Freestyle Moguls and Snowboard Cross

On Sunday, we had tickets for Men's Freestyle Moguls. This is the men's version of the same event won by American Hannah Kearney on Saturday night. We had to get to Capilano University to get an Olympic Bus System Bus to the venue: Cypress Mountain Ski Area, about 30 min. north of Vancouver. We were able to drive to the U, and park for free. But it was over a half-mile walk up hill to the bus circle. Then we got on the bus (had to buy a special bus ticket for each event) and rode up the mountain. The bus let us off and we walked another half-mile up to the security tents. The venue grandstands were about a 10 min. walk beyond that. This reinforces my earlier observation that spectators have to be pretty fit to make it to their seats.
Street performers lightened the mood at the Cypress Mountain venue.

We also passed by a huge crane helicopter close to the ski area. If you read about how the Olympic organizers have had to truck in and fly in snow to create the venues, this is one of the vehicles that can carry a 10-ton load each trip. We heard that 300 truck loads of snow were brought in from as far as three hours away.

A bouncing ball kept the crowd entertained during the break between qualifying and finals events

The Cypress Mountain venue has 2 major areas for events: moguls and aerials on one side, and snowboard cross and halfpipe on the other side. Sunday we were on the moguls side. Each competitor got a qualifying run and the top 20 got into the finals. These photos are dark, but the sun was actually out for much of the day. We came prepared for rain with umbrellas and ponchos, as well as wearing our ski clothes and heavy boots. Luckily, we didn't have rain.
Doing a back flip after the main mogul run.

There were extremely long lines for food and washrooms, so that was a bummer. We bought as much food as we thought we'd need for the 8 hours we would be there. I made one bottle of water last all day....
It was dark when the last run took place and the Canadian, Alexandre Bilobeau, got the gold medal, the first gold medal for a Canadian on home soil. This was an important milestone for Canadians, as this is the third Olympics Canada has hosted and they'd not won a gold medal
"at home" to this point.

We hoofed it to the bus line to avoid the long waits for buses back down the mountain. We stopped for take-out Chinese food on the way back to the condo and again watched fireworks from our windows as we enjoyed dinner.

Monday saw DH and I go back to Capilano U. to take the bus back to Cypress Mountain for the Snowboard Cross event. Paul and Jen decided to sell their tickets as Jen needed to be in touch with her office for the morning. We repeated yesterday's trek and bus and trek to the venue on the other side of Cypress Mountain.

This venue had the added bonus of 200 + steps up from ground level to the grandstands. It's hard to see in the photo, but that nice wall with the Olympic design is the back of the stands, and there is a staircase going up and up and up.
The snowboard cross has snowboarders going down a course that has jumps and tight turns. In the finals, 4 boarders go at once, racing each other to the finish. It is exciting to watch. Unfortunately, each boarder gets 2 qualifying runs on the course single, and there were 35 boarders in the competition. The first qualifying run took over an hour. And that isn't so exciting to watch, after you see the first 20 or so.....

As this is our last day, we decided to leave before the finals so we could do more shopping and sightseeing in town. So we didn't get to see American Seth Westcott win, although we did see his qualifying run.

We took the bus back to North Vancouver and got on the Seabus across the bay to downtown Vancouver. We shopped again at The Bay (official Olympic Superstore headquarters), although the line to get in was long. We walked to the waterfront to see the Olympic torch. This is PW's photo. You will see an empty plaza around the torch. There is a 8 ft. high chain link fence around the plaza, some say due to fears of vandalism. (There was some vandalism to downtown stores on Saturday by masked "protesters".) I don't know the real reason, but it is too bad that people can't enjoy the sight/site freely.

Each day the pedestrian plazas are more crowded and there are long lines to enter the pavilions set up by corporations and different countries. It seems that the city is embracing the spirit of the games!

Short Track (and more shopping)

First of all, I forgot to include Friday's step count: 13, 383.
Saturday was cooler and cloudier and a light rain fell most of the day. We weren't in such a hurry to get out there, but we really should have, as we got caught by the crowds that hampered our ability to get around quickly.

We took the Aquabus from David Lam Park on the north side of False Creek, about a 10 minute walk from our condo. It was $5.00 for a return ticket to Granville Island, just across the Creek. The ferries have plastic windows, so we stayed dry. After the quick trip down the creek and under the bridge, we landed at the Granville Island docks. We walked up the ramps to the Public Market.
There is a huge set of buildings with food shops and restaurant stalls of all kinds. We walked around overwhelmed by the beautiful displays. We weren't hungry yet, so we left the food market and walked across the street to the shopping area. More Olympic merchandise, as well as local art, crafts, and souvenirs.

We came back to the food hall to get lunch, but by then the crowds had arrived and we couldn't find a table. Since it was raining, everyone wanted to eat lunch inside.... We walked around for a while and finally decided to eat standing up. We all got something different (hot dog! lasagna! dumplings! fish and chips!) and were able to watch the crowds while holding up a wall. I tried the grape bread from Terra Breads. Interestingly sweet and savory at the same time.

Back across the creek via Aquabus and time to get ready for the next event.

We drove to East Vancouver and the Pacific Coliseum, home to the short track skating events. But there was no parking. Anywhere. We had been led to believe that people in the neighborhoods near the coliseum would be selling parking in their driveways, but this was not the case. Public parking lots were for permitted cars only, and there were multiple spaces in them, but we couldn't get in.
After about 30 minutes of driving around, we happened on a Holiday Inn Express that had a sign out that said $20 Event Parking. Bingo! And only a 15 min. walk to the venue. Of course, once in the gates, there was the security line, but as we were entering right as the event started, the lines were short. My gum was confiscated (no outside food allowed), but they didn't find my other pack of gum or my Kashi bar. Or Doug's trail mix. Then another 10 minute walk to the doors of the coliseum. Getting to the venues requires one to be in shape! Or have an access pass.


Short Track Speed Skating is an exciting event to watch. They run the races in heats, with four to seven racers in each heat. The track is a short oval, so laps add up quickly. We saw qualifying heats for Women's 3000M relay, Women's 500M Individual, and Qualifying and Finals for Men's 1500M. (1500 M is 14.5 laps).
The racers change position quickly and it can be dangerous. Several people were wiped out in different heats. The best Canadian racer, Charles Hamelin, was upended in his semifinal heat and was forced to race in the consolation final round, not in medal contention.

The best part is the 1500M is Apolo Anton Ohno's first race, so we were thrilled to be in the audience with the other Americans rooting for him and the rest of the team. The final heat was very exciting, with him being forced to the front and then being boxed out by three Koreans.

Two Koreans bumped into each other just before the finish line and fell down, so Ohno and the other American, Celski got silver and bronze, the remaining Korean getting gold.

The next 2 photos are copyrighted by PW, so please don't copy without credit.Apolo in the lead; Flower Ceremony

They have a "Flower Ceremony" to acknowledge the winners at the venues, but medals are awarded in downtown "Medal Ceremonies", which are in a large arena and a ticketed event.

After hitting up some more souvenir shops at the venue, we joined the crowd for the long walk back to the car.
Finding dinner was another adventure, as the perfect storm of Saturday night, Chinese New Year, and Olympic crowds made all the restaurants we tried full to overflowing. We finally ended up at a street tent near our condo and got hamburgers and hot dogs to go. Back in the condo we ate al fresco (always wanted to say that!) and watched reruns of the day's events. We got to see the nightly fireworks show on False Creek from our windows.

Step count: 11, 475. Not sure if the ped. was counting the whole time, as I noticed it hanging from my belt several times, due to jostling under several layers of clothes.
Hoping for better weather!

Opening Ceremony (and Shopping)

Out and about in Vancouver on Friday. Lots of street art and decorated buildings. There are numerous pedestrian plazas and people are starting to gather and take photos of each other as they cavort in the streets. We see many brightly colored jackets from different teams. There are large men walking around wearing signs hanging from their necks that say "Tickets Wanted-Buy or Sell". Not sure I'd want to deal with them, as they look scary.

Lantern Forest-paper lanterns decorated by children and lit up at night. Hudson's Bay Co. store in background to the right.
Canadian spirit is everywhere!

We walked up to the Hudson's Bay Company store where the Official Olympic Superstore has taken over about half of the first floor. We had to wait in line to get in, and once in, my goodness, so much to buy....A logo can be put on just about anything!
This is not my bag!

The hot item at this Olympics are the red mittens, worn by the torch bearers. In Salt Lake, the USA beret was the hot item. People were scooping up mass quantities of the mittens. We left the store after trying to see everything and figuring out which was the shortest checkout line. The person ahead of me spent $1941.00, so the lines were quite lengthy.

We were hungry after shopping and ended up at George/Brix Restaurant. On the Hamilton St. level, the lounge is George, but on the Mainland St. level the restaurant is Brix. Same kitchen. Excellent crab cakes there. I had the Caesar Salad with chicken (no dressing).
Later in the afternoon, we watched the Olympic torch finish it's run through the city. We were able to stand on the street in front of our condo building, so that was easy.
The Opening Ceremony was at BC Place, an indoor arena. We had seats in the balcony at the far end of the stage. Everyone got a box shaped like a drum with items in it for the audience participation segments. We got trained in using the flashlights and electric candles and we had to wear a paper poncho so that the lighting effects could be seen. If you watched the ceremony on TV and saw that the different flags were arrayed over the audience, that was the lighting effect. We used the box like a drum when the athletes paraded into the arena. During the k.d.lang song the electric candles were supposed to light up row-by-row from the bottom to the top, but people didn't follow directions very well.
Team Macedonia, one of the teams with very few members.
We really enjoyed the special effects, although I'm sure some of them looked better on TV. IT was a very long show, but the musical numbers really got the crowd going. There was a nice tribute to the luger that was killed in a training run. The athlete's parade is the best.

Team USA entering the arena.
It was an amazing experience to be in the audience for an event that I've watched so many times on TV. Afterwards, we walked to a nice fusion-type restaurant called Regional Tasting Lounge (rtl) for dinner, but it was very late and we probably weren't in the mood for such fancy/different food. It was also raining pretty hard after the event, so we did get quite wet walking to dinner.
We all received a card for this digital souvenir project, so I'm sharing it with you.

Thanks for all the comments! And more photos on Flickr soon!

Hello Seattle! Hello Vancouver!

The Road Show gets to go to the Olympics! This has been in the works since we went to the 2006 Olympics in Salt Lake City and had a blast. The planning started with entering the 2010 event ticket lottery in the summer of 09. We submitted requests for events we wanted and had to be willing to tie up that amount of money for the duration. We weren't that lucky on our allotment, but our intrepid traveling companions, Paul and Jen, were able to score big. DH and I are staying for 4 days of events and competition, while they are in for the whole 2 weeks.

So travel day, Feb. 11, was uneventful. A lot of rain and snow, but not the paralyzing kind. We were met by P&J in Seattle and spent a few hours touring this maritime city. We walked along the waterfront, went to Pike Place Market (where they throw the fish, but we didn't see any in the air), and then to Olympic Park Sculpture Garden. The weather alternated with light rain to just cloudy, but it wasn't cold. We ate lunch at Lowell's Restaurant in the Public Market. Great cod rolls and fish and chips.
Car ferries go back and forth from the many island communities to the big city.
Typewriter eraser by Claes Oldenburg.
The original Starbucks, near Pike Place Market. We also went to a Top Pot Doughnut shop, as I had seen the show on the best doughnuts in America and that is one of the places. The doughnuts were good, as was the coffee. Note happy customer:

We then got in the silver Suburban and headed north to the border. It was rainy and there was a lot of traffic at times, but we made it across the border in no time.

We drove into Vancouver and arranged to pick up our landlord so he could check us in to our condo. We're on the 25th floor with great views to the south, west and north.
We are in the neighborhood called Yaletown, so we are close to many pedestrian-only areas and the free events centers. We headed downtown to see the Olympic torch run by. Lots of crowds, but I did see the flame being held up by an arm. Didn't try to get a photo.
Went to dinner at Rodney's Oyster and Raw Bar and had excellent halibut. The waiters were amazed to see so many people walking the streets. And the festivities are just beginning....

Taking a page from my friend Trailerfulloftpix, I'm wearing my pedometer.
I walked 10, 335 steps; not bad for spending 5 hours on a plane and nearly 4 hours in a car.

I'm hoping to post more photos on Flickr, so follow the link.

Winter Travel

We spent a very chilly weekend in the Texas Hill Country in January. We're talking 10 degrees F. in the mornings and not getting much above freezing during the day. There was ice in the birdbath and small potholes along the river, and thin ice along the banks of the river.
Frozen grasses encased in ice in the small ponds.
We enjoyed the sun, and the thinner ice did melt during the day.
The air was crisp and fresh. It was very different from a spring or summertime visit to this area. We usually can sit by the river in the warm sun, wade and swim in the pleasant water, and look for shade in the afternoon! But not this time!

The landscape is very different in the winter. The live oaks still have leaves, but they are a dull green. The rest of the trees have lost their leaves, and their branches really stand out against the landscape. You can see the bunches of mistletoe growing in the high branches of various trees quite clearly. The fields are different shades of browns and dijon-mustard yellows.

People who travel to this area for hunting season are familiar with the more barren landscape, but others who just come for the wildflowers in the spring or to enjoy the lakes and rivers in the summer see something completely different.

The bald eagles return to their nests along the rivers and they are easily seen perched in the bare branches of the tallest trees. They can see potential prey much more easily in this season. By April, they'll be gone. We've seen them flying over the rivers, hunting for fish.

We're lucky if we get to see the same place at different times of the year. That's something to think about when making travel plans. Most of the time it seems we want to get to that next new place on the list. If you can return to a place in a different season, it may give you a whole new experience and a new appreciation of a familiar place.

Cruise to Cozumel (and back)

Aboard the Carnival Ecstasy!

The Road Show went on a working vacation in October. As part of a new venture, a friend and I put together a group cruise with a twist. We booked cabins on the Carnival Ecstasy sailing from Galveston and brought along a Maya archeologist/anthropologist to help us learn about the ancient Maya civilization.

While on board the ship, our expert, Dr. Jennifer Mathews, (Associate Professor of Anthropology at Trinity University, San Antonio) provided us with an overview of the Maya civilization. We arranged for a private meeting room (the Chinatown Lounge) and screen and projector set-up. Everyone enjoyed the presentation and looked forward to the day in Cozumel.

Our port day came on Saturday, and we were met by our Yaxkin tour guide Miguel and driver Antonio. (We booked this tour through the Cozumel Insider website and were very happy with the service and prices!)

Our group had a beautiful 30 passenger bus, and we were off to the Maya ruins at San Gervasio. Miguel and Dr. Mathews led us around the partially restored site with several small temples and buildings. The site is believed to have been a pilgrimage stop, with buildings dedicated to the goddess Ix Chel.

After the ruins, Miguel took us on a tour of Cozumel’s eastern shore, with stops at the rocky beaches, the Tequila Factory and the tiny town of El Cedral. We ate lunch on the waterfront in downtown Cozumel, at the Tikky Tok restaurant. Good regional food.

Some people had time to shop at the Puerta Maya Pier where the Carnival ships dock.

On the last sea day, we again convened in the Chinatown Lounge for Dr. Mathews’ second presentation on her book, “Chicle: The Chewing Gum of the Americas from the Ancient Maya to William Wrigley.” We all enjoyed learning the history of the chicleros and the story of the Wrigley family fortune, not to mention tasting the samples of natural chicle gum by the Glee Gum company.

Acting as escort to a tour group has been fun! It certainly kept me busy! I did take about 15 minutes to sit on a deck chair and contemplate the ocean, I was able to get a great massage at the spa, and even had time for the slot machine tournament. but after each fun activity for myself it was back to making sure things were going well for the group. Of course, any time you can look out your window at calm seas, beautiful clouds, and have room service, life is pretty good!

My new Merrell shoes.

Will definitely do this again! Thanks to everyone who helped the dream become a reality! You know who you are!

If you want to read another account of this trip, go to my friend’s blog: Sanchez Travels.

Activities in Central Mexico!

One thing I've really enjoyed in San Miguel is the interesting door knockers and door pulls. I will post more photos on Flickr and hope to do some prints or note cards.
One day we hired Rafael Tovar, of Rafa Tours to take us on a full-day tour of the colonial city of Guanajuato. This is one of 3 gilded altars at the Valenciana Church in Guanajuato.
Guanajuato was developed by the Spanish during colonial times because of the rich veins of silver and gold in the area. The wealth was lavished on the many churches in the region. This church, completed in 1788, is the most elaborate, with a highly decorated Baroque facade. It commands a view of the entire area, standing high on a mountain overlooking the valley.
Another highlight of our tour of Guanajuato included the Callejon del Beso, or Alley of the Kiss. The houses are so close together here that two lovers could reach across the alley from their balconies and make plans for their future. Unfortunately, the girl's father didn't approve of this match, and stabbed his daughter on the balcony. The young man was only able to kiss his dying love's hand before she passed away. Legend has it that couples coming here have to stand on the steps and kiss so that they continue their good relationship. Of course, all the couples in the group had to do this, while we snapped photos of each other! (Not for publication...)
The largest monument in Guanajuato is El Pipila, the statue comemmorating one of the first battles of the Mexican Revolution in 1810. It is visible from many places in the city and is simply huge. Pipila is the nickname of a simple miner from San Miguel who strapped a huge flagstone block on his back as a shield so that he could crawl to the door of the Corn Exchange to set it on fire. Inside the Corn Exchange were the governor and soldiers preparing for battle against the revolutionaries, as well as supplies, weapons and silver ingots that the rebels wanted. The rebels were able to take the building after a bloody (and fiery) battle, thanks to the bravery of Pipila and others. This gave the rebels a tremendous advantage at the start of the revolution. Independence from Spain wasn't won until 1821.
As September 15 (Mexican Independence Day) was drawing near, patriotic banners and flags were being put up all over the towns. We saw many stalls and vendors with lots of patriotic gear for sale. In addition, buildings and roads are being spruced up and improved. With the bicentennial of Mexican Independence in 2010 approaching, this area will be very busy in the next year!
We also visited the Diego Rivera House and Museum, several other churches, the Teatro Juarez, the Plaza Principal, the University of Guanajuato. It was a long day, and Rafael made it fun and interesting! He also took us underground, where the city has a network of tunnels, originally built for flood control, now developed for traffic control, to protect the inner part of the city. That is very interesting.


Back in San Miguel, we took a "Mexican Fusion"cooking class led by San Miguel restaurant owner Kris Rudolph (see her site). We made guacamole with pomegranate seeds, chili rellenos with goat cheese and vegetable filling, mango/chipotle salsa, and had a nice meal with margaritas. That was fun and a good time. Kris is a good teacher and has lots of interesting techniques.

On another day, we took a taxi about 30 minutes outside of town (the guidebooks said it was about 15 minutes outside of town, but the traffic is terrible and the roads are under construction) to the thermal springs called "La Gruta." There are beautiful landscaped grounds and a series of pools with warmer or cooler temperatures. This photo is of the wamer pool, and there is a tunnel that leads to a brick-ceilinged grotto where the really warm water soothes the joints. Think steam room and hot tub in a large darkened space. We lounged in the water for a good long while, then had margaritas and guacamole on the patio. A relaxing way to spend half a day.

San Miguel is a great place to spend some time. The weather when we went was warm in the day, cool in the evening, with a shower almost every afternoon! We definitely want to go back!

Hola San Miguel de Allende!

We're enjoying a week in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, staying at a beautiful house that we won in a charity silent auction. We're with two other couples so we're able to share expenses. San Miguel is known for its artists and artisans in a beautiful Spanish colonial town. The weather is mild, due to the location: southwest of Mexico City in the central highlands. This time of the year it's warm in the day, cool at night, with chance of daily showers. We've been lucky not to get rained on so far.
One of the main sites is the parish church, La Parroquia de San Miguel de Allende. It has amazing spires and lots of baroque details. It is in the center of town, in El Jardin, the garden square. Great for people watching. At night on Friday, many mariachi bands stroll the park, anxious to play for the tourists. Cafes and stores surround the garden, as well as government offices (there's even a discreet Starbucks), so there's always a lot of action here. Since it's near Mexican Independence Day (Sept. 16), the buildings and streets are getting decorated with special banners and medallions in red, white and green, the colors of the Mexican flag.
We went to the covered market and down a street with many artisans working in their stalls to produce silver jewelry or painted pots or sculptures. There were also fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, grilled corn on the cob, women making tortillas and sweet breads.
We stopped in at the Biblioteca Publica and had a coffee at the outdoor cafe. The library is the center of the American community and, since it was Saturday, we saw many kids taking classes in reading, music, and art, spread throughout the buildings.
The streets of San Miguel are cobblestoned, with high narrow sidewalks and mucho traffic. Every street is more picturesque than the last, with colorful buildings, interesting doors and windows, and a view of a church steeple or valley. It's also very hilly, and it seems we're always walking uphill. We rented an ATV to zip around the streets and that was fun, but a little scary -- those things can go pretty fast.

We enjoyed a delicious roof-top dinner at La Posadita and lunch at Torta Mundo.
We arranged with Rafa Tours (scroll down)for transportation to and from the airport and to take us on a day trip to Guanajuato later in the week.

Stay tuned for possible updates! Thanks!