Starting the day was exciting for my daughter Casey as we happened to end up sitting in a booth right next to Johnny Weir and Victor Petrenko and the rest of the entourage. Casey thought it was very cool, and she still managed to eat as well.

By Thursday and Friday the amount of skating I had watched was monumental. I had this feeling like I just could not get out of the arena, because there is even more skating hour after hour. I will again refer to the movie European Vacation when Chevy Chase is in the car in traffic in London going around the rotary and cannot get his car out of the circle and every time he goes around he says, "There's Big Ben, kids!" For me the saying was "There's the Zamboni, kids!!"

By now the senior events are mostly underway and there is a great deal of excitement. At the hotel you can certainly tell most people have arrived due to the increasingly long wait for an elevator. But, once in the elevator, you get all the best gossip by just listening. I mean, you could just ride the elevators for the entire week and not miss a thing. But, that would just be creepy.

Back at the Xcel Energy Center there was an assault! Not exactly the bat to the leg of Nancy Kerrigan incident but... From what I heard there was a de-nosing of Snow Plow Sam. Yes, you heard it right. Some little kid punched poor Snow Plow Sam in the nose (by accident of course) and it fell off. A quick repair down in skaters' services was needed to sew it back on. I must say he looks a few years younger with his new nose. I can confirm from a reliable source inside skater services that no Botox was used during the procedure.

The most amazing event to watch was the senior ladies short program. Everyone in the audience was going crazy with excitement. We had great skating combined with unexpected results and placements. At the end of the night, I could not believe the leader board. Good thing I am not into gambling, but if you had decided to bet on the pack of 14 year olds, it would have been the jackpot. Upset was in the air -- along with your typical smell of popcorn, barbeque and beer. Congratulations to Katrina Hacker on her beautiful skate.

As has been the theme, we ended the evening in the "Port O' Call" lounge at our hotel. As has also been the theme, the bar is understaffed with just one person behind the bar. Because of this, we had to strategize as to how to not only get a drink, but also order something to eat. Michelle (Kate's Mom) figured out that if you went to the lobby and ordered room service from the lobby house phone and had them deliver the food to the bar, it was faster than waiting for a waitress. It worked like a charm! When there is a will (or empty stomach) there is always a way!