Monday, November 23, 2009

Olympic Anticipation

When I see my last blog was in the height of summer, and it's now a dark, pouring wet, November afternoon, it's perhaps testimony as to my 'nose-to-the-grindstone' status.
But now, at the end of contributing to the http://www.hellobc.com/ website, updating many of the communities in the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Region for all those 2010 Olympic visitors, I've come to fall in love with British Columbia all over again. Communities like Delta, White Rock, Port Moody, Hope, Abbotsford and others may seem like quiet suburbs but wow, have they got a lot happening - birding, kayaking, wilderness hikes, fishing, extraordinary dining ... the list goes on.

Be sure to take the time and discover Vancouver's outlying areas. And if you're Whistler bound, drive another 20 minutes and you'll find Pemberton which many say is what Whistler used to be 25 years ago, before urban chic gentrified the mountain resort. From Pemberton, head across to the Fraser Canyon in a circle trip back to Vancouver.

If you're islands bound, tripAdvisor rates the current Frommer's guide to Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands as among the best resources to pack in your knapsack.

With the Winter Olympics fast becoming a reality; the tempo of anticipation is just now kicking in. It started with the torch relay that's currently criss-crossing the country via canoe, horseback, carriage, surf board - you name it, the flame's travelin' it!

Meanwhile, local mountains have a ton of snow already (in spite of the rain at lower levels); athletes are vying for practice time at the different venues (yes, the USA participants are getting their time alongside everyone else); security manouvers are putting air, sea and ground teams through their paces; transit rehearsals are about to hit the city streets, and everyone's beginning to wave red Olympic mittens with a white Canadian maple leaf emblem in the palm.

It's a whole new interpretation to 'catching the wave'!