Vancouver! Part 3

Wednesday, the 17th.

Wow. For the first time in days, I woke up feeling like a human. The only thing we had on tap for the day was the men's 1000 in the afternoon. Sounds like a great opportunity to soak in a little local culture. We started with breakfast, coffee, and the local paper at a little bistro in our neighborhood-loonies ($1) and toonies ($2) had to be spent! On that note, I soon learned that the money exchanges at the airport only deal with paper money, so I still have some Canadian Coin!

After breakfast, we took a nice long walk around the point. With the wind off the water, it was a brisk morning to be sure, but the walk was great. We passed all manner of fishing boat, large and small, and of course, took in more public art, random and planned! Again, it was interesting to see the Asian influence in the landscape . . . from wind-swept tundra to bonsai garden. We finished the hike at a local museum dedicated to to the fishing/canning industry . . . but we had no time for a history lesson! It was just another opportunity to pick

up some swag!

Somehow, through the fog of late nights, dripping noses, and general Olympic fever, we were able to carefully craft and recraft a strategic shopping plan . . . a carefully concocted battle plan to best avoid the daunting line and "blood in the water" atmosphere of the main downtown merchandise center. The plan involved aborting our daily commute halfway and striking where defenses were weaker . . . a satellite merch store close to the O-zone (another hub of Olympic brouhaha and sight of the popular Heineken house). Sadly, while this location was slightly less chaotic, it was also drastically less stocked. Oh well. The Richmond Oval awaits!

A short walk from the merch mall brought us to the Richmond Curling Association . . . basically adjacent to to the Oval. The plan was to meet up with friends for lunch before cheering on the racers. Curling. Is it a sport? A hobby? A retirement plan? It was pretty cool to see up close and personal . . . but I still have only the vaguest idea of how exactly it works. I actually heard on an NBC broadcast the other night that, of the fans who have been selling out the Olympic curling events, only about 25% of them understand the game.

Carrying empty backpacks with us (part of the master merchandise plan) this time routed us through increased security lines, but still getting into the oval was no problem. The Dutch were back in force, as was their soundtrack, the Klentie Pils. Again, the races were awesome. It may have even been cooler because we had a horse in the race . . . actually, THE horse in the race . . . Shawnie Davis. It was pretty amazing to see him race to victory! In a sort of selfish way, I was hoping to see a new world record . . . but didn't really expect it what with the Ice in that arena, but that aside, it was just an awesome experience!

After the races, we got a lift back downtown. I should say, after the races and after some awkward parking lot maneuvering, we got a lift back downtown. After a couple days of public transportation, it was pretty cool to get a different view of Vancouver. At the USA house, there was much reveling and discussion about the races (both that night's and for the past few decades!). We did make our final merchandise push that early evening, and despite all the carefully-crafted planning, we put ourselves in the slowest part of the line at the busiest time of the day. Sweet. Doesn't matter. Ride the Olympic Cloud.

Another longer-than-anticipated night at the USA house filled with awesome food and a couple of pitchers. With departure plans on the horizon, we opted for a cab ride back to Stevenson, and the RV. . . Another long day, but today we brought home the Gold.