We were a little slow to start this morning, but we still got to Robson Square at about 7:30. There was already a line formed in front of the zip line entrance. We found out that the people at the head of the line arrived just before 5:00. While that sounds ridiculous, if you take into account that the zip line doesn't open until 10:00, then they would have been in the line for five hours. Which, actually, is how long Olivia and I waited as well. Except that they waited in the cold, dark rain, whereas we only had to deal with two of the three. It was super long and super moist, but we made the most of it, and chatted it up with our line neighbours. When it was our turn, the legs started to give out, literally. I had been constantly moving my legs in the line, but by the time I climbed the stairs of the tower, I had pretty much lost feeling in them. But that may have only been partially due to the cold. When we were ready to hit it, I looked right at Olivia and jumped. Then, like the idiot I am, I proceeded to press the power button on my camera and turned it off. In a panic, I mashed the button to turn it back on. Once things were sorted out, I was still able to capture this:
As you can see, I didn't quite make it to the platform, but they reeled me in like a fish, so it was all good. Olivia was slightly less successful in her filming, namely because she was spinning like a top all the way across. We had some friends recording the event from the ground, so we'll have it from all angles in the end. When I film things, I have a tendency to concentrate on the filming and not actually on whatever it is that I'm experiencing (for example, concerts or fireworks). The camera fiasco was definitely distracting, but once it was under control, I did look around, and even noticed the people on the street cheering for me. The one thing I can say is that even though it only lasted for about 30 seconds, you don't feel like you're travelling very fast. Which works out well, I think, given the 5 hours of waiting.
We had a record medal haul today, didn't we? Without knowing this, I was finally able to line up to see the Olympic Medals at the Royal Canadian Mint pavilion. Although they said it would be a three-hour wait, I waited anyway. I got another pin for my collection, and they kept yelling out the score for the Canada-Russia hockey game, so I didn't miss anything. I ended up inside the building within an hour, and in the medal room after another 45 minutes. The result?
That's a gold medal my friends! They are huge and heavy, but still fascinating.
Meanwhile, after the hockey win had been confirmed, the streets were just packed and insane. Cheering, screaming, national anthem-singing, and high-fiving occurred frequently. It didn't matter that it started to drizzle again, everyone was still in a great mood.
It's already starting to wind down over here. Tomorrow, if you happen to be watching the finals for men's aerials, and if the weather is fairly crappy, look into the general admission stands and see if you can spot a bright yellow poncho (a.k.a. garbage bag with a hole in it) standing next to a pink jacket. Otherwise, it's a cream-coloured jacket standing next to the pink. Peel the eyes!
"Oh rainy day come round, sometimes I just want it to slow down"
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