The Long Awaited Blog Post

Sunday, March 7th, 2010.

Well guys, I guess it's time to go public with it... Yes, I am still in beautiful British Columbia and beautiful it has been!

Yesterday temperatures reached a whopping 16 degrees celsius and sunshine blanketed the Mission Mountain Training Facility. I drove down to the lowlands where I found a hard gravel running track behind a building known as, Albert McMahon Elementary School. The area flourished with lively people; some walking their dogs, some playing soccer, and others just out for a leisurely stroll. Me, I was there for a different purpose... I laced up my Nike Bill Bowerman inspired track shoes and popped in my headphones as this track was about to be made my bitch.

After a few strong warmup laps, I settled in for a long, high intensity workout that consisted of 400m and 100m pieces. In my opinion, the most glorifying race at the Olympic Games is the 100m sprint. The sheer power and speed that is attainable by the human body is almost ludicrous! Click HERE to check out an awe-inspiring video of Usain Bolt in slow motion!

Now enough about the weather and training, their are still some loose ends to tie up!

I want to send out a BIG thank you to Uncle Phil and the Marcus family for getting me into the Men's Aerials finals and the Victory Ceremony that took place the next day! This may sound like the easy way out when writing a blog, but seriously- words cannot describe how amazing it was to see these athletes launching their bodies 60 feet into the air! It was heartbreaking to see Canadian Kyle Nissen fall from 1st to 5th after the final jump, however huge round-of-applause for him as he was probably the least favored Canadian in the finals!

BC Place was packed for the Victory Ceremonies that took place the following day! After medals for four events were given out, we were treated to a full concert performance by Great Big Sea. The Newfies were out in full force and I managed to use my Nova Scotia/ Atlantic Canadian charm to squirm my way to the very front row! Another memory I will savor for the rest of my life!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed reading this post as it may be the last (granted I can't think of anything else to tell you about). I want to thank you all for reading and following along as I shared my writing and my experiences with you. I hope that in writing this blog we'll all feel a little bit closer, after all isn't this what the Olympics is all about!

Have No Fear

Hi friends,

Sorry about the lack of blog posts since we've been in British Columbia. Don't worry though, I will eventually take the time to write about our trip- probably before the end of the week. Stay tuned!

Can't Believe We're Here

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010.

As you can probably imagine, we've been unbelievably busy over the past week!

Staying an hour away from downtown causes us to plan our days a little more than we would like, but the scenery in Mission makes it all worth the trouble. The energy in Downtown Vancouver is like none other- imagine Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa and times that by 100... everyday of the week! It's hard not to be consumed by what's going on around you, causing you to completely lose track of time; first thing you know you're parking the car at 10am, the next, you're checking the time and it's almost midnight! 

Speaking of parking, whoever hyped up the fact that there would be 'no parking downtown' or 'all the streets would be closed' etc, did a marvelous job keeping the general public from bringing their vehicles into the city centre. We were pleased to find minimal traffic during our attempt to drive into the downtown core and immediately found parking in an underground garage right outside where the Olympic Flame is located at only $20/day. Mind you, I believe that this was part of a successful campaign launched towards keeping greenhouse gas emissions minimized during the games- which was one of John Furlong's priorities of his mandate! 

For those of you who don't know, John Furlong is the CEO of the Vancouver2010 Organizing Committee. He has been under much scrutiny over the past few days regarding matters that I believe are out of his hands- take the weather for instance. I mean after all, It's not John's fault that Vancouver is having record high temperatures for the month of February. I say hats off to Mr. Furlong as he has been dealing well with all the criticisms, much that have come from south of the border I might add. 

John proved yesterday on an interview with CTV's Brian Williams that all the proper procedures and measures are being taken to resolve the issues at hand- after all, besides a few delays, all the events have been completed thus far. 

Now enough with my political analysis of the games and on to some more invigorating firsthand accounts of the excitement. Taylor, Dennis, Leanne, and I may not have been at the Moguls venue when Alexandre Bilodeau won Canada's first gold medal on home soil, but we were definitely at the next best place- Robson Square in Downtown Vancouver, packed with thousands of screaming fans. We arrived early and were able to watch the whole event standing front row! You could feel the energy seeping into your veins as the Canadians took turns tearing down the course. Vincent Marquis, one of the earlier Canadian competitors, sat in first place for a while and was amazing to watch as he egged on the crowd, generating mass cheers from all the supporters- congrats to him on his 4th place finish and also to Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau who finished 5th. 

Anyway, there is much more I'd love to tell you about- and will (including our night in West Vancouver), however I have to get ready to head back into the city. Don't fret, I will continue to post until you truly feel like you were here!

Much love,

Brian Stever

Leanne's Second Blog Post!

There hasn't been much to talk about from my end lately other than a few arguments here and there. Taylor has developed a cold over the past few days which isn't a big deal, besides the fact that he spits flem out the window quite often which likes to spray in the back seat. Dennis and I now know how to prepare for this by ducking down when Taylor rolls down his window. 

Also, a few days ago Dennis and I, in the backseat, thought it would be a great opportunity to test out the emergency blankets as it was quite cold outside. We opened what we all like to call the tinfoil blanket and then proceeded to snuggle up thinking we were doing nothing wrong. Everything was fine until Brian noticed Taylor gripping onto the steering wheel for dear life. Apparently the emergency blanket was making a lot of noise and distracting Taylor as he was driving. Another thing to add to his frustration was that it was the middle of the day, and the sun was reflecting off the shiny blanket into the entire car. Dennis and I were unaware of this as we were having too much fun playing with the tinfoil!

We arrived at Big White late Wednesday night, and the guys and I had a great time on the hill Thursday morning. Dennis, Brian, and I were snowboarding, and Taylor was skiing. Big White is a much bigger hill than the hills we have back home, so we took pictures and enjoyed the great weather. We were getting everything together and ready to go when I noticed something different about the car. I asked Dennis if he knew that the wipers were ripped off and he giggled and said no. I immediately knew he was lying, so I asked him what happened. "They didn't work anyway," he said. "So I kicked them off with my boot." As everyone else is laughing, I'm thinking wow, that was stupid. We've been having really good weather, so I soon got over it and we were on our way. The drive was going well until it started to get darker, and then started to rain. As large trucks were passing by, spitting rocks and dirt on our windshield, Taylor was getting more and more distracted. Dennis and I were in the backseat sweating to death, so we asked Taylor to turn down the heat, and he turned it to low. Dennis informed Taylor that he didn't turn it all the way off and there was still hot air coming out. Taylor then started yelling "OH REALLY DENNIS, THERE'S STILL AIR COMING OUT?" as he was feeling the vents. Brian told Taylor that even though Dennis was being an asshole, to calm down and stop yelling. We pulled over to avoid the wet weather in search of a place to stay, but realized we were far from any lodging. Thankfully after twenty minutes of contemplating, the rain died down. We were back on the road and arrived in Mission, BC within the hour. That concludes the driving portion of our journey, but I'll be sure to create a little more drama for another good laugh.

A Place Called Mission, BC

Friday, February 12th, 2010!!!!

For the sake of keeping you updated on the Olympic games, I am going to summarize our last few days!

Banff was one of the most beautiful towns we visited on our entire journey, in fact it was hard enough getting Dennis to leave. We were worried the fun-loving staff at Quiksilver were going to offer him a job and then we'd be down one member for the last leg of our trip!

After spending an hour or so taking pictures and hanging out with the Quiksilver Banff Team we finally got back on the road and embraced ourselves for our epic encounter with the Rocky Mountains.

It's hard to describe the feeling that consumes you when traveling through the mountains, but I gave it a shot as we drove on... here's what I came up with:

'Everyone in the car was silent and it felt as though everything was in slow motion. The fresh snowfall lightly blanketed the millions of pine trees and a large heard of elk could be seen standing stiffly, silently on a frozen pond. The sheer size of the mountains was incomprehensible without a firsthand account. If there was ever a time in my life I felt so small and insignificant, than this was it.'

It's times like these that I wish I could write as well as my favorite author, John Steinbeck, or others alike. If you haven't had the opportunity to see the Rocky Mountains, then all of us would recommend visiting them at some point in your lives.

After what felt like a short drive in comparison to the seemingly endless highways we had trekked along our journey, we finally arrived in the peaceful and tranquil mountaintop community at Big White Ski Resort. Now I'm sure it's not always so quiet, but showing up on a Tuesday night probably had something to do with that. Anyway, we pulled into the driveway of a very nice condo/apartment and we happy to see our friend Megan. She introduced us to her hilarious and awesome Australian roommates who lived downstairs and we sat around talking until late in the night.

The next morning we woke up early as we had planned to hit the slopes. Megan hooked us up and we got to ride the hill for free- which was absolutely unreal!!!! We spent the better half of the day shredding and we took a lot of pictures- hopefully Dennis will post them soon!

In the late afternoon we packed up the car and continued west to Mission, BC.

Earlier in the day Dennis and I tore the windshield wipers off the car as they were pretty much garbage. Ironically, we were lucky enough to not need them until we tore them off...

After passing through Kelowna we saw a sign that read, 'High Mountain Pass, Sudden Weather Changes- Be Prepared.' It had been nice all day and we thought it impossible for the weather to take a sudden turn as the sign had cautioned us. Almost instantaneously our opinions changed as a mixture of rain and snow clashed against our windshield, needless to say it was a slow drive the rest of the way. After contemplating pulling over and staying put for the night, a slow moving vehicle in front of us managed to guide us to our destination like a guardian angel.

We finally reached Mission, British Columbia, our base camp for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Everyday has felt like Christmas morning and I am so so soooo thankful to share this experience with some of my best friends!

Onwards To Calgary

Thursday, February 11th, 2010.

The drive from Winnipeg to Calgary was surprisingly beautiful. Saskatchewan offered a magnificent sunset that made the blowing snow look like silk as it flowed over the asphalt. The white fields appeared cloudlike and omitted a heavenly aura on our late evening travels.

After the sun went down Taylor and I watched a movie that our new friend Liz purchased for us while we were in Winnipeg. The movie, titled ‘One Week,’ told the story of a man’s journey from Toronto to Vancouver after being diagnosed with cancer. We were able to relate to much of the story as at points we were able to look out the window and see the exact spots shown on the screen. We agreed that ‘One Week’ was arguably the most inspiring movie we have ever seen and would definitely recommend it!

We arrived in Bragg Creek (just outside of Calgary) late Monday night and were extremely excited to be greeted by our friends Anna and Cam. After telling stories for a few hours Cam headed home and Anna went to bed, as she had to be at work very early in the morning.

************

The next day I awoke much before the sun and very parched. I walked upstairs to get a drink and that’s when I met Anna’s dad- a very enthusiastic and jolly Dutchman who immediately made me feel at home with his gigantic smile.  We talked for a few minutes before I headed back downstairs to wake Taylor to get an early start on the day.

Dennis and Leanne soon joined us as we sat around the kitchen table drinking coffee. Before Anna left for work she gave us a bag of homemade cookies (that were amazingly tasty) and, on top of that, her dad gave us money to fill the tank.

We left Anna’s with a childlike enthusiasm towards the day. The sun was rising in front of us, and behind, the snow-capped mountaintops could be seen in the distance.  The anticipation to begin our journey through the massive Rocky Mountains seemed unbearable, but first we had to fill our bellies.

We drove into Calgary and picked up our friend Rachelle before heading to a place called Nellie’s, where we also met our friends Kevin, Graham, and Brendan (FOWLERRRR!!!, inside joke…), whom are all paddlers at the Calgary Canoe Club. We sat and enjoyed a delicious and hearty meal while discussing the trip in its entirety.

After breakfast we dropped Rachelle off and headed to Crossrion Mills Mall where the Quiksilver Calgary Factory Store is located.

We arrived 45 minutes later at one of the biggest malls I’ve ever seen. Not knowing where exactly to find the Quiksilver store, we parked at the nearest entrance and began our search inside. While walking through the food court we over heard some girls talking. ‘Hey aren’t those the guys from MuchMusic!?’ It felt pretty awesome to be recognized, but more importantly it was gratifying to know that more and more people were learning of our support for Canadian Olympic athletes!

After a few minutes of walking we found the store where we met two great guys; Adrian and Ahmed! Once again, thanks to Karen, they knew we were coming. We showed them our blog and our car and took lots of pictures! They hooked us up with some more gear and let us write our blog address on the huge chalkboard behind the sales desk. While outside in the parking lot we met a girl named Blair Marie, you can find out all about our encounter with her on her super cool blog, found here- http://blairmariephotography.blogspot.com/

Check out her February 9^thpost!

We departed Crossiron Mills mall and began our journey towards the mountains. For Taylor and I it was a chance to revisit one of the most spectacular sights the world has come to know. For Dennis and Leanne, the experience was a new one, and it was exciting and wonderful to see the amazement spread across their faces as the giant mountains came into full view. Although Taylor and I had been there before, we could not for one second take for granted what we were witnessing. You might even say one could live in the mountains their entire lifetime and not lose appreciation for the sheer beauty they are so privileged to see every single day.  This was our drive through the Rockies as we passed through Banff and headed to Vancouver, this was our western Canada experience on our cross country adventure!

**More to come on Banff, Big White, and our arrival here in Mission after today’s adventures!!!

New Post On It's Way!!

Hey there sports fans!

The new blog post detailing the last few days will be up later today!! Also, Leanne's second post is on it's way, so be sure to check that out too!!

Much love,

Fancouver2010