The "torch weekend" is almost over- but our excitement will stay with us for a long time!!!!

My excitement started when I finally could board my Lufthansa (direct flight out of Frankfurt, having had some of the German Olympic team on board) to Denver on Thursday! Kay and Tom who had flown in from Minneapolis a bit earlier waited for me, had organized a car and thus a few hours later we pulled into Frisco.

Pat had prepared a wonderful dinner, had a great smile on her face and surprised us with all kinds of new words. I personally missed half of the evening (after all, I had been up for 23 hours), i.e. I also missed the late arrival of Kirk and Chris who drove all the way from L.A. to be part of this Olympic weekend.

Friday we had a slow start, a great lunch at the Breckenridge Brewery and then had to make sure that Pat was in Vail on time to meet the fellow torch carriers and get the final instructions. We stayed there with her till the bus took the champions to their respective places and quite enjoyed the overall atmosphere, the buzzing excitement of all carriers and meeting some of the other people (one of them having been Steve Mahre, the very successful ski racer and major competitor of the Austrians!).

When we finally got to the place where Pat would start her lag, we met a whole bunch- if not to say- almost all of her friends from Summit County!!! What a great feeling to be there with all of them! Now with a bit of delay Pat finally was dropped off at her spot, waited for the runner ahead of her- who happened to be a doctor from the hospital in Salt Lake City!!!

Although he was not directly involved with her treatment, he knew about her and in handing over the fire to her, knelt down like a knight in the Middle Ages, paying special attention to her and lit her torch!!!!

So off she took with the torch in her hand, with the biggest smile ever and she not only had to carry this heavy torch (we all had it in our hands and it is heavy!) but she ran (mind you uphill!) the story goes that some of the photographers could not keep up with her!!!!!

By the time all the friends handed over the flowers, posters and all the pictures were taken, the hard core tried to catch up with the torch being passed on to skiers, snow shoers and then finally stopped for the evening.

Rather than staying in crowed Vail, we went over to Frisco and had a very nice post torch carrying dinner in a great Italian restaurant, celebrating Pat with Champagne, taking more pictures and taking in every moment of this very special event.

For most of us, Saturday was a day of rest. Larry's sister Terri and her kids went back to Ft. Collins, we more or less stayed around the house, enjoyed the anti-climax, but over and over still thinking and talking about the big event.

Sunday, having been a great day again, Pat, Larry and I decided to go out skiing - and here came the next memorable day!!!!

After having done one or two warm up runs (the slopes that were Pat's slopes last winter when I was here), we decided to go over to the other side of the mountain and tried a few runs here and there. Pat got more and more daring, skied with a persistence and with enthusiasm, fully in control, in a style that would make some of my Austrian friends jealous and without stopping too often!!! Now I do not care who will win the gold medals in Salt Lake, to me Pat is the true champions and will always remain to be so.

Watch out, she will out ski many of us soon again! I hope that some of the pictures will turn out so you can see yourself, but the way she skied today proofed once again that her carrying the torch on Friday was only the beginning!!!

So this is a quick wrap up for those of you who could not be with us - all of us having been here decided this is the most or one of the most memorable moments in our lives - something not to be ever forgotten!!!!

Now I am looking forward to a few more days of skiing with Pat before I go back home again and can put some more euros aside to be back soon!!!