So this may be one of the longest updates I've done, because it features the biggest event to ever come to Vancouver - the 2010 Winter Olympics! It's split over 3 pages, just to keep it manageable. I took Murphy out to as much as I could, but many of these photos are Murphy-less, as integrating dogs just wasn't at the forefront of the Olympic Planning Committee's minds.

Above we have Murphy with a bunch of my friends from work. They all live here in North Vancouver (except for Russ), so we all went to the local flame arrival ceremony together, just a block down from my condo. I brought Murphy along as it was one of the few events where I thought he might be allowed. Apparently that was a common thought, as, you'll soon see, lots of dog owners did the same.

We arrived well over an hour before the flame did, in the hopes of being able to wander about through the various booths and entertainment before it got too crowded. And believe me, it did get crowded. Up to about this time no one was too sure of just how the Olympics would go over in Vancouver, as there was a fair bit of opposition to the Games. It went over like no one could have even hoped for.

There was lots of entertainment, from big screen tv's with Olympic stuff constantly playing to musicians to stilt walkers:

But the main event was the flame's arrival. The flame's route criss crossed the country, up and down, back and forth, looping over itself to cover practically every populated region of the nation. The same thing held true even within Vancouver - the route went up and down various streets, back and forth. So we actually got to see the flame go by on one street, and then an hour later, after going further north and east of this plaza, it came back for the official arrival. The street was lined with people, many wearing Canadian colours:

We positioned ourselves up a set of outdoor stairs, to get a better view. This way Murphy was able to see too:

Once the flame got closer, we decided to get down to street level, so we could really see what was going on. Here is a torch bearer getting ready to accept the flame:

And here's Murphy watching it go by, while receiving a pat from Christine (who, since she's allergic to dogs, was using her flags):

After the flame went by we headed back to the library plaza to wait for the flame's official arrival. There, local teens were getting instructions on flag bearing:

Canadians are usually very quietly patriotic, so it was almost strange to see so much patriotism. And this was just the tip of the iceberg of all the patriotism we'd see over the next two weeks.

Murphy waited patiently with us, in a light rain. The rain, and too warm weather in general, would go on to create all sorts of issues for the Olympic planners.

Below we have a few of the other dogs who were stuck out in the rain with us. You can see that people brought out everything from Bernese Mountain Dogs to...I'm not too sure what that tiny white dog is! A Maltese?

The library plaza was just one small area of the celebrations. Next door, the parking lot of our local shopping mall served as the main stage. Overnight they set up this giant stage and big screen just for the celebration. After the flame went by on the other side of the plaza, we came back to the parking lot to find it packed:

Olympic sponsors, like Coke and The Royal Bank, had little booths set up with Olympic themed displays. Also note the solar panels - this was supposed to be the most environmentally responsible games ever:

Of course, being Canada, there were lots of hockey themed games, this one at The Royal Bank's booth:

They were also giving out flags, drinks, treats etc. Below is Murphy wearing the chocolate medal that The Royal Bank was distributing:

The parking lot became absolutely packed with revelers - there must have been thousands, wearing HBC official Olympic clothing and waving flags:

Murphy was so good, waiting patiently within a crowded sea of boots. Note his patriotic, red, collar and leash:

While we waited for the official arrival of the flame, we noticed a woman with a torch. She'd run the flame the day before, and came out to let people see one of the over 1000 torches (apparently the torch bearers had the option to purchase the torch). Within the crowd people took turns posing with the torchbearer:

And this torch bearer wasn't the only one who brought her torch out for the public to see. Over the course of the Olympics you'd see them randomly at places like grocery stores, just letting people touch or take pictures of the torch.

Soon after, the celebration officially started. You'll notice that a lot of the following pictures were taken of the big screen, rather than the stage itself. We just couldn't get close enough to see the stage! It was crazy for us to see so many people crowded into this little local mall parking lot.

First? The national anthem of course (above). Luckily, sponsor Coca Cola's colours are the same as the Canadian ones (below):

Finally, the flame arrived, carried by a local high school student who is active in local activities:

The cauldron was lit, surrounded by local politicians, like the mayor, our Member of Parliament and the Premier of the province:

The Premier made a rousing speech. He was actually quite funny through out the Olympics - very proudly and loudly patriotic:

Of course, local school children had to be on stage, representing the youth-focus of the Olympics:

After the official welcome of the flame, with lots of music and patriotism, the celebration wound down. We headed home to catch the flame go by on our street. Murphy and I waited in our yard, to catch it go right by our door. Murphy tried different vantage points, to get the best view:

So that was the official start to the Olympics, here in North Vancouver. A few days later our Olympic visitors arrived, as you'll see in the next update!

Email me!

Meghan

Here's the link to the next update: February Part 2
Here's the link to the previous update: December 2009

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