Olympic Fever

Since Jeremy and I don't have cable television we're relatively (ahem...VERY) out of the loop when it comes to the Olympics. And since in large part, my days are spent inside in the laundry room with my only outings to the grocery store or the library, if I didn't know better, I wouldn't know that the Olympics are in town. So, in an effort to get out from under the rock we apparently live under, we decided to get out, breathe the fresh Vancouver air and see what all the Olympic hoopla is about. And it was fun!!!!!!!!!

Welcome world, indeed! It's very normal to hear many different languages while in Vancouver, but these days exponentially so.

I started catching Olympic Fever last night when we were out and about and happened to catch a bit of the ski jump competition on a television we passed. That was the very first bit of coverage that I saw and I was hooked. The competition was taking place on Cypress Mountain and for those of you who have visited us, that's the ski slope you can see from our kitchen and/or bedroom window. Very cool to be so close to the action and to be living in this amazing city! (The photo above is of B.C. Place, a popular Olympic venue.)

Our little family hopped on the recently opened Canada Line and we were impressed. For $2.50 a person (Moses was free) it zipped us (and a whole lot of other people) into the heart of downtown smoothly and quickly. We were lucky enough to be squished next to two Olympic athletes! One was Canadian and one was German (?) and we don't know what their events were but they both smiled at Moses. :) In fact, every one around us smiled and conversed with him, creating a little community during our short ride. In fact, one of Moses' admirers bestowed upon him this little pin that he proudly wore on his hat for the rest of the day.

We got a good look at the Olympic Cauldron. Very cool. And firing on all 5 cylinders.

Besides the Cauldron, the other thing that most dominated Vancouver's landscape was all the red and white. Canada has really come out big to support their country and it's refreshingly fun.

Downtown's major thoroughfares were open only to pedestrians, making the city streets one big party. Robson Square had all sorts of public venues and activities and is pictured above. We noted that hot dog prices decreased as one moved further from the epicenter of the action. We think they should unionize.

With a signed liability waiver and a mere seven hour wait, one could zip line across the urban landscape of Robson Square.

Here's Moses trying out his first snowboard.

Chilling with Dad (sans hat).

Our little Canadian was a trooper during our outing and seemed to enjoy the hours of being toted around in the sling.

When we moved here 4 1/2 years ago the Olympics felt like a long way off. In fact, we thought we'd be somewhere else in the world when they finally arrived in Vancouver. We made it through all the construction, years of preparation and anticipation, and now, here we are with Moses in tow enjoying life together in this fabulous, beautiful place.
And that's the Rioses, reporting to you from the Olympic city!