There is nothing like being there. The Closing Ceremonies were amazing. It is always a little sad for the host city to close out the 17 days of the games, but Canada can be proud. Yes, there were some issues and gliches but, the games went off well with a very friendly group of people hosting. I sat next to a Canadian who had attended the Gold Medal game of the men's hockey and, although very glad that Canada won, was very complimentary of the American team. What a game that was with the Americans scoring to tie it up with 24 seconds remaining in the game.
They rolled out all the stars for the closing and also made great use of the technical problem from the opening ceremony. They made it fun to raise the final portion of the flame and got some of the egg off of their faces. It was a great preview of the next set of games in Russia in four years, a very entertaining celebration, and a star line-up with William Shatner, Michael J. Fox, and Neil Young just to name a few. We are headed back to Seattle tonight for a 6:40 a.m. departure. We will arrive tired and ready to get back into the busy work schedule having seen another set of games. There really is nothing like being here.

Rick

On the beautiful sightseeing trip to scenic Whistler, some of us took in all of the beauty - some of us took in beauty sleep.

Rick

Hockey is the national sport of Canada. The Canadians, overall, are doing well in the games, poised to win the most gold medals of any country and especially a host country. So, it comes down to the final game of the games - the Gold Medal match for Men's Hockey. Do you think this country is focused? Do you think there is some pressure on the Canadian team to win? When I was out this morning, the throngs on the streets were unreal. I have been in Philadelphia and New York when the World Series was decided. I know what kind of festivities goes on when the "home team" wins. This in not a local team. The Canadian team is the National team. If, perhaps, the USA team beats the Canadian team today, there will not be the partying in the streets of USA as there will be if the situation gets reversed. I was originally intending to go watch the game at LiveCity across the street. The line to get in there to watch the game is about a 2 hour wait. So, I will sit down in our living room, and cheer for the better team to win. Yes, I will be rooting for the Americans, but they are not just playing against the whole Canadian Team of 20+ players, they are playing against an entire country. If they beat them it will not be another Miracle on Ice like in 1980. We did that once against a formidible opponent in Russia. Today is a chance to take gold from the favorite and do so with a miraculous performance. What we are experiencing, being here in the streets of Vancouver, is some incredible Nationalistic pride.

Rick

What an amazing time here in Vancouver! Bobsleigh in Whistler; hanging out in the city; 'doing' the Today Show; Figure Skating Exhibition and we will go to the Closing Ceremony tomorrow!

With a worrisome start to the trip (medics in the Philadelphia Airport) and a long trip out - we started out the trip tired! But the exhileration of climbing the bobsleigh course and watching the women athletes was a great way to start our time in Vancouver.

I have some videos of the start of the a few bobsleigh races that I will try to post.

Today (Saturday), Chris and I decided to try to get into the Figure Skating Exhibition and we did. For a great deal, we sat on the long side of the rink, not too far up and enjoyed an amazing event. As I posted to everyone on Facebook - where can you see so many medal winning figure skaters performing all at the same time? VERY exciting! And Chris got Scott Hamilton's autograph and a photo with him that I will post soon enough! (how cool is that!)

We met some fellow figure skater lovers on our way out of the venue and had the pleasure of hanging out with them, going to the flame with them and then to dinner. We are all here for the same reason - the Games! It is so great to be with people from all over the world, to share stories and to support the Games!!

I have a few videos of the skating that I will try to post.

Lots and lots more to write,

The picture is of the US Ice Dance Pair Meryl Davis and Charlie White. They are signing our flag at the set of the Today Show.

I am not a fan of the medal count. Ok, I know, WE are winning overall. Isn't life about winning? I know all the arguments. It is the emphasis on this whole medal thing that gets me a little upset. I have watched a number of events where the, for instance, 30th place finisher is busting their butt to make it across the finish line. This, by the way IS the world stage. There are only 80 some countries represented here where in the summer of '08 it was around 200. There are only 2400 athletes here as compared to about 10,000 in Beijing. Not everyone wins a medal. (And, of course, Apollo Ohno has taken home his share of them.) So how many medals has Nigeria won? You are not up on that count? Their athete(s) are here competing anyway. We have a tendency to want to watch the winner and we have become used to the fact that the Americans will do well. How many of the events do you actually see in prime time? They will only show the ones that the sponsors think will attract viewers. That is why the US victory over Canada was only shown on MSNBC rather that NBC in prime time. Hockey does not have the viewers and, apparently, the Americans were going to lose that game. Wow, now they are matched up again tomorrow for the Gold Medal game. So, are we winning the Olympics? I am such a purist thinking that this is all about being in the games. They only give out three place medals. This is not like Little League were every team down to 10th place gets a trophy so big it will not fit into the kids bedroom. Sorry for sounding off, but then that is what a blog is for. Comments please!!

Rick

Whenever you attend the Olympics, you have to figure out where you are going to stay. Many of the people in the host cities think they are going to make a "fortune" on the games by renting their places. We also found what we think were "scams" of people posting fake lodging places. We found a number of places on Craig's List and made our final contact and confirmation with Julie on the Saturday night before we left to come out. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Before I get into describing where we are, let me give you a little history of our lodging.
We stayed in Barcelona in an apartment rented by a college student who had stayed with my family two summers prior to the games. It was not the lap of luxury, but it was free and located about a two minute walk from the subway and we were in downtown in 10 minutes.
In Atlanta, I stayed with a high school classmate and we were far north of the city and it required a lot of travel each day.
In Salt Lake City, we found a woman on-line who decided to rent the rooms of her house after she placed third in the women's skeleton trials for the US and did not make the team. We met a super couple from Chicago there who we hung out with at several events.
In Athens, Christina found someone on-line who was renting an apartment for his brother who was going on vacation. The person renting lived in New York and his brother was in Athens. It was close to public transportation but a little work to get to events.
In Beijing, we rented an apartment from a business aquaintance of brother-in-law Michael. Ideally located right near a subway station in the business district of Beijing.
Here, we are in an ideal location. We are in downtown Yaletown. We are in a 2 bedroom apartment in a building that has a pool and hot tub. It is a couple minute walk to the subway and located across the street from LiveCity which is an entertainment center and a host to many sponsor pavilions. We are also close to many stores and food areas. It is also a busy part of town with a lot of people coming and going all day. It is not easy to arrange all of this. We have not seen a lot of events, but we are in the heart of the Olympics in a city that is bubbling with their success in the medal count. Canadian TV is constantly mentioning that Canada is winning in the gold medal race. We know that the US is winning in the medal count overall. Maybe the next blog I'll go on about the medal count.

Rick

I will speak from some experience. I have been to six Olympic games. There is an atmosphere at each one. People have asked me in the past about which one was my favorite. I always reply with a standard answer, "my first games in Barcelona". Simply because it was the first and, secondly, because I had the chance to share it with my father.
Vancouver has been different. When in Spain, the fans were very present, but not too enthusiastic. Spain does not have a rich history of success in the games. When in Atlanta, the Americans turned out in droves. The response was very overwhelming depending on which venue you attended and how well the Americans did. For instance, we attended Badminton and the Americans had very little presence in that event. When the Americans were doing well in an event, the fans responded well. In Athens, the Greeks did not expect to do well in the medal count, so the enthusiasm was not all that great, although they were very friendly and welcoming.
In Salt Lake City, I can reflect solely from the perspective of the events we attended. We went to a Nordic event and the Americans were certainly present. They were not as enthusiastic as the crowd from some of the countries that, traditionally, do well in these events; ie: Norway. In Beijing, it seemed that the fans were there out of obligation. It was just a feeling that I had but, it seemed that they were there to fill the seats. It is much different here in Vancouver. Especially now at the end of the games and the Canadians are doing well. They are in line for the gold in Hockey matched up against the Americans in a rematch. They are going to medal in Curling in both divisions, although the women could have won their match today for the gold. The town is alive with friendly, enthusiastic fans. They are all over the place. They are filling the downtown streets with their cheers for Canada and everyone is clad in red. It is just a feeling, but it is different from any of the other experiences.
We had dinner tonight with our host, Julie. She took us downtown to a Chinese restaurant that she favors. It was a great meal and she ordered so much food that, with what we brought home, we may not need to eat meals away from the apartment for the rest of our stay. One more day and then it will be the final day of the games. We are poised for the Closing Ceremonies. We purchased tickets from someone on Craig's List and we are set to go. It will be a great end to the games.

Rick

We spent the last 24 hours busy and awake in order to see and be on the NBC Today show. We did it in some fine fashion, but we will revel this to you in subsequent blogs. Attached are a few experiences up on Grouse Mountain. We did meet an outstanding group of Olympic medal winners.
We need to go to bed.

Ok, we have been up for 24 hours, but it was a unique experience and one that will, most likely, transcend the fatigue. After getting a little rest, we headed to Grouse Mountain last night for a late dinner reservation at the Observatory Restaurant at the Peak Chalet. This is the home, up until this early morning, of the Today Show on NBC. In our previous Olympic travels, we have been a part of the Today show in Athens and Beijing. While in Athens, we knew someone (Richie) who was a sound technician working for the show. We made contact with him and he got us onto the set, introduced us to Matt Lauer and Katie Couric, and, basically, gave us a chance to meet many Olympians. We also were introduced to Howie who worked in the control room. When we went to Beijing, we tried to connect with Richie and found that he had contracted cancer and did not make the the trip. We did hang with Howie and had some great experiences. Just out of the blue today, I ran into Howie in downtown Vancouver. He did not remember me, but was clear about interaction with people in Athens and Beijing. Much to the dissappointment of the two women that I am traveling with, Howie told me that Matt Lauer had just left this morning for New York. (Chris was so dissappointed). One thing you have to remember about a live show that goes on at 7:00 a.m. in the EST, it is live in PST at 4:00 a.m. So, we stayed up all night. It started snowing outside of the studio some time after 12:00. By the time we went out around 3:00 a.m., it was snowing pretty heavy. We were not sure where they would originate the show and who would be the guests. As it turned out, they started outside and, since this was their last show, they had a strong group of USA medals winners show up. We positioned ourselves to be on the camera at the start of the show and to meet and greet many of the athletes. These included many members of the Women's Hockey Team that had taken the silver medal that day. What a day. I went to bed and am now writing this while watching the Women's gold medal match in Curling at 5:30 p.m.

Pictures are of on the Today Show set and the men's aerialist Gold medalist.

Rick











































































































m. PST.nti the show was ready.

Today was an open day for events, but I managed to take one in anyway. The girls had to do some shopping since we have reservations for dinner at Grouse Mountain where the NBC Today Show is broadcast at 4:00 a.m. PST in order to be live in NY at 7:00 a.m. Of course Friday is going to be a wash.
Today, Christina had to do some work early and Chris wanted to shop, so I ventured out to see the sights. I was able to get into the heart of downtown, do some pin purchasing, see the Olympic Flame, take in some street entertainers, do some Olympic shopping in Gastown, and then have time to think about taking in an event.
I knew that the Curling semifinals were taking place today at 2:00. I did not have tickets, but had heard that you could go to the venue and there would be scalpers selling tickets. So, I took the Canada Line Subway to the station located near the venue. (near is the optimal term here since it was a healthy walk away - nothing new to the Olympics). When I exited the subway station, I immediately ran into ticket scalpers. They all wanted way more than I wanted to pay. I knew what the tickets sold for at face value, so I held to a firm price. I engaged about four scalpers and they all wanted about $160 to $170 apiece for a ticket. The face was $100 since this was a semi round. I walked back and forth telling each of them that my bottom line price was $100. I then walked away and stood near the exit of the subway. After a while, one of the scalpers walked over and offered me one of the tickets for my price constantly letting me know that this was below the actual price he paid for the ticket. I told him that this was better than having it in his hand after the start of the event. We both walked away happy. As far as Curling goes, it is a blast; especially when the host country is in the lead. The Canadian team is really masterful in their performing. The Skip of the team is very strategic in his planning of each end. His strategy lead the Swedish team to mistakes that built the Canadian lead early in the match. It was a strategic run-away by the 9th end. All-in-all, it was a great day. I had some super conversations with Canadians at the venue who all appreciated that an American was in the audience to see their team perform.
Argue as much as you want about Curling being a real sport. Since I had an opportunity to try this at the Curling Club in Paoli back in 2002, I have some appreciation of what it takes to roll a 42 lb. stone 163 feet into the "house" for a score. When on the world stage of the Olympics, it is far removed from a recreational outing and into the realm of elite performance. These are well trained athletes. If you have paid any attention to the the broadcasting you will have heard about the their training schedules. Attending this event, despite the absence of the American team, was a treat. It was to be appreciated from the world of athletics.

Rick
Sorry, but pictures will not upload.

Today we feel like we have to get around town. Getting out of bed was tough. Not much sleep last night. It is raining again in downtown Vancouver. We have not seen the sun since arriving. So the big plans are to do some shopping, see some sights, try to get into an event (we don't have tickets yet) and then go to Grouse Mountain for a 10:00 p.m. dinner reservation. This will allow us to stay in the Peak Chalet and then give us (hopefully) first access to the NBC Today Show. The unfortunate part about this is that it goes live in New York at EST 7:00 a.m. That means that we have to be at the show at 4:00 a.m. our time. What fun this will be staying up all night. Maybe you can look for us on TV. We want to meet Matt Lauer again and brought a picture with us of Christina and Matt from our Athens trip in 2004 to try to spur his interest. We will be the wild and crazy Americans from West Chester, PA.

Rick

We woke up on Thursday morning with the intent that we would get to the Whistler Sliding Center and the Women's Bobsled Finals, Sounds easy does't it. When you sit at home at watch the games in the comfort of your TV room, you have no idea what thousands of Olympic fans have done to get to an event. Today was an example. First of all, you can not drive to the venues, especially Whistler. Whistler is accessed via the Sea to Sky highway and it could not handle all of that traffic. So, unless you are in an officially Olympic sanctioned vehicled, you can not get there. So we needed to get to an area, (which happened to be 20 minutes outside the city) in order to get a bus to go to the venue. In order to do this we had to ride the Cananda Line Subway to a bus, to another bus and then get there. Then we had the beautiful, scenic, two-hour bus ride to Whistler.
Once there, we took in some shopping in the quaint ski village of north Whistler. The Whistler Medals Plaza is located here, so you may have seen this area on TV. We decided to go to the event at the sliding center, and we had to get on a Gondola to go up the mountain. You realize that the bobsled comes down the hill. After getting off the gondola, we had to walk through snow to the security line. They are more thorough here than going through an airport security. So, this takes time. Once we are "in" we get to walk to the bobsled track. We get to the final curve and the finish area and watch a couple of "forefunner". These are sleds sent down the course before the real contestants to test the track. We walk "up" to see a couple of more turns and get the bright idea that we want to walk to the start area. This, you realize is at the top of the run, so it means climbing up. In the words of Chris, "this was an invigorating walk". What an understatement! It is a trek that requires us to stop and take a few "breathers" along the way in order to catch a couple of sleds do a turn or two. Once at the top, we realize that we are going to stay and watch the start of the last heat, number 4. This puts the Canadian teams in the 3rd to last and last position and the Americans second from last. The Canadian and American fans along the route were very enthusiastic. Teh end result was Canada with Gold and Silver and the Americans in Bronze. Canada was happy.
Now, we had to get back home. This included getting down the mountain, waiting to ride in the rain down the Gondola, and getting to the bus on time to not miss the last ride at 9:00. Then it was the 2 hour bus ride back and, we decided, to take a $30 cab ride to the apartment. This got us home by midnight. What a day!! We saw the event, but it was a lot of work. Maybe now you will understand what the average fan goes through to be at the games live. You really can't appreciate all of that atmosphere without being here, just understand that it is not easy.
Rick

2010 Vancouver Olympics Games
We arrived last evening after hitting some bad end of the day traffic coming out of Seattle. It was a good drive up crossing the border without any difficulty. We used our GPS to locate the apartment and called Julie, our landlord, who met us out front. She took us into the underground parking space and then we got acclimated to the apartment and she took us to a Japanese restaurant for some international fare. We even got to teach Chris how to use chopsticks so she would not starve. Julie told us about the first tenants she had from Miami and who had left the day we arrived. They trashed her apartment, stole some perfumes, and some of her clothing. We will do our best to rectify the image of the ugly Americans. The apartment is located in a central spot downtown. It is just across from one of the nightly entertainment centers called Live City. It has a nightly stage and fireworks every night at 10:30 p.m. Today is a trip to Whistler and the Women’s Bobsled Finals. It is also our first test of the public transportation system. The picture attached is of our landlord Julie and Chris and Christina. Off to a rainy day.
Rick

We are off again. It is a journey to Vancouver this time for two Olympic "veterans" and one "rookie". Three of us are leaving on February 23rd to fly into Seattle and then travel north to Vancouver. This will be the sixth Olympics for Rick, the fifth for Rick and Christina together, and Chris Hasen (who attended the USA hockey victory over the Soviets in 1980) is the new person to the adventures. We are excited about being in Vancouver and traveling north to Whistler to see the finals of the women's bobsled event. It will be our second sliding event, having seen the luge in Salt Lake City.

This blog is intended to be a transition blog, as provided by the Daily Local News, from our blog in 2008 when we traveled to China. If you did not get a chance to read our postings from Beijing, then it is still up and available for you to see along with a link to Shutterfly in the final post to see all of the pictures from the trip. We look forward to bringing to you our experiences in Canada and sharing some first hand thoughts and impressions with you. Please feel free to comment back or ask questions. We will try to answer anything that comes our way. Meanwhile, look for us on TV.

Rick Stevenson, Christina Valocchi, and Chris Hasen