You probably saw much of the five Track and Field sessions that I attended
and I'm sure the triumphs and disappointments for the US have been highlighted over and over on TV. I always try to attend as much of the Men's Decathlon's four morning and evening sessions that I can and managed to see three of them. It was quite exciting to see the battle between the top three from the beginning with an American, Bryon Clay from Hawaii, leading after each of the first two events. The World's champion form the Czech Republic finally won the gold, but Bryon, a virtual unknown, won the silver with a tremendous effort and several personal bests. I met his grandparents just before he received his medal the next evening.

My seats were close to both the Men's and Women's Pole Vault events and
enjoyed the US men back and forth wins for the gold and silver medals and a new Olympic record. In the women's, a Russian also set a new Olympic record and came close to a world's. Of course, I have to mention the start to finish lead in the Javelin, leading to a gold by the Norwegian, Andreas Thorkildsen.

For sheer spectacle, nothing can beat the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. While you at home can better see the details with close ups, and the fireworks made for TV, I can't imagine that you can see the scope of everything that is going on throughout the field and see and feel the reaction and interaction with the crowd in the stands. The Opening was probably the most unique that I have seen. The Closing, other than the traditional Olympic portions, was the most nationalistic with the exclusive Greek staging, dancing and singing. However, the spectators really got into it and were ready to participate and party all night.

Part 3
There were opportunities taken to see some of Greece. Besides the Rhodes stay, there was a day trip to Delphi to see the Oracle (it's a place, not a person) and another to ancient Olympia. In addition to experiencing the location of the original games from 776 B.C. to 394 A.D. in Olympia, these trips allowed me to see three of the four sites of the Panhellenic Games in Delphi, Athens and Isthmia near Corinth. I walked the still existing tracks in Olympia and Delphi, saw the foundations of two stadiums in Isthmia and watched Archery and the Marathon finish while sitting in the stands of the stadium on the original site in Athens. An hour was also spent exploring the extensive ruins of Corinth on the way to Olympia. You could walk the same streets in the market place where Paul did. All of these locations had excellent museums and the sites themselves were fantastic. In Athens, a morning was spent on the Acropolis and an afternoon at the famous National Archeological Museum. There even were a few good Greek meals enjoyed in restaurants, outside of the menu of sandwiches and Cokes in the venues.