Sunday, February 13, 2011

2010 Olympic Anniversary Weekend

Yesterday was so much fun, I can hardly put it into words, really. The Olympic spirit is alive and well in Vancouver. Yesterday truly was a day for the Blue Jackets to celebrate everything we accomplished. All around the city, people were stopping us to thank us for our service to our city and our country. They were also stopping us to ask for help or information. Those jackets made a very strong impression with people and I feel very honoured to be a part of that legacy.

It felt really good to get together with several members of my team and create new memories while reliving our Olympic experience. We had breakfast together with John Furlong and had another chance to have our copies of Patriot Hearts signed. Since I already had a signed copy of my own from participating in the Flash Mob on Thursday, I got the additional copy personalized for my in-laws. John graciously (and patiently) signed books before breakfast and then spoke after our meal. I have some video of that that I will post tomorrow. (I haven't had a chance to upload it yet.)

My friend and teammate Sharon and I went over to Granville Street midday to join in the fun there and then later made our way back to Jack Poole Plaza for 4 p.m. to see the torch lit. We stayed until dusk so we could get photos after dark as well. It was a long day, but a good one. Here are a small fraction of the 235+ photos I took yesterday. As always, mouse over the images to read the captions.


Today I was up and out early with my husband as we had tickets to visit the Canadian Mint pavilion. During the Olympics, I tried 5 TIMES to see the medals, but was unable to gain access-that's how popular the pavilion was. When I heard we'd be given one last chance this weekend, I made sure I got tickets (which were free!) right away. Persistence pays off! It was the one thing on my Games to-do list that had been unwillingly left undone, so I was very happy to finally cross it off the list today.

The medals were gorgeous! The last time I saw them was in Ring Road on the night of the Closing Ceremonies. They were hanging around the necks of the athletes to whom they had been awarded. (Which was kind of a surreal experience.)

We had to put white cotton gloves on before we were allowed to touch them. The medals are surprisingly heavy, weighing in at 2.2 lbs. each. They had a considerable heft to them. It was well worth the wait to see them. The people working at the Mint were incredibly nice, which in my opinion made the experience that much more special. Even the police officer stationed there was super nice. Everyone is in such a wonderful, festive mood this weekend.
While I was talking with Susan, one of the Mint employees, my sweet husband snuck over to the counter and purchased two sets of the commemorative coins for me. I've been saving a good number of them as they show up in my change, but I haven't yet managed to collect the entire set. So Happy Valentine's Day to me!

Here's some of the photos  I took at the Canadian Mint Pavilion today.(Which admittedly need to be cropped, but I am too tired. Forgive me!)
Captions are there if you mouse over.


Now we are getting ready for a celebration dinner at home, followed by watching CTV's 1 Year Olympic Anniversary special. I am *SO* excited!! Before I sign off, I just wanted to remind you that I posted a GIVEAWAY earlier today (it's the previous post) so be sure to go to that post to get the details about how to enter to win!

2 comments:

Seth said...

This experience just keeps getting better and better. Thanks for sharing it here!

I need orange said...

Olympic medals are really amazing, aren't they!

A local swimmer took his silver with him when he spoke to groups, and let it be handed from one person to another in the crowd. I was one of those random strangers, on one occasion, and got to hold and examine his medal.

I was struck by its weight, and by the way he acquired it..........

A really amazing thing to get to handle.

Thank you for bringing us along on this amazing expedition!