We got off to a rough start with the miserable weather, being pulled over by the police for expired vehicle insurance (WHOOPS!) and having to park the truck and walk or taxi to the nearest insurance agent. A quick jaunt in a yellow cab and a friendly driver named Ali to Chinatown solved that little dilemma, and since we were a short jaunt (10 flipping blocks away) we walked/ran back to the truck rather than fork over another 8 bucks for a taxi ride. Whew. Ok, that taken care of, our first mission was to find and photograph the Olympic cauldron. A feat in itself, since it was raining fairly heavily at the time, we had 15 seconds or so as our turn up against the ugly fence, and we were unwilling to spend 2 hrs in a lineup to get an obstructed rooftop view.
We walked with the crowds like a herd of cattle down to Robson Square to see the zipline and the skating rink.The photos don't show it very well, but many people were wearing the Red and White Canadian colors, waving paper flags, or wrapping themselves in large flags. There were musicians playing, large screens broadcasting Olympic events and medals ceremonies, and hundreds.. no thousands... of people milling around. Everyone was polite, happy and enjoying the olympic spirit and pride of their country despite the foul weather that afternoon.
It was a sight to see, and I'm glad we took the time to see it!
