It was kind of a light day here in Beijing, with no Maine athletes competing, or available for interviews.

I spent the morning watching Michael Phelps prove he is, indeed, Superman. He is incredible.

Then I took a walk along the Olympic Green, which is really the Olympic concrete and steel (and glass) for the most part as all the big sponsors have these huge venues scattered amidst trees and flowers.

(Johnson & Johnson has the best spot, their venue surrounded by bamboo trees.)

Here's some things that caught my eye.

The Olympic Flame, still burning brightly against the smoggy Beijing sky:

I was taken by this piece of public art. The folks here love it too, judging by the amount of posing they do around it:

Then there's this traditional Chinese statue, entitled "Big Dapple.'' :

Yes, this building is covered in grass (which I guess is appropriate on the Olympic Green). I touched it. It's actually pretty cool. Needs to be mowed though:

And these folks are lining up (the line snakes around the building, with a 30-plus minute wait) to get inside the Coca-Cola venue.

You know what? Even if Coke wasn't my favorite drink, and even if I didn't have this media pass that gets me in without waiting, I would have stood in line.

You know why? There's this cool vending machine inside that really, really chills the Coke. And when you take it out and shake it a little, then open it, ice forms at the top. And that's important because they don't have ice anywhere here. Most drinks are not as cold as I'm used to. Even the milk is a little warm.

Off to watch Team USA play Korea in baseball. Have a good one Maine.

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