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