Our 2010 Vancouver Olympic Experience

About to pass the flame...

... and he's off!

The above photos were taken at around 6:30 am the Thursday before the Opening Ceremony. I got up at 5 am, threw on some clothes, grabbed my raincoat & camera, hopped in the car and drove a short way into downtown Port Moody where we live. I knew the torch was going to pass thru Town Hall and Newport Village and getting up as early as I did allowed me an amazing parking spot... right at the library next to town hall. When I arrived, there were a few people but not the crowd I was expecting. Then, sure enough, within minutes of my arrival and staking a great spot, the people started to come and they came fast. It got crowded in less than 10 minutes! The torch was supposed to arrive at 6 but it was a half hour late. It was dark as you can see, and drizzling. I'm glad I hauled my tired bum out of bed to witness this. The crowd was so fired up and their spirit was infectious. The torchbearer had an entourage of fire trucks, police cars, and several vehicles all decked out purely for entertainment purposes. One truck was all lit up and modified to serve as a mobile stage for various performers. Though I could see that there was someone singing and dancing up there, I couldn't get a shot of it. It was too far away for the camera to get a good picture for me. Then to end it all, free hot cocoa, all the while Chris, Owen, Ana and even Zoey stayed sleeping, warm and dry in their beds.

Our first glimpse of the cauldron

Trying to get a closer view!

A picture without the fence

The cauldron was huge. Bigger than I expected it to look.

The train ride and the lull of the stroller put both kids to sleep.

One of the wrapped buildings.

They had a zip line going between a couple of buildings and over the street.

Robson Square GE Ice Plaza

The Saturday before the Closing Ceremony, we ventured downtown to experience more of the Olympics. We didn't see any sporting events but we did get to see a lot of spirit, not just from Canadians but from other countries as well. We took the skytrain into the city and walked to the cauldron. That was really exciting for me. After the train ride, the kids rode in the stroller as we walked and eventually passed out so they didn't get to see the cauldron like Chris & I did. It was raining but it wasn't a drenching rain. After that and a few photo ops, we walked south into the city towards Robson Street which was closed down for the Olympics. On the way there we stopped at this really nice seafood restaurant and had a good lunch. We were surrounded by Russians drinking a lot of bloody marys... no doubt a hangover cocktail. After lunch we strolled along Robson and I even bought shoes! It was crowded. If you stood on your toes all you could see was a sea of people and heads. But it wasn't so crowded that you couldn't move. They had street performers and Olympic souvenirs being sold alongside. Right near the Art Gallery and the Ice Plaza they had a zip line set up between buildings and over the road so people could zip along above the crowd. They had little events that you could take part in, the zip line being one of them, but the lines for these events were hours and hours long so we didn't bother with any of that. We just had a leisurely stroll, got back on the train and headed home. All in all, a good experience. Having said that, I wish I saw more!