Then just like that, it was Thursday and we were at the airport picking up Mon and Natascha, our out-of-town guests. Mon is an old university friend of mine and my brother’s. Ed and I were a little late picking them up because the women’s gold medal hockey game was on and we wanted to see it to the very end. Canada won, yay! My brother and niece who live in Edmonton were also in town to spend time with Mon. We all enjoyed a delicious dinner in Richmond then went to the Richmond O Zone, which is Richmond’s celebration site for the Olympics. The Holland Heineken House is there and there are concerts every evening. The Heineken House was full so we couldn’t go in and the band playing that night was Wintersleep, a Canadian indie rock band from Nova Scotia.
On Friday, Mon and Natascha spent the day in Whistler watching the alpine skiing. Ed and I, with several of Ed’s co-workers, headed to a pub downtown after work to watch the Canada-Slovakia game. Mon and Natascha joined us at the pub. Watching a must-win hockey game in a pub in Canada is definitely an experience. Team Canada was able to hang on to a one-goal lead to win the game and advance to the gold medal game against the US. Whew! And the big bonus was Canada won four medals that evening - one in women’s curling and three in short track speed skating. Downtown was going nuts! Everyone was so happy.
On Saturday, Day 16 of the Olympics, Ed and I took the bus to Whistler to watch heats 3 and 4 of the 4-man bobsleigh event. We enjoyed some crepes for breakfast, walked around Whistler Village, then rode the gondola up to the Whistler Sliding Centre. Heat 3 was just about to begin when we got to the venue. We decided to walk along the track to watch the bobsleds as they go zooming by. The higher up the track we went (closer to the start area), the easier it was to take pictures of the bobsleds because they haven’t reached their top speeds yet. But the last three turns before the finish, the bobsleds were just a blur as they went by. It’s very exciting watching them live. There’s something about the speed or the danger of going that fast on an icy track.
Sunday, Mon and Natascha headed back to the US. It was such a short vist but lots of fun. Today was the last day of the Olympics and the whole city was gripped with anticipation of the gold medal hockey game, Canada vs USA. The game started at noon and people started lining up at 9am outside pubs and restaurants to watch the game. You could hear a collective cheer every time Canada scored a goal. The game went to overtime and everybody held their breath. Then Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal and the entire city went crazy. In fact, the whole country went crazy. Wow, what a moment!
Ed and I then settled on the couch to watch the Closing Ceremony. We were both sad that the big party was coming to an end. It was such a great experience for both of us. We will miss the atmosphere and the energy the city had during the Olympics. I saw acts of kindness everywhere. The Olympics brought out the best in us and I think that’s the real gift of these Games. I’m so happy that I was here when the Olympics came to town. I’m extremely proud of Vancouver and feel very lucky to be living here.
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