Just a few essentials in a small bag and I was running!
But first, a brief libation at the airport lounge.
I arrived in Vancouver with no incident (my compliments, as always, to Air Canada). At first it didn't seem too bad. A busy airport, yes, but I've seen far worse. The first thing I noticed was the ridiculous amount of staff that they have working. It's almost to the point where there's one Olympic volunteer/airport employee per person. But that is good I suppose. There's always someone there to point you where to go.
The oddest job I saw someone having was these guys:
Basically, these guys main job is to straighten bags at the luggage claim so that you can grab your suitcase easier. To be fair, yes they also assist the Olympians with their luggage. But really, they're there straightening bags.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture, but right behind me was 4 members of the Swiss men's hockey team.
So then it was off to the Canada Line and into Vancouver. There was even more helpful staff to point you in the right direction and help you buy the right ticket. Then I started to realize how busy it really was. I wasn't able to get a seat to start with at the airport. Then about 500 more people got on the train. However, I will give a huge credit to VANOC and the public transit system here. They have teams of people at every train station that control the flow of people on and off the train.
The most amazing thing happened when I got to Vancouver: THE SUN WAS SHINING. Actually, it looked a lot more like a city hosting the Summer Olympics. But it was a really nice day so I didn't complain too loudly.
Following that, it was just a quick trip on the SeaBus and a regular bus and I arrived in North Vancouver.
Even though it has been mentioned to death, I will say it was really cool watching Alex Bilodeau win Canada's first gold medal on Canadian soil. I can't wait to see more.
Up tomorrow: Men's 500m Speedskating at 3:30. TV coverage is on Sportsnet.
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