Yesterday was my first day at the Olympics and it was amazing!  Vancouver is a beautiful host city and the BC Tourism Board http://www.hellobc.com has done an excellent job promoting the city and its gorgeous scenery.

The day started out with a photo walk around downtown taking pictures of the Olympic flame, then down to Robson Square to see the Chinese gold and silver medal pairs figure skating champions do brief performances.  Then we went to the British Columbia Media Center! And watched some snowboard half pipe and hockey on TV.

Late afternoon I headed to the Pacific Coliseum as I was fortunate enough to wrangle a ticket to the Short Track Speed Skating.  At Wednesday’s Short Track was Women’s 500M quarterfinal, semifinal, and final—yes, we did get to see the final, including flower ceremony.  In the end China won gold, and the home team, Canada won silver!  It was also Men’s 1000M and Men’s 5000M semifinal relay.  In the relay 4 teams compete at once, each with 4 guys on the ice so you can imagine it was quite crowded.  But due to a disqualification, the final will be even more crowded: 5 teams, 4 guys each!  That would be very exciting to see.

It was a fantastic day to be there as new Olympic Records were constantly being set and broken.  What you learn when watching Short Track, is its not over till its over!  You may think you’re out of the qualifying and then 2 skaters knock each other out and suddenly you’re in second place!  Even though these are fairly short distances and people are going at super high speeds, the leader of the pack can change in a heartbeat.  Fight till the end, the race doesn’t end til you cross the finish line!

If you have the opportunity, I recommend short track for the excitement and the crowd’s enthusiasm.  And if you’re Canadian, don’t forget a cowbell to cheer on the home team!

Going to this event by myself, I found the other fans to be extremely friendly and helpful. During the event, I sat near some very friendly Canadians and had a great time exploring the public transportation system with some guys from Toronto. Vancouver was clearly planning ahead for this event: although the line for the 10 Bus to go downtown was a 1/4 mile long, the city had buses coming right after each other to pick us up so I don’t think I waited more than 20minutes before I got on the bus.  Very well done, Vancouver!

Inspiring event! Great day! Awesome Olympics! Wonderful host city!
Guest Post Written by: Toffler Niemuth
Twitter: @tofflerann

The Olympics is in itself a family friendly event. However, if you’re wondering about what activities would be fun to do with your kids, here are a few suggestions:

The Robson Square Zipline:

Whistler’s Ziptrek Ecotours has installed a 170 meter zipline across Robson Square from the top of the law courts to the south-east corner of the Vancouver Art Gallery. It will be up throughout the Games from February 12 to 28th, from 10am to 9pm, and it’s FREE to the public! If you and your kids are up for an adventure, THIS is the place to go! I highly recommend arriving early, as the lineups for this unique activity will be long! (It isn’t everyday that you can zipline through the city!) They plan on shooting 70 people down the line each hour, so chances sound pretty good that the lineup will move quite quickly! So come early and have FUN!!

Robson Square Skating Rink

The General Electric sponsored open-air skating rink at Robson Square is a super fun activity for the whole family! It is open from 9am to 9pm throughout the Games. Bring your own skates or rent a pair for only $3. Admission to the rink itself is free! The rink is out doors, but in a covered area so a fun activity, rain or shine

Coca-Cola Pavilion

The Coca-Cola is an amazing and fun place for people of all ages. I was privileged to get a sneak peak at the pavilion before it opened and was amazed by what I found inside. You will learn about the history of Coca-Cola’s involvement in the Olympics from the 1990′s to present. Included in this is a display of the Olympic torches of each Games Coca-Cola has been involved in. Very Cool!! Next you will be invited to watch a video of the torch relay, and then they will let you loos in the main room of the pavilion to enjoy an ice cold Coca-Cola and participate in several cool activities, including having your photo taken with an official torch of the 2010 Games. The Coca-Cola Pavilion is a MUST SEE as far as I’m concerned! The Pavilion is located at LiveCity Yaletown at David Lam Park.

To see the photos of my “sneak peak,” and to get a better idea of what to expect, please visit Flickr.

Canada’s Northern House

A very cool Canadian cultural activity would be to check out Canada’s Northern House. Located at the corner of Seymour and West Hastings, the Northern House give the public a taste of the culture in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, as well as Nunavut. For more information about the Northern House, please visit the website at http://www.canadasnorth.com.

The OZone

The OZone is located in Richmond, near the Olympic Oval at Minoru Park. From February 12 to 28, the O Zone will be an awesome destination to celebrate the Olympic Games, watch Olympic events on the huge screens, watch live entertainment, and participate in many family activities. Included at the OZone are activities from outdoor skating, to participating in the BCLC virtual reality sporting events, to learning about the different regions of British Columbia, to the World Ice Art Championships! There will be fireworks and theme nights at this venue as well! For more information, visit the website at http://www.richmondozone.com.

These are only a few of the many many family fun activities you will find around the city during the 2010 Games! The list is endless! There are things for all ages to join in the Olympic spirit. So bring your kids out and HAVE FUN!!!