During work on Friday, Kim and I decided that we'd head over to Vancouver just for the day on Saturday and take in all the sights that the 2010 Olympics have to offer. Since we wanted a full day there, we decided we wanted to get the second ferry over. That meant arriving at the bus depot at 5am, boarding the 7am ferry and arriving in downtown Vancouver at 9:30am - 4.5 hours of travel there.
We ran into our friend Chrissie on the ferry - she was meeting up with friends from college who were nice enough to come out and pick her up from the terminal. We enjoyed a delicious ferry breakfast (I actually do enjoy them!) and finally got to see the sun rise!
We got dropped off at the Art Gallery and there was already a line around the block. Kim and I decided to head towards the water to find the cauldron housing the Olympic flame. My friend Noah had been there earlier in the week and said it was worth waiting in line to have access to the viewing platform. Surprisingly, we waited less to see it on a Saturday than he had on a weekday - only half an hour!
We didn't have tickets for any events, but that morning on the bus, we talked it over and decided we'd head to Canada Hockey Place (GM Place) and see if we could either buy tickets at the booth (they said they might release small amounts of tickets right before events) or just see if any where for sale on the street. We decided that we'd pay up to $100 to watch an Olympic hockey game... the first scalper we ran into said he didn't have any in that range - we began to fear the worst. The next scalper we past was actaully too sketchy for us to even want to talk to - we just kept walking. We then came to another fellow (are there no woman scalpers?) and he started the sales pitch the moment we walked past. He had a great pair of tickets, just perfect for us. The game was Switzerland vs Norway - starting in 45 minutes. They were good seats - A level (tickets were sold in various price ranges when they were release, based on how good the seats were. A levels were always the best, and most expensive). Face value for these ones were $140, but he'd let us have them for for $130. He gave us the tickets to look at.... Ok - good deal, he'll part with them for $125. Kim and I turn the tickets over and over in our hands - are they real? How do we know? $120 - awesome seats, above the glass in the main bowl. I feel daring - I ask for them for $100 each... He brings it down to $115 and we decide to dive in. If they're fake - well, it'll have been an adventure. If they're real - we're happy with the price and off to a better adventure.
We traded cash for the tickets and set off down the path towards the game. We walked for about 20 minutes, passed another dozen or more scalpers and thousands of boisterous fans towards the gates. We texted our friends saying we might be watching a game - didn't want to get ahead of ourselves until the tickets were scanned and we were inside the building. We made it through the security checkpoint - had our bags checked after the scanners found containers in them. They checked out our water bottles and waved us through. Up the stairs and back down again, up another set and towards the door. We gave each other a nervous glance and held our tickets out to be scanned. SUCCESS!!! There were no bells and whistles proclaiming them to be fake. Our money was well spent and we gained access to the arena.
Our seats really were great - we had a great view of the ice, the TSN sportscasters and were surrounded by loud Norwegian fans - that helped me pick which team I'd be supporting.
I don't think we could have asked for a better game - tied 1-1 at the end of the 1st period, 2-2 at the end of the 2nd, and 4-4 at the end of the 3rd to send the game into overtime! Woooooo hooooo! Switzerland ended up taking home the win half way through that 5 minute round and the building erupted. We even ran into Lexi and Jenn during the first intermission - they were decked out in Canadian gear and cheering loudly for the Swiss.
For some reason, we were even entertained during the game by this poor little kangaroo that made it's way around the arena at least twice. It was kicked, pummeled and subjected to other unmentionable acts along the way. Is there a rivalry between Canada & Australia that I'm not aware of?
We headed back out into the sunshine and spend a few hours wandering around the Granville & Robson area. Watched the zipliners, checked out the many buskers and weaved in and out of the crowds. In a way, we felt like we were back home on the causeway in the midst of a busy summer tourist season. I think the days are quite different from the nights in Vancouver. I expected to see seas of people all breaking out into random cheers and chants - feeling the Olympic spirit all around. But it wasn't like that for me. Even when we were in line for the cauldron we could hear the whispered conversations of a couple 5 people away. We saw a few of the pavillions and country houses, but the lines were starting at 3 hours, and we didn't have that time to spend in line.
We ended up down by False Creek where a sea of inukshuks have been constructed - very cool! We had dinner at the Casino on the water and enjoyed the people watching.
Our day was coming to an end, so we headed over towards Science World - the bus depot is only a few blocks past that. We knew we had to be at the depot an hour before the bus departed, and we got there even earlier, as we were expecting big crowds. There were a few groups in line ahead of us at 6pm, the bus left at 7:20, got to the ferry at 8:05. We got to wait on the bus til we loaded on the 9pm ferry, and made it back to downtown Victoria by 11:30pm - 5.5 hours in transit and waiting.
We spent 9 hours that day waiting for a bus or ferry, or being on a bus or ferry. Insane. And tiring!
But oh so glad we went! Go Canada, Go! I'm proud of how it's all playing out over in Vancouver, and glad I made a point of being part of it.
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