Post Olympic Musings

The XXIWinter Olympic Games is history. Or is it?

It certainly looks as if the afterglow is seeking an intrinsic value into a more outward-going Canadian psyche -- but I’ll leave that discussion for the pundits. After all, something’s gotta justify the costs of our hangover.

I’ll simply share some random thoughts, observations and anecdotes that might not have made it into the mainstream media – some of the things that transformed our city either physically with traffic diversions and street closures, or emotionally as the city celebrated its time in the world spotlight.

• The Games opened during the city’s warmest 31-day stretch of winter weather on record. Yes, several events were postponed which is actually not unusual for a winter Olympics. Did anyone report that chilly Calgary had to postpone 70 events to accommodate weather variances?


• Participants in both Opening/Closing Ceremonies couldn’t use hairspray lest the pyrotechnics set heads aflame.


• Canadian flags created a landscape of red and white: draped on roundabouts, hung in windows, covering the stone paws of the legendary Lions Gate Bridge lions, portrayed as eyeglass lenses, converted into Superhero costumes, painted on cheeks …. Everywhere, on young and old, on tall and stout people, buildings and animals. The Games seemed to quench an unparalleled thirst to demonstrate a unity of patriotism. GO CANADA GO.


• 2,000 official vehicles catered to 2730 athletes; watch for deals when they (the cars not the passengers) are sold across Canada as end-of-lease vehicles only these ones will bear the Vancouver Olympic logo.


• A round of applause for hot-country, one-athlete teams who managed to qualify: Senegal, Portugal, Taipei, Bermuda, Columbia, Morocco, Ghana, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Mexico, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Albania, Algeria and Ethiopia.


• Shoppers usually had to endure a four-block line up around the Hudson Bay to get their hands on Olympic gear. VISA reports they spent nearly US $5.2 million on Opening Day alone.


• The Athletes Village is North America’s greenest community; the second in the world to earn LEED platinum certification; some units were converted from containers; students at Emily Carr/UBC art programs designed and made the outdoor furniture.


• The simple strategy of closing liquor stores four hours early meant that partying rarely turned into rowdy gatherings. When police asked selected revellers to pour drinks down drains, they did without fuss. Had Canada lost the Hockey Gold to the USA, perhaps things would have been different that last night.


• Overall Games costs’ are $6 billion and counting. In most instances, we shone but shame of the $10 million spent on the Canada Pavilion. Half the cost was for the architecturally-uninspired, US-provided tent (huh?); the other half went to uninspired touch-screen exhibits geared to the under-10 crowd. Government trying to do kids’ fun is an oxymoron.


• Miss the roving packs of national teams exploring the downtown core and media cameras always positioned to catch the latest street colour. And miss the innovative broadcast venues such as NBC atop Grouse Mountain, Swiss on Granville Island, and the Russians in Science World.
  
  More random anecdotes to come……
  
  

A NOT SO PERFECT POEM

I'll be blogging some catch-up observations on the Great Olympic event soon, but meanwhile, in case you've missed this in your web meanderings .... this is kinda cool:

So We're Not Perfect!

Do you believe?
We never claimed to be perfect,
That means we’ve learned to be humble.
We say excuse me and I'm sorry…as well as please and thanks,
Even when its not our fault we apologize.

Sure one arm of the torch didn't rise,
But when the earthquake struck Haiti,
Canadians raised their hands to say…”We’ll help.”

And yah, there is a fence around the torch,
But you can walk right up and shake hands with our prime minister and most famous Canadians. We put Gretzky in the back of a pick up, in the rain, not surrounded by police…and he was okay,
And by the way... the great one is Canadian…and HE wasn’t complaining!

We do have security at the games, of course, but most people don't even have a gun they have to leave at home.
The medals ARE under lock and key, but our doors and our hearts are open to the world.

It has been pointed out that some buses broke down last week…but let’s not overlook the fact that our banking system didn't.
We didn't get the "green ice maker" right this time…but we will, eventually,
Just like we did when we invented the zamboni.

Citius altius fortius
If you don't reach higher how do you get faster and stronger?
Was the first quad jump perfect?
Should we not have given snowboarding to the world "in case" it didn’t take off?
So big deal…one out of four torch arms didn't rise.
Good thing we had three more!
It’s called contingency planning!
But remember…the Canadarm works every time…in outerspace…and insulin turned out to be okay.

We couldn't change the weather, but maybe we can help to stop global warming.
We don't have the tax base of the US or the power of the Chinese but, per capita, we ponied up for some pretty kick-ass venues in the worst global recession ever.

Sure, some folks couldn't afford tickets, but our health care is universal.
We have shown the world that we can raise our voices in celebration and song, but moments later stand in silence to respect a tragic event...together...spontaneously…and unrehearsed.

What's more, we don't need permission from anyone to have a slam poet, fiddlers with piercings and a lesbian singer tell our story to the world while our multilingual female haitian-born, black head of state shares a box with her first nations equals.

We’ve shown the world that it doesn’t always rain in Vancouver, that you can strive for excellence, but not get hung up on perfection.

And we’ve learned what it feels like to be picked on by some no-name newspaper guy and we don’t have to take it lying down!

So the point is not the snow, or the hydraulics or a couple guys being 5 minutes late to a ceremony,
We know we’re lucky that these are the biggest problems we've had to deal with in the last couple weeks.
So take your cheap shots…Guardian newspaper and cynics of the world,
We're bigger and better than that.
What's more we're finally starting to believe it!

Do you believe?

OLYMPIC FEVER

I would be remiss if I didn’t write something during the biggest event Vancouver has ever hosted. After all, in addition to the longest (and most creative) torch relay in Winter Olympic history, Vancouver`s Opening Ceremonies succeeded in pulling together a national pride that even instilled a patriotism into the hearts of disconnected naysayers.

Weather Woes

Weather continues to be as ‘iffy’ and ironically, despite concerns of balmy temperatures on the city’s local mountain, Cypress, it was the one to open without hitches … which cannot be said for Whistler`s alpine skiing program where fog and slush ruled the track.

Feeling the Vibe

At sea level, the weather swings between drizzles, downpours and warm, spring sunshine with cloudless blue skies. Regardless, crowds in the downtown core just seem to flow through it all. They wait with the patience of Job to enter the various international pavilions, circle around impromptu buskers and entertainers on steps, plazas, and sidewalks; and meander down roads that during the Games,have become pedestrian only celebratory areas. Watch for actors dressed as British Columbia historical figures; endure a wait of up to five hours to catch a zip-line ride from one hi-rise tower to another across the downtown core below; hang around until 10:30 pm to see a pyrotechnic show at Robson Square (above a public ice-rink) or in Coal Harbour near the Olympic flame and Convention Centre -- home-base to 10,000 international media that range from a team of 35 for Slovakia TV to 1500 for NBC from the United States.

$900 million worth of safety

There is a gaggle of anti-Olympic protesters who make the odd appearance (sadly, they managed to break a few windows of the sponsor store carrying Olympic clothing and paraphernalia) but with some 15,000 security personnel prowling around, everything remains pretty safe and peaceful. In fact, it’s really quite a sight to see so many RCMP officers from across Canada; some with gold stripes to their uniform, others with red (from Saskatchewan), some wearing woolly hats (from the Atlantic provinces) and others speaking with a charming French accent. You see them hanging out at the local Starbucks, kitted out with dogs, diving gear, in patrolling helicopters overhead and in plain clothes. This gig in Lotusland must be a dream. Nowhere else in the country are the daffodils in bloom and cherry blossoms are a sun-ray away from bursting into colour. Oh yes, did I mention that NORAD has had a couple of intercepting flights out of the Vancouver International Airport and the bomb squad was called in to explode a stray bundle? Both incidences proved to be non-issues but the security contingent here is alert to every possible nuance.

Feet First

Downtown is remarkably quiet of cars. Vancouverites have taken heed to the preambles to leave vehicles at home and use public transit. Road closures and diversions are all par for the course and with no-stopping allowed in the many designated Olympic lanes (taxis are having a heck of a time picking up passengers), walking really is the best mode of transport. Besides, stopping in these lanes carries a hefty fine and/or a tow away. No excuses accepted.

And so the Olympic transformation continues.

OLYMPIC BUZZ

It’s pouring with rain, the snow is melting and the temperature is uncharacteristically warm for this time of year. But is there panic in my hometown that all these elements could undo the greatest party this city’s ever seen?

Not a chance.

As the city gets dressed for the ball, the excitement for the 2010 Games is palpable. Banners are emerging on streetscapes, colourful marquees now line the waterfront, flags are beginning to appear in windows, Christmas lights are still up (only now, many flicker red and white), and signs pepper the highways and byways, flashing messages of upcoming road closures and diversion.

Retailers still can’t keep up with the demand for wooly red mitts, emblazoned with the Canadian Maple Leaf in the palm – which is just as well because the weather folks are as optimistic for a chilly February as in-the-know sports enthusiasts are that Canada will own the podium this Olympic Games.

Although many Vancouverites are choosing to escape the scramble of hosting the world on their doorstep, I’m staying put. So what if there’s a traffic jam or two? I say, “Just chill in the cooler climes to come, and enjoy”.

And in case you are wondering? Yes, there are still rooms to be found. Check out the listings at http://www.greatestgetaways.com/

Olympic Christmas

Now that we've had our first snow, icey sleet and salted sidewalks, everyone at Travelink Publishing is getting the festive vibe.

Olympic 'stuff' is around the corner - catch us skating the Richmond Olympic Oval - and stay tuned for what it will be like in the eye of the storm. Our offices are in the Olympic 'red zone' so there's no telling what that actually means once the torch arrives back in Vancouver and security gets hot and heavy. Meanwhile, take note of city streets that are now decorated with decal-flags from each of the participating countries, and making up a flag-walk.

The holly trees have lots of red berries and since that's indicative of a heavy winter to come, the Games should have snow. Thank goodness.

But that's 2010, and we've still to celebrate the end of 2009 ....

So happy holidays from Travelink's scribes, video-masters and photographers all of who have some pretty nifty new ideas to keep you hot-wired to some of the neatest travel experiences.

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'!

HITTING THE YOU-TUBE WAVES

It's been a busy time over the summer, gathering video materials to create travel moments. Check out our (fishyracer) videos on Wolf Creek, Utah; Van Dop Gallery with Chris McBeath; Grouse Mountain with Chris McBeath and others that producer/director Bill Vanderford is whizzing together.