Day 12

After waking up feeling like I'd consumed several bottles of Tequila, some cooking wine and a little Aqua Velva, we headed back to the West Coast Express, (I once again parked about 2 blocks away, can you believe there's no parking at the Port Haney Station?) and got on the 2:17 train. This time there was hardly anyone there, I'm guessing because it was raining. It was also quite a bit colder than Day 11. We took Ryan's sister Brianna who hadn't been downtown during the Olympics yet.

It's interesting that along the way we passed the McBarge which was actually a floating McDonalds used during Expo. It is now an old floating pile of McRust. I don't know why they didn't fix it up and use it for the Olympics since McDonalds is a sponsor. They could've put it in the water by the cauldron or in False Creek near the BC Pavilion. Maybe the best spot would be the Olympic Village since as the commercials show, eating at McDonalds can make you an Olympic champion. We also passed two cruise ships. One from Holland-America and the other from Carnival. I'd heard that the entire Security force was staying on a cruise ship, but I'm not sure what the other one was for. Maybe Brian Williams' ego.

Walking outside the Waterfront Station, it was nice to see that the crowd was much smaller than the day before. We met our good friend Camille (who I would call my best friend since she has bookmarked this blog and can access it on her phone. For those of you who don't keep up on your technology, a bookmark is a small paper thingy that you put in between pages in a book so you know where you left off) and continued to the cauldron. (Incidentally, in the photo, Camille and I pose with Rita McNeil. Great to see her out and about in the Olympic City.) We waited only a few minutes to go up to the roof and took more photos. Too bad it wasn't sunny. It just wasn't as nice in the rain. And we couldn't even see Grouse Mountain. Or any mountains. We may as well have been in Regina. Except there were no cows. Or wheat fields. Or really slow drivers in the fast lane.

Since we were late getting into Vancouver it was already almost time for the big men's hockey game. It was Canada playing Germany and Luongo was going to be back in net. At this point our goal was to find a place to watch the game. We headed down Robson Street and every place was packed. Camille told us that the Vogue Theatre on Granville Street was showing the game so we headed there. We got seats on the balcony for $17.50 and were able to warm up and dry up somewhat. Plus, I was able to rest my aching feet. It turned out to be a pretty entertaining game. I was pretty sure Canada would win but I wanted Luongo to play well enough to earn a start in the next game. Canada ended up winning 8-2 and Luongo will apparently start the Quarterfinal game. I also felt like a winner because they had Ketchup Chips and Coke and I was sitting in a comfy seat. It was almost like being at home. Almost. Plus, Camille brought me some Mini Oreo Cookies. (Reaffirming her best friend status.)

After the game we went into Pacific Centre Mall and ate Chinese Food at the Food Court. Nothing says gourmet meal like Food Court Chinese Food. Afterwards, Camille decided to head home, since she had a pretty bad headache. Actually I think it was because I kept bitching about my sore feet. After she left we headed to The Bay because Ryan wanted to buy some Olympic stuff. As if we didn't already have enough. We lined up down the side of the building marking the first time in my life I've lined up outside a building to go shopping. The place was totally swamped but they had everything you could imagine, from Olympic house coats to Olympic dish towels. I didn't see Olympic toilet paper though now there was a missed opportunity. I bought a book that documents the Torch Run across Canada. It's a great book with some spectacular pictures and in the back it not only mentions every single place the torch was run but also every single torch bearer. Very cool. I bought it for $30 but I found out later that it was only $25 at HMV. Anyways, it is well worth it, even though I'm still bitter because they wouldn't let me drive in my car with it. I also bought a couple of pins but the Luongo pin was sold out. That one may be worth money some day. Especially if he wins us a Gold Medal. While we were in line to buy our merchandise, we got to watch Canadian Figure Skater Joannie Rochette skate her short program. Her mother passed away suddenly in Vancouver only a couple days ago. She was determined to skate for her mother and she skated brilliantly. When the music stopped and the program was over she broke down. She skated off the ice and cried on her coaches shoulder and the hundreds of shoppers in The Bay broke out in applause. It was one of those magical moments and she ended up in third place after the short program with the long program coming up on Thursday. After 2 hours in The Bay (Ryan couldn't decide which jacket to buy) we headed back to Robson Street.

Robson Square looked great all lit up. There were tons of lights in the trees and some of them were blossoming. Next to the sheet of ice a band was playing. Silverlode, with Geoff Gibbons. They sang a song that I just love and did a great job. And no, I don't remember the name of the song but it's a Canadian classic. There were a lot of people watching and there were big screens throughout the square showing the concert. The footage was even projected onto the side of the Sears building. Very cool.

We walked for another 10 or 20 miles. (Have I mentioned my aching feet?) We saw the Olympic Clock and took more pictures. We saw some lit up Polar Bears near Pacific Centre that looked very similar to the giant Polar Bear that was in the Opening Ceremonies. We also went to the Canada Pavilion at Georgia and Beatty Street. I thought it was pretty cool. We got some pictures of us on a bobsled (if I'd known they had a bobsled I would've worn my tights) and Ryan and Brianna got their picture taken with a torch. The Stanley Cup was supposed to be there but apparently only from noon to 3 pm. I don't know what that's all about and nobody could give me an answer, but at least I know I'll be seeing it in June when Luongo parades it through the streets of Vancouver. Hey, a little optimism never hurt. While the Pavilion was pretty cool, I don't think it was 10 million dollars cool. And it's kind of disappointing that they got a US Company to construct it. I don't really understand that. They should have known the media would be all over that story. Way to go Harper.

Once again, besides watching the Canadian hockey game and seeing one figure skater perform, we were completely out of touch with what was going on. But this is an Olympic blog and so maybe it's time to talk some sports.

Before we even headed downtown, they had the Women's Ski Cross. Since I slept in I didn't get to see it but my cousin Julia Murray competed. She injured herself a few weeks ago and wasn't sure if she'd be able to ski but she did and finished a fairly respectable 12th. The big story however was that Canadian Ashleigh McIvor (no not the fiddler, that's McIsaac) won the Gold. It's pretty cool that both days we spent in Vancouver we got to see the Gold Rings on the water. I guess we were good luck. Canada now has 6 Gold, 4 Silver and a Bronze and has 18 (count 'em 18) 4th and 5th place finishes. We could have 29 medals by now. (I'm sure I could've won a medal if cake eating was an Olympic event.)

In Women's Curling, Canada beat Great Britain 6-5 (prompting the Queen to mutter 'Pity'), and then beat Russia 7-3 (prompting President Poutin to yell 'Nyet') and in Men's Curling, Canada beat China 10-3 (prompting Britney Spears to ask 'China? Like dinner plates?') Both Canadian teams look strong and both are favored for Gold.

In other Men's hockey the Czechs and Slovaks won their games over Norway and Belarus. The Quarterfinals which are on Day 13 will feature the mighty Canadians against the mighty Russians, the Finns against the Czechs, Sweden vs Slovakia and the US, with the easiest matchup play the Swiss. The Canada-Russia game is pretty much a toss up with probably a slight edge to Canada. It will likely come down to goaltending however. Luongo has a great record against Ovechkin though so that plays in his favor. Don't expect the Swedes and Finns to pull through easily. The Czechs and Slovaks are good teams and they will probably be close games. I will pick the Slovaks to upset the Swedes. In the US-Swiss game, the US should take that pretty handily. That's the crappy thing about Canada losing to the US, not only did we have to play on Day 12 while the US got a bye, we also face a much tougher Russian team in the Quarters. The good news is that Canada has to gel as a team now and if we beat the Russians there is a very good chance we will take the Gold.

Day 13 will see Women's Bobsleigh, Curling tiebreakers (I don't know what that means either), Women's Aerials skiing up at Cypress, both Short and Long Track Speed Skating, and of course the Men's Hockey Quarter Finals. Sounds like a nachos and seven layer dip with a nice Chardonnay and my new Olympic blanket kind of night. And I am only hours away from a tear-stained reunion with my easy chair. Should be another one of those magical moments.