice, the girls just stretched & did some skills with their apparatus.  We watched the British team work out.  Dean, who stayed at my farm when they visited our team, couldn't wait to show us his front flip oiff the mini tramp!  ANNOUNCEMENT!!!  Lindsay walked on the balance beam for the first time since her accident 2 years ago!!!!  On a beam 2 feet off the floor & sometimes by herself - forward, sideways, backwards, marching, an arabesque.  & the 2nd time, SHE JUMPED OFF!!!  With help, but she did it.  Just so you know - she jumped on the floor for the first time a couple of weeks ago.   After training, they brought in real English fish & chips with salt & vinegar, wrapped in butcher paper - what a treat!   Katie B. thought the fries were greasy so she wrapped them up & took them back to the hotel for her dad.he was thrilled.  Everyone is having a hard time adjusting to drinking room temperature soft drinks here.  Most places don't have ice & don't refrigerate drinks.  Now, we're all tucked in for a well earned good nights sleep. 

Can you even imagine a more wonderful day than the one we had today?

My apologies if I forgot to tell you some things.  As usual, our gym trips are non-stop adventures & missing a whole day of writing makes it hard to catch up.  Tomorrow, we're going to Wales!  Then, working out at the gym & going to dinner at the marina with the British team.   Sweet dreams of monkeys, flowers, & delicious greasy fries!  Cindy

PS - Did I mention that I had to go buy Danny a new jacket because he's freezing in this cool weather?  

You should all be here with us to enjoy the success!  But I'm going to keep you in suspense for a few minutes while I tell you about our dinner last night.  Eleni - our venue director - cooked a Greek dinner for the 8 of us staying at the hotel, as well as our competition staff, & served it on her balcony.  Her apartment is beautiful & the view of the sea is breathtaking.  Add to that a table loaded with a Greek version of Ms. Joey food & you have an amazing evening.  Danny said it was the best thing we've done here! 
Eleni had a gift for Paulette to thank her for all the help - her volunteer shirt form the 2004 Olympics, an Olympic pin, & a wooden rhythmic statue.  Eleni ran the torch at the Olympcs & let us all take our picture holding it.  How special is that?

Ana & the girls had dinner with our Slovakian & Norwegian friends at the athletes' village.  The athletes all sat at 1 table & had a great time - speaking in 3 different languages & never missing a beat.  Ana says the girls have behaved perfectly & when she says move, they MOVE!  No more pokey joes in the group.

Yesterday at the gym, a group of Greek moms & thier daughters excitedly called me over to the stands & asked if I'm the one on the DVD.  They told me I was in their houses everyday & was a part of the families because the girls watched the DVD so much.  They asked if I would take pictures with their daughters today & wanted to know how much it would cost to have a picture with me.  Not exactly a fundraising idea I had considered!

OK - now I'll tell you about the competition.  The girls were more confident than they were yesterday & everybody improved.  They all received many awards, but I will have to wait to tell you what.  I don't have a copy of the scores.  I hope to get the information tonite.  Just know that they made us all proud!  Looking at the athlete seating, it was hard to tell who was on which team.  They were all cheering for each other & giving high 5s as their friends walked off the floor.  We can all learn a lesson from them!  The announcers (2 girls who were Olympic medalists in Sydney) called the last names first:  Misitano, Dana really didn't like it.  So for the last awards, I asked the girls to say her name Dana Misitano & you should have seen huge grin on her face.  Afterwards, she went to thank them & asked if they could do the same for her friends next time.  Paulette was asked to present 2 sets of awards.  She looked great in her navy blue suit.  They announced her as Clara Paulette Harrison, technical official from the US.  She has done such a good job measuring equipment during the competition & managing the team that everyone has complimented her.

In all respects, the competition was a huge success.  Fotini, our competition manager, has been very nervous about making things right, but she can rest well tonite - everything was perfect!  As soon as awards finished & the athletes were on the bus, we started our planning for the World Games that will be here in 2011.  We worked on the schedule of events & then toured the venue to figure out where everything will be next year when we have 3 times as many rhythmic gymnastics competitors as this year, plus artistic gymnasts as well.  No rest for the weary!

Paulette & Danny went to the village on the bus with the girls.  Big barbeque tonite for Closing!  A bus with the parents just left and Chris & I are being picked up soon.  I can't believe it's our last night here.  Elena said it best when I asked if she had a good time, "I'm really going to miss this!" 

Wish us luck packing tonite!

PS - Fishhooks are the connection on the end of the ribbon stick.  You know - those things that make dents in your finger nails when you close them.

Where to begin????  It's been a busy couple of days since my last entry.  Yesterday was trainng day.  In the morning, Chris had a training session with the Greek artistic judges to explain about judging Special Olympics.  Team Georgia got up at the crack of dawn & came to help out.  Chris had the girls demo vault first.  We did everything we could think of to trick the judges - doing the vaults out of order, stopping before the spring board, vaulting without a coach in spotting position.  No matter what we did, the judges caught on.  It was great fun & the girls were amazing.  There were 2 young Greek boys also. They were really cute!  After vault, Karen did bars, and Lani & Dana did beam.  The session was held at the National Gymnastics Training Center, so there were quite a few high level Greek gymnasts working out.  One in particular looked like a Greek god!  Turns out, he had 16 years of classical ballet training.  You should see the pictures we took with him!  We also took pictures with the 1996 Olympic floor exercise champion, but I have no idea how to spell his name.

After Chris finished her session (which was really well received), we went over to the competition venue.  The girls sacked out on the warm-up carpet & took a nap before lunch.  The venue team brought in Caesar salads.  YUM!  The rest of the gymnasts arrived soon for training.  I had a judges workshop for the rhythmic judges (about 6 of them are FIG international judges). Our venue director brought Paulette into the meeting & introduced her as a technical official. I was very proud!  Paulette meausred everybody's equipment & only found 1 problem to be corrected before competition.  The training went great!  Team Georgia was awesome.  The girls were so professional - walking into the huge arena & doing their routines without a problem.  The coaches meeting was after training.  I volunteered Ana & Joey to help the other teams with hair & make-up.  We taped everybody's fish hooks.  Dana told the coaches about her routine in Texas when the ribbon came off the stick.  In general, all the teams were well prepared & ready for competition.

Last night, Chris & I went to a dinner sponsored by the GOC - a lovely garden party.  It was lots of fun.  The rest of the troops went to an Italian restaurant near the hotel.  Ana had the girls fed & in bed early because the wake-up call was coming way too soon.

Competition day at last!  The girls woke up about 5:30 & were on the bus at 6:15, when it was scheduled to depart.  They sat there for 45 minutes before it left.  As you can imagine - Ana was not happy.  We'll see what happens tomorrow!  Competition was spectacular!  The Greek venue team is so well organized that I feel like I'm on vacation.  The judges were right on with all their scores.  We finished each session a little early.  Life is good at rhythmic gymnastics!  The girls performed their routines well.  A few drops and forgotten steps, but they were all with the music, looked beautiful in their new leos, & got lots of cheers from the audience.  Lani's ball routine was spectacular.  Elena did her new clubs routine like a champ & came off the floor with a huge smile. Karen finished all her routines with the music.  Dana performed with her usual gusto & personality.  Way to go Team Georgia!!!  Tomorrow, we have finals & awards.  Wish us luck!

Ana is planning an easy night for the girls - a nap, dinner, & a walk on the beach.  Hard life they live while they're in training, huh?  Our venue director, Eleni, is having the rest of us over for dinner - traditional Greek seafood dishes on her balcony overlooking the sea.  As I said before - life is good.

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day!  More tomorrow.  I promise to give you the details on awards as soon as possible.

WOW!  What a great Opening Ceremonies!  It was held at the Olympic swimming venue - all around the pools.  A marching band started the parade & played while all 2000 plus athletes entered.  Greek sailors lined each side of the pool as the flag was carried in by 4 athletes.  Then, a drum line performed & it was amazing!  A baby grand piano was on one of the diving towers & as the Special Olympics flag was raised, the pianist played a song specially commissioned for the Games.  Mythological creatures moved into the venue in a cloud of smoke, dancers with scarves performed, the synchronized swimmers were great fun, & then a beautiful singer on the high dive tower entertained.  I'm sure there was more, but it's hard to remember everything.  OH - YES - the first medals of the Games were awarded.  How could I forget something as important as that?  We got to see a freestyle relay & the medal ceremony.  Lots of wonderful things, but the best was seeing the Georgia athletes marching in as part of the US team.  They are making us all proud!

The parents had an adventure getting to the venue.  They took taxis to the metro station.  The line was closed for repairs so they took a bus to another station.  Pickpockets got Joey's bag opened, but Arnetha hollered & they ran off.  But the bottom line is that they arrived in time for al the festivities.  Danny searched out food & delivered sandwiches to everybody.  A good time was had by all!

Tomorrow is a busy day.  Ana is getting up early to make breakfast sandwiches for the girls so they can get in a few more minutes of beauty sleep before they catch the bus at 7:50 to come to the gym.  They will demonstrate for the artistic gymnastics judges training in the morning & have their training at the venue in the afternoon.  Stay tuned for the next update!

How many of you envision the athletes living in sparse dorm rooms, eating school type food, and working out constantly?  Well - just forget all that.  They are living the high life at CLUB MED!  I couldn't beleive it when we drove up this AM.  A security guard checked us in at the gated entrance.  We walked to our meeting, which was in the Taverna, passing huge swimming pools (which noone was using because recreational swimming is not allowed at Special Olympics events), beautifully landscaped gardens, & happy athletes lounging around everywhere.  Ana & the girls were waiting when we entered the Taverna.  Mal from Great Britiain and Maria, Gizela & Emilia from Slovakia were there, too.  Happy reunions!   This was the first coaches meeting for the competition.  We didn't have alot of business so the meeting was short & sweet.  Chris left right away to go back to the gym to work on her presentation for the artistic judges training tomorrow.  She got everything done & is quite relieved.  Eleni, who was taking Joey, Paulette, Ed & me back, had work to do , so we got to have lunch with the team.  What a treat!!!!  A huge buffet with anything you could think of eating.  The girls made excellent choices (because Ana hasn't let them get near the pizza or dessert tables).  They all had their hair French braided & looked very happy & relaxed, as they sat at their big round table chowing down on salads & grilled chicken.  After lunch, they went back to their rooms to pack for Opening Ceremonies tonite & training tomorrow.  We welcomed Katelyn Brenda & Mathilda from Norway as they arrived.  Another happy reunion.  Great visit to the village!!

Arnetha & Linda went on a sightseeing excursion in Athens.  Arnetha almost got arrested for taking a picture of the tram.  There were 3 policemen standing by it & apparently it's against the law to take pictures of uniformed officers here.  They deleted the photo & let her off the hook.

Danny has had a leisurely day - breakfast, a swim, a long walk, salad & a free dessert.

We're all waiting in the lobby to head over to the Opening Ceremonies.  More later!

All of the luggage has arrived!  Clean underwear, deodorant - you name it - we have it!  What a busy day we've had.  The group got up early & headed to the Acropolis at 8:30.  I heard they got some great pictures.  I'll have to see them with you because Chris & I were picked up to go to work at 9:00 so we didn't get to go.  The group went to the new Acropolis Museum.  I saw it the last itme I was here & it's quite amazing.  As you enter, there are acrylic floors so you can look down on the ruins.  Karen & Paulette were having no part of that.  Arnetha finagled a table to be set up down on the patio & they had lunch (OK - dessert) while everybody else saw the museum.  When they got back to the hotel, Joey was there, luggage & all.  Everybody went on the bus to move the girls into the athlete's hotel, which overlooks the beach.  AHHHHH!  The parents hitched a ride back to town on the bus & were waiting when Chris & I returned.  In the lobby, we met a lady from Fla. whose son is competing in power lifting.  She's here alone, so we invited her to dinner.  We all went to the Plaka & ate Greek food at an open air cafe, then moved to a second cafe for dessert.  Yes - we walked it off!  What a perffect evening to sit outside & have the luxury of being able to sit as long as we wanted.

Chris & I went to the venue this AM.  There was a corporate basketball tournament going on, so nothing was set up for our event yet.  We did the draw, rotations, all the little details.  We walked over to powerlifting & got some official training.  We had cookies for lunch & before we knew it, the clock said 4:00 so we headed back to the hotel.

Tomorrow night, we have Opening Ceremonies!  Let the games begin!  Can't wait.