Got up early and headed into Vancouver with Julia. We got coffee and some breakfast at Starbucks downtown near Robson Square (which is where all the streets are blocked off so people can just walk around). There was a radio station doing a live broadcast while we were there! It was pretty cool!
Then we walked through Robson Square - there was the ice skating going on and the zipline across downtown. Pretty neat idea...and it's free! (if you want to wait 5 hours to go on it!) We saw some people doing yoga in the middle of all the touristy stuff!
Julia had to work at 11:30 so around 11 she left for work and I walked down to BC place to pick up my tickets for the figure skating at the will call window. When I got there, there was a side of the booth that said purchase tickets here. When I was at the luge people were walking up and just buying tickets to the event while they were there - even though you couldn't buy anything online anymore unless it was a re-sale ticket. So I went to the booth and I asked if they had any tickets left for the men's long program for Thursday....and they did!!!!!! So I got a ticket for thursday! And it's a good seat too!!! Close to the middle! I was so excited - called my mom and Brandon to tell them the news right away! lol Then I picked up my ticket for the men's short and started to head down to where I get on the bus to head out to Pacific Coliseum. On my way I found a dollar store. I got some bristol board and some markers so that I could make my sign for Patrick Chan.
Downtown Vancouver is a very busy place with everything going on and I had no idea where I was going to find a place to make my sign! I found a little mall... walked in the front doors and put my stuff down on the floor.... and that is where I started drawing out my sign! People kept walking buy and looking at what I was writing. Once it was all done I had a sign that read Chan's Turn for Victory (with the C, T, and V, in the colours of the tv station CTV - so I could maybe get on tv!)
Then I went to find my bus. There were a lot of people on the bus also going up to the figure skating - and they all loved my sign! One couple started talking to me because I said I didn't know where to get off the bus! They knew where they were going so I followed them! They were from Quebec - one woman was a fan of figure skating, the other was not so much but came anyways. I ended up walking up to the Coliseum with them... waiting in the line before they opened the doors with them, and walking around the Pacific Coliseum for a few hours with them before the event started. We got a beer together and walked around taking pictures. And my sign became famous at the rink.... tons of people wanted to take pictures of it! Patrick Chan's equipment manager was walking around taking pictures for him and took a picture of me and my two new friends with my sign and their canadian flag! His daughter is friends with Patrick and some of them are making a scrapbook for him!! He took our emails and said he would send us the picture.
Once we got close to the start of the event, we went to our seats. I wasn't sitting too close to the couple I had met - although they were just a few sections over and down. I never found them in between the flights or during the flood :(
But, as I was walking up to my seat - Janice's mom (my skating coaches mom) was sitting there! She was only a few rows ahead of me!!! And a friend from school from the cheerleading team was only a section over! It was crazy.
My seats were right at the back of my section but it was a good spot. The Coliseum isn't that big so I wasn't far back at all! Had such a good view of everything! It was amazing to see everyone skate!!!
The event was 4 hours long and after I walked around to where the CTV section was - although it was all blocked off for media only - I could see Elizabeth Manley and David Pelletier right on the other side of where it was blocked off!!! Then they tried to make us all leave - didn't see Kurt - but when I turned around, Tracy Wilson was walking in! I got a picture with her (and my sign! haha) and then I left!
The line up for the bus was HUGE! And was going to take hours - I walked another block up to where there was another bus stop where no one was going to and I waited for about 10 minutes and got on a bus back to downtown Vancvouver.
Then my troubles began - I tried to find my friends but I had no clue where they were!! And then my phone died! So I walked up to the main street where there were TONS of people in the streets because of the hockey game that had ended and everyone was celebrating! I asked a police officer where a payphone was and he said I could use his cell phone. So I called Julia and we picked a meeting place. SOMEHOW among the thousands of people.. she found me!!! I met some of her friends and then we walked to see the torch!!! It was AMAZING! Although there is a fence in front of it, it was still amazing to see!!
Then we walked to the German House and got a beer. And after that we headed back home!
A long day but wow it was so cool! Just the people you meet here is amazing!! And there is so much going on even just in the streets!!!
I will upload pictures!!
Today I am doing the walking around thing and seeing Olympic Village and stuff. No event tickets so I will find a place to have a beer and watch some stuff!!
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