Olympics - Day 4

On our last day in Vancouver, we had no Olympic events scheduled and our train to Seattle did not depart until almost 8:00 pm. That meant one thing: sightseeing! We slept late and leisurely packed up all our stuff before checking out of the hotel. We were again thankful that we could fit all our stuff in backpacks, with the addition of a shopping bag or two for souvenirs. We boarded the bus for the last time and headed off to the Sky Train. This time, we took the train all the way to the end of the line, at the Waterfront station. Evelyn treated us to brunch in the Lookout, which was having a Sunday Brunch in their revolving restaurant. This was our third time up in the tower, but the views were still equally impressive.

We boarded the Seabus and rode it across the bay to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. From there, we boarded a bus towards Grouse Mountain. Our destination was the Capilano Suspension Bridge, which spans 450 feet and 230 feet above the Capilano River. It was another beautiful day in Vancouver, so we were glad to be outside enjoying the scenery. The bridge itsself is an impressive feat of engineering, with large and reduntant steel cables to hold everything up. Despite all the reinforcement, it is definitely still a suspension bridge which means it sways in the wind and oscillates as people walk. It is definitely not an adventure for those who don't like heights! On the other side of the bridge is a nature park with boardwalks and smaller suspension bridges through the treetops. We spent a while exploring the area and then headed back towards Vancouver.

Back at Lonsdale Quay, Christina found more fresh fruit and I got another beaver tail treat. We rode the Seabus back over to Vancouver just as the big US vs. Canada hockey game was starting. We wound through the downtown area and made our way back to the train station. We had planned on shopping for Olympic souvenirs at the "Official Olympic Store", but the line was outrageously long and we're sure all the items were over-priced. We decided to complete any shopping online once we got back home. Christina guarded our stuff at the train station and Evelyn and I went out in search of food. As we walked around the waterfront, we found some large screens that were set up and broadcasting the big hockey game. We were standing right outside the arena when the US scored a goal to tie it all up. We had to head back to the train station before the game was over, but luckily it was showing at the McDonald's. We were surrounded by US fans when they won the game, so we had a big celebration in the station (this was the qualifying game, not the gold-medal match).

The train ride back was an adventure on it's own as we ended up sitting next to a man who was heavily intoxicated and very excited about the US win in hockey. He was very obnoxious and could be seen running around the train draped in a US flag on numerous occasions. When not celebrating the game, he was having a dramatic fight with his girlfriend via cell phone. We were all surprised that he didn't end up getting kicked off the train...he surely would have been kicked off an airplane! Evelyn and I ended up heading back to the dining car while Christina tried to sleep. We made it back to Seattle right around midnight and back to our house by about 1:00 after picking up the car. We both took Monday off to sleep in and recover!

All-in-all, the weekend was an incredible adventure. It was everything we had hoped for and more! Yes, the tickets and hotel were ridiculously over-priced. Yes, there were lines and crowds wherever you turned. But the incredible thing was that none of that mattered. The energy up there was absolutely captivating. It was exciting to just be a small part of the excitement. As my friend put it: IT'S THE FRICKIN' OLYMPICS!!! Enough said.