What an AWESOME experience!  There are not enough adjectives to describe our trip to the Olympics in Salt Lake City and Opening Ceremonies.
 
The 2002 Winter Olympics this year are being held in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Opening Ceremonies were on February 8, 2002 and Closing Ceremonies will be on February 24, 2002.  I was lucky enough to secure seats about 18 months ago for Opening Ceremonies – and have been waiting in anticipation ever since!
 
Our intrepid group of five decided to start our adventure off with an overnight in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand hotel!  We arrived on three different flights from San Diego and San Francisco.  Part of the group decided to get some rest for our upcoming marathon weekend in Utah and two of us decided we needed to take on the Blackjack tables.  In short, we finally headed back to our rooms at 3:30 AM for a nap before our flight.  If you have not been to Las Vegas lately – you are in for a surprise!  The hotels, restaurants and shopping are in a league of their own.  From Southern California, it’s just a quick flight or drive to this exciting weekend playground!
 
We arrived in Salt Lake City with enough time to check into our condo, check out Park City and head to the Opening Ceremonies.  The temperature upon arrival was a brisk 26 degrees and dropping!  The event itself was one of the most inspiring and well-put together shows I have ever seen.  One of the great things about traveling is meeting new people, experiencing new cultures and spending time with friends in new places.  This trip had it all.  We were surrounded by people from all over the world; athletes, artists, spectators and presidents! 
 
My brother and 3 ½ year old nephew arrived the next morning for two days of intense Olympic Ice Hockey!  Tonight the temperature dropped to 1 degree!  Having never experienced an Ice Hockey game, I was pleasantly surprised.  The game was exciting, the spectators fun and my nephew was having a ball.  Of course, it would not be the Olympics without Souvenirs and we bought them all, hockey pucks, shirts, pins and anything else you could slap a logo on.
 
It was a trip none of us will soon forget.  Traveling with friends and those you care about make the experience that much more enriching.  The next Summer Olympics will be in Athens, Greece (2004), where it all started and the next Winter Olympics will be in the Italian Alps in the beautiful village of Torino (2006).
 
Wherever your travels take you, I hope you remember to stop and take the time to get to know new friends, try new tastes and experience something new!
 
We are also in the process of redesigning our website and have a new trip giveaway!  Please stop by, register and maybe you will be off on a free trip to Hawaii or the Caribbean!