Now I Know What It's Like to Hold a Gold Medal

I must have caught the Olympic bug. Today was the only day for the next five days that I could sleep in. Instead, I was up early to head out to the SkyTrain and take it in the opposite direction for a change to go down to the Richmond Olympic Oval (ROO). I really wanted to get into the ROO to see the inside as it has been described as the jewel of the Vancouver venues. Today was one of the few days that would work for my schedule.

I have been tracking the tickets for today's speed skating event online for a couple of weeks but tickets stayed in the $500 to $600 range (for a $185 or $95 ticket.) It came down as low as $450 earlier this week so I wondered if there might be cheap tickets left at the last minute as people who wanted to sell were dumping their tickets. Alas, today's event disappeared from the Internet selling site on Thursday and never returned. VANOC said last night that there might be a small number of tickets available for today once they knew the final TV camera positions. So I thought I'd head out to see what was available.

I got to the box office at the ROO about 15 minutes before it opened. I was about the 30th person in line. The fellow next to me was from The Netherlands and had only decided to come to Vancouver a week ago. He was desperately trying to get tickets for tomorrow or today. We had a good chat about Canada and the Olympics. Alas, about 15 minutes after the box office opened, a ticketing staff member came out to tell us that today's event was sold out. Rats. I said goodbye to my new Dutch friend and walked back along the Fraser River sea wall to the SkyTrain.

I guess I have now been in Vancouver too long as I keep bumping in to people I know--and I don't know that many people here. Yesterday I met Yanni, my colleague from Greece, when I was lining up to get into the Stadium. In fact he recognized me first. Today as I was walking back to the SkyTrain, I ran into my colleague Anne from Peterborough who was going to the event I wanted to see.

Richmond has erected an Inukshuk monument along the path to the ROO to honor the speed skaters.

There were lots of speed skating fans all dressed up in their national colors on their way to the Oval. The Dutch, in their orange outfits--jackets, pants, hats, mittens--were the brightest.

Also along the path I passed the University of British Columbia Boathouse which has been taken over and turned into Canada's speed skating headquarters.

There were Dutch people along the path handing out Day-Glo orange mittens to everyone. There was also a company at the SkyTrain station handing out earmuffs that wrap around the back of your head. No tickets on this excursion; just swag.

While I was in Richmond I thought I would head down to the Richmond O|Zone to see the Ice Gate ice sculpture I had read about. It is so nice to have free public transportation.

While the route I take to the Stadium on the SkyTrain is all underground, at the other end of the Canada Line in Richmond it earns it's name as it runs on an elevated guideway. (I had to fit that word in for fellow Xappers so I took the picture.)

At the O|Zone, like at all the other outdoor plazas and celebration sites, there was a large video screen so everyone could keep track of the action at the Olympic events.

Unfortunately, although the sculpture looks awesome, there was too much glare during the day from the glass in front of the sculpture to get a decent picture. It is lit up at night so I'll return some evening to get better shots. I'll bet the colours look incredible at night.






So back on the SkyTrain to downtown.

I can't get over how everywhere I go from riding the train to standing in line to being served in restaurants and stores, everyone wants to talk. In fact today I was a minor celebrity when, in response to the usual question from strangers "What events do you have tickets for?" I answered, "Last night I was at the Opening Ceremonies." In one line a woman immediately turned around and told the other strangers behind her. Everyone wanted to know what it was like to have been there and all said that, from their TV viewing, thought it was wonderful. (They announced today that it was the most watched TV show in Canadian history. 39% of Canadians watched the whole show; 69% watched some part.)

I got off downtown at Waterfront Station and walked down Waterfront Road.

There are pin traders everywhere now. This fellow wanted to charge me a buck just to take his picture.

What I wanted to see in this part of town was the outdoor Olympic Cauldron that was lit last night by Wayne Gretzky after the ceremony inside BC Place Stadium was over. It is on the waterfront beside the Vancouver Convention Centre. It was announced this morning that it will be a permanent part of Jack Poole Plaza (named after a man who was instrumental in bringing these Games to Vancouver but who died last fall on the day that the Olympic flame was lit in Greece.)

Unfortunately it is presently behind unsightly chain link fencing. Hopefully this is because it was hidden from view until late last night to be a surprise and will be rectified soon. Despite that there were plenty of people out to get a peek and a picture today.

The flame was located beside the new addition to the Vancouver Convention Centre which is being used as the International Broadcast Centre. This  huge new building actually has grass growing on its roof.

Next I wanted to see the pavilion being run by the Royal Canadian Mint. In addition to making all of our regular and Olympic coins, they made all the medals for  the Games. The advertising had said that you would be able to see the medals at their pavillion. What I was surprised to learn when I got inside was that we would be able to actually hold the medals.

The pavilion was in a lovely old bank building that is presently used by Simon Fraser University as a downtown location.


In preparation for touching the medals, everyone was given a special white glove to wear, The guard at the door to the room also told us that, to respect the athletes who will win the medals, to please not take pictures with our faces too close to the medals and to keep them low--below our hearts. I must admit I didn't get all that but at the risk of being shot I obeyed.

Not only did I get to hold a gold medal (very heavy at 1.5 pounds) but the man watching the medals while I was there was the engineer from the Mint who developed the way to have the unique medals etched on the front with the First Nations design and engraved on the back--not an easy job when the surface is not flat. We had a great conversation.

I liked the design and the concept when I first saw pictures but they are truly stunning when you see them in person. Each of the 600 or so Olympic medals is different with the designs taken from a larger First Nations pattern. The medals roll in a way to represent the landscape of British Columbia.

Also at the Mint's pavilion was a $1 million coin. The 100 kg, 99999 pure gold bullion coin with a $1 million face value was originally conceived in 2007 as a unique way to promote the Mint's new line of 99999 pure 1 oz Gold Maple Leaf bullion coins. After several interested buyers came forward, the Mint decided to make a very limited quantity available for sale. To date, five of these gold bullion coins, have been purchased by investors from Canada and abroad. I passed.

I strolled back across downtown in the rain, grabbed a hot dog on Granville Street and headed towards Yaletown. I have seen these before but I keep forgetting to take a picture. Even the Canada Post mailboxes in Vancouver are colourfully decorated for visitors.

I passed the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Vancouver building and a segment of Hockey Night in Canada was being shot outside the building in front of cheering fans.

I hopped on the SkyTrain and headed for home. On the way back a Russian athlete or official was sitting in the front of the SkyTrain taking pictures of the driverless train and the tunnels. He got so focused he missed his stop at the Olympic Village.

I need to get some cleaning done at the house as I have guests coming tonight. Friends from Ottawa have been in Hawaii and needed to spend the night on their return trip in Vancouver. My house is close to the airport and I have plenty of room so I am picking them up. We'll have just a few hours to visit before they head out in the morning.

Back to work at the Stadium for me tomorrow. Despite the rain, it was another grand Olympic day.