Olympics

This past weekend we were in Vancouver to take in some of the Olympic action. We had so much fun. The weather was gorgeous; sunny and clear every day. We got to see Daina's new condo, which was walking distances to Granville Island and many other Vancouver sights. It was our base of operation for the weekend. We stayed nights at Daina's parents place in Richmond because Daina was having her water pipes replace and her shower redone. Like always her parents were gracious hosts and Ryan enjoyed talking sports with Mr. Markoff. We went to Grandville Island, saw the Swiss House and checked out some 'modern' art that was on display for the Olympics. There were also several street buskers performing. Daina stated that the city had tryouts for the street performers who would be given licenses to perform during the Olympics.

On Saturday, we went to UBC to take in two women's hockey games. Ryan went to the afternoon game with Daina and her parents. My sister met Micah and I at UBC. We went hiking on the nearby trails and walked along the beach while the others were at the game. After the game Ryan and I switched. Ryan took Micah back to Richmond and I stayed for the evening game: Russia vs. Slovakia. The crowd was lively and really got into the game. It was a close game and fun to watch.

On Sunday we had take-out sushi and ate it on the beach (English Bay). We took the water taxi back to Grandville Island. On the taxi, two men were talking about Vancouver, one stated that it is the best city in Canada, the other man was joking with him stating that he hasn't been anywhere else. He then proceeded to talk about Edmonton and stated that it is sad if you need a mall for your main entertainment. As coolly as possible I took off my sunglasses, looked at him, stated that we were from Edmonton and said something about the beautiful parks in Edmonton. The look on his face was priceless. He sputtered and tried to back track, stating that he had only been to Edmonton once. The guy with him was embarrassed and the old man beside us thought this whole scene was the funniest thing.

Micah got sick by the second day of our short trip and didn't sleep well during the night, but as always he was such a little trooper. We were lucky enough to fly executive class, which was wonderful as it allowed us to skip all the long line ups at the airport and relax in the lounge before our flights (and Ryan liked all the free drinks, especially the Guinness). As well, the extra room was so nice with Micah sharing the seats with us. All in all it was a wonderful, once in a lifetime trip and we were so glad that we were able to go. Below are some pictures.