Yup.  I’m going to the Olympics.  I know, right?!

I just got done reading through one of our extensive logistics briefings and I can’t help myself; I’m super excited.  SUPER.  EXCITED.  I’m going to miss my daughter something fierce, but after talking to the husband and grandma and grandpa about it, I decided to go ahead and do this.  It helps that it’s only a drive away and I don’t have to be gone for a month plus.  That would be too long, for sure.

And it’s not just the shorter length of the trip.  So many things are different about these Olympics compared to my time in Greece, Italy, or China.  First, other KGW on-air folks are going, which takes a HUGE load off me in terms of feeding the news beast.  I can’t even tell you how difficult it is to produce stories for almost all the newscasts, get yourself around even though you don’t speak the language, battle with security everywhere, deal with the time zone differences, and somehow try to connect with the athletes and their families and occasionally find a few hours of sleep here and there.

This time we have a senior producer who is working on coordinating things.  Between health reporting, trying to work a beat, and doing Live @ 7 I don’t have a spare second to devote to planning.  So, it’s nice to leave that in someone else’s capable hands.  These Olympics will feel a lot more like my time in Salt Lake back in 2002.  Only without the football-field-wide intersections that require you to carry a large orange flag because it takes 50 seconds to cross and the light just might change on you.  I digress.

One of the things that came through in the logistics briefing was a look at where we are working/staying.  These pics are what got me so jazzed.  Here's the overhead shot of the MPC (main press center) and where NBC will work in relation to that. I KNOW, RIGHT?!

Here's a shot of the MPC (main press center) from the street:

And finally, a shot of where our live shot platform will be. WHAT A BACKDROP!

If you didn’t know, I have a bit of a long-standing love affair with all things Canada.  Two of my dearest friends live there (Hi Dar! Hi Jacq!!).  Actually, I have a ton of Canadian friends who I really enjoy spending time with.  I try to go several times a year.  So, to be there for something like the Olympics, in the correct time zone, where I speak the language, where I’m not the only on-air person from KGW, where someone else is handling the calendar and other administrative tasks… well, I’m stoked.

Vancouver 2010, here I come!  w00t!!