Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

We went up to Vancouver, BC for the 2010 Winter Olympics. We saw the Speed Skating Team Pursuit qualifying races for men and women.

We stayed in Bellingham and got up early so that we could get across the border easily. Well, at 7am there weren't many cars at the border, and they had a lot of border guards, so for the first time EVER, we crossed the border in five minutes. Then we drove to Richmond and parked near the Richmond Oval, the site of our Olympic speed skating event. We took the "SkyTrain" into Vancouver to pick up our tickets. We had about 4 hours until our event started, so we explored some of the Olympic sites. We walked through Robson Place, which had an ice rink and zip line set up. There was already a huge line for the zip line, so after taking a few photos, we kept on going. Next we walked to the outdoor Olympic flame on the waterfront. It was great to see it in person. Very impressive, except for the ugly fence in front of it. Some strangers asked us to take a picture of them in front of the flame, so then they took a picture of us in return. After our flame experience, we walked along the waterfront back to the train station. Unfortunately it was very overcast, so we couldn't get a good view of the mountains.

We took the train back to Richmond and walked to the Richmond Oval to watch the Speed Skating Team Pursuit Qualifiers. The Oval was awesome (except that Jason was dumb and forgot to take his keys out of his pocket, so he set off the metal detector and had to get searched). Seeing the speed skaters up close was a lot better than on TV. We really got a sense of just how fast they can go. There really wasn't a bad seat in the house. We were on the second level, right next to the finish line (there are actually two finish lines in Team Pursuit, but we were near the normal one). Since we were there early, we watched all of the teams warm up. They were incredibly good at staying perfectly in sync. Jason also got warmed up with his camera and telephoto lens and practiced taking pictures of the fast-moving skaters.

Right on time, the competition began. We watched three heats: the Men's quarterfinals (4 races), the Women's quarterfinals (4 races), and then the Men's semifinals (2 races). Whenever the Canadian team was on the ice, the crowd went CRAZY! It was incredibly loud, and everyone got really into the excitement of the Olympics. While all of the races were exciting, two really stood out: the USA vs Canada women in the quarterfinals and the USA vs Netherlands men in the semifinals. Both races were very close, with both teams in the lead at various points. The USA vs Canada was awesome cause the fans were cheering so hard. While the Canadians had us outnumbered, the US fans made themselves heard. We were next to a bunch of other Americans, and we were all so excited when the US women won their race. It was great. Then, in the Men's semifinals, the US men pulled out an upset by beating the Dutch team. While the crowd wasn't quite as crazy as for USA vs Canada, it was an intense race. The teams were so close together that we couldn't even tell who won without checking the time board. Our little USA cheering section again went wild when the US won. But really, win or lose, watching all the races was just awesome and incredibly exciting. We were really glad that we went to the Olympics. It was a great experience.

After watching our races, we left the Oval and walked to the Richmond "O-Zone." Unfortunately, there wasn't much to do there, unless you wanted to wait in a really long line to get into the Holland House and drink Heineken. So, we headed back to the train and went back to Vancouver. In Vancouver, we continued to walk around. We walked to the Hockey stadium, where the fans were getting excited to see Team Canada play. We walked along the water and looked across the way to the Olympic Village (not all that impressive, just a bunch of apartment buildings). Then, we stopped to have dinner at a Thai restaurant. Inside, it felt almost like a sports bar, with everyone glued to a bunch of TVs with the Olympics on. The event of the evening was the Women's Curling Finals, with Canada vs Sweden. While eating our dinner (which was very good), we totally got into the curling match. When the Canadians lost, everyone was very disappointed and let out a huge groan. But, the crowd quickly got excited again for the upcoming hockey game of Canada vs Finland. We were sitting next to some non-Canadians who complained that the TV volume was too loud. The waiter was nice and turned it down a bit, but, seriously? You're in Canada and a hockey game is about to start, and you think it should be quiet? We left before the game got going, but I'm sure the non-Canadians were in for a rude awakening once the game started.

After dinner, we walked around Vancouver some more. Everywhere we went, there were TVs in the store windows and groups of people huddled around to watch the hockey game. It was fun to be in the city with everyone so excited. We went to the "Olympic Super Store" to pick up some souvenirs, and again, everyone was watching the game. Unfortunately, late in the Olympics, most of the good items had sold out, but we got a fridge magnet as a little memento. Then, totally exhausted, we took the train one last time to get back to our car. We drove back to Bellingham, and again had no problem crossing the border. I'm sure we will never again cross into the US in under five minutes. Of course, as usual, the US border guard was a little rude and asked a bunch of useless questions, but at least it was fast. Then, we went back to our motel room, turned on the TV, and watched some more Olympics.

We LOVE the Olympics. It was an awesome trip!

See all of the photos from our trip.