Other Olympic Stuff

A lot of the Olympic experience for me involved waiting in lines. There were lines for nearly everything which was frustrating at times but to be expected.
One morning a couple of us got in line for the Vancouver Art Gallery. It was free to everyone during the Olympics which was great. They have a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit there now, The Mechanics of Man. It's a collection of his anatomical drawings. Needless to say, that guy was good. His drawings are just like today's textbook pictures! Although I guess not everything is accurate, he was close. It was fascinating to read some of the notes he wrote on the pages; the museum had blown up versions with translations (you know, because not only did he write in Italian but also in mirror). He makes anatomy comments as you might expect but he also throws in some philosophical/advice bits. I won't go into it now, but if you ever get a chance to see his drawings and notes, look closely.
We went through the rest of the museum as well and on the top floor was the British Columbia Pavilion. It featured a lot of interactive things which is great. They created a B.C. forest and told me all about wood as a building product and Spirit Bears. And they had a 3-D movie about how awesome it is to be in B.C. And there were things about sustainability and eco-friendliness. All very British Columbian. It was entertaining and amusing for children and me.
Another morning, I woke up very early and was in line at 7 AM. Why? To zipline across Robson Square! There were up to 8 hour waits for this free! ride so the best way was to get in line early in the morning so you could be one of the first groups when it opened at 10. Jack and I went together and it was well worth the early morning! We passed the time in line chatting with everyone around and getting free samples of coffee from people marketing things. When it finally opened and we started signing the waivers, I began to get nervous. The towers looked much higher when you're standing right underneath them; they were 3, maybe 4 stories high. After we signed the waivers and got our harnesses on, we had to climb the stairs all the way and mind you, this is a temporary structure, essentially scaffolding. Holding my harness tightly, I trudged up, not looking out the sides or down to the ground. When we got to the top there was an incredible view of Robson Square and as the morning had dawned crisp and clear, it was refreshing up there. Refreshing in a terrifying way. Jack and I got hooked up to the line and both of us were fairly jittery. The scariest part was walking down the little staircase off the platform and balancing on that last step. Then stepping off into nothingness. The zip guides gave us a countdown though and we went for it. Although I was a little too scared to take pictures while I was zipping, the ride itself was fun! It's about a 170 meter stretch so the ride is short but very much worth it. Upon landing on the other side, I found my legs doing that particular shake/turn to jelly thing that comes from 1) being terrified or 2) excessive physical fitness. Obviously mine was suffering from the former. I had to hold the railing tightly on my way down the tower's steps but Jack and I agreed that we'd definitely do it again (if only the line weren't so long).
After that high, we sought out something a little calmer. To the Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion! We had hoped to go see the medals and touch them but that line was about 3 hours long so we settled on just going in to see some of the regular Mint offerings. We lifted a big gold bar (yes it is heavy) and saw tons of commemorative coins. And shiniest of all, a million dollar gold coin. That was the largest piece of change I think I will ever see. After that, we went to Japadog. Good idea, right? Jack had never been so I introduced him to it and he enjoyed it. It was the usual 20 minute line but apparently the fame of Japadog spread over the next couple days and by the end of the Olympics that line too was hours long.
Those are a few more of my adventures. I found my camera cord so you can see all my pictures at gilliangrady.com.