Go to the Olympics...check!

Do you have a list of things you'd like to do before you die? I don't think I've ever actually written down my list, or even fully developed what is on it, but I do know that going to the Olympics was for sure on the list! With the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C., just 3 hours away, we had the perfect opportunity to go check them out. Ben and Jaclyn came home for their spring break and suggested a trip up north to see the sites. I couldn't say no! We didn't see any of the events, (too much money!) but we did enjoy experiencing the Olympic Atmosphere on the streets of Vancouver. I have never seen such Canadian Patriotism! It was fantastic!

So here is the story of 3 Americans visiting the Winter Olympics in Canada.

The only bad part of the day was when I got a speeding ticket for going 71 in a 60! I'm definitely going to fight it because it was my first ticket and I really was going with the flow of traffic! Plus the speed limit changes to 70 just moments from where I got my ticket. I saw several more people pulled over before we hit the border so I think Washington was milking the extra traffic. Meanies.

Apparently it's the best place on earth:

What's a trip to Canada without a purchase of TimBits?

The parking garage where we parked was so full that we actually left to grab some coffee and doughnuts and then came back to continue our search. Miraculously, we found our spot within moments of returning. However, it proved to be the bane of our existence when we returned later in the evening and our parking spot was nowhere to be found! Seriously, I am convinced we parked in the burmuda triangle because it made no logical sense that we could not find it, but somehow the numbers we were looking at skipped from 618-730 or something like that. Eventually we found it again, but it really is still a mystery to us...

One cool thing about Vancouver is the vamped up skytrain they have that makes several stops throughout the city. It made navigating through the city a breeze.

One stop we made was at the Olympic Village. Unfortunately they don't want tourists knocking on the athletes' doors during the Olympics so we weren't actually able to get inside the Village. We were sad.

What's a trip to the Olympics without running into the lotto balls?

Vancouver 2010--we were there!

This may have been our favorite part of the day. You had to go through security to get into this area and once inside, there were plenty of neat things to see and do. Coca-Cola has been a sponsor of the Olympics for years so they have this whole museum and interactive building.

We had to stand in line to get into the Coke building, but it was actually one of the highlights of our day since they were broadcasting live events on the hugest televisions that you have ever seen in your life. The frustrating thing of the Olympics this year was that even though we were on the same time zone, we always had to wait for the East Coast to see it first. It was great to see it as it was happening while we were there.

Here is our victorious moment where the American women defeated the Canadians in speed skating. I don't know why we were the only ones cheering at that time...

Once inside we got to see all the old torches from Olympics past, watch a film that brainwashed us about Coke's influence in the Olympics, take a photo holding this year's torch (which you can see here), and play interactive polar bear games. They also gave us each an aluminum bottle of coke, handing it to us with a smile and the slogan, "open a coke, open happiness!" Everyone was so cheerful in there! I felt like I had walked into Santa's workshop.

Ben and Jaclyn with a Canadian stormtrooper roaming the streets of Vancouver:

ahhhhh! It's the Olympic Caldron! This was pretty great to see!

Jaclyn picked up some mad figure skating skills while there.

Robson Square was crazy! We were there after the Canadian men's hockey team beat Slovakia which put them in the gold medal game against the U.S. and the party just did not stop!

Alright so my list of things before I die:

• Backpack Europe...check
• Go to the Olympics...check
• ...hmmm...guess I should add some more things to the list...