February 20, 2010
Fun and Games at Richmond OZone, 2010 Olympic Flame
After a beautiful morning in Byrne Creek Ravine doing streamkeeper activities, Yumi and I headed out to the Richmond OZone for 2010 Olympic-related festivities, and ended the day with an evening downtown on the packed streets of Vancouver.
Cherry trees starting to bud in the park next door.
Yumi checking pH in Byrne Creek.
OK, on to Winter Olympic 2010 Festivities!
Flags festoon a mall in Richmond.
There were delays on the Skytrain, so it took awhile to get down
to Richmond, but it was worth it.
Salmon says "O Canada," but I think it would be saying "Oh! Bear!"
Light standard with OZone banner.
Yumi with Year of Rooster lantern at OZone
Paul with Year of Boar lantern at OZone.
I refuse to call it Year of Pig! :-)
Yumi and some kids get their photo taken
with a Japanese super-fan.
Japanese team works on ice sculpture.
I yelled "Ganbare Nihon" at them and got
a happy look of surprise back :-).
The main stage at the OZone. We flaked out on the ground
and listened to some bands.
Outdoor skating oval at the OZone.
OZone banner in Richmond City Hall. There was a cool
display of ice skates through history, and a progression
of Canadian ice-skating uniforms.
The only downer was grabbing a 591ml bottle of Diet Coke
at the lunch stand, only to be charged $3.50 for it.
Highway robbery!
A view of the banners from outside as dusk fell.
The big screen at Richmond City Hall.
Evening falls at the OZone, time to head downtown!
The Birks Building at night.
The famous clock.
Huge Olympics projection on The Bay, with London Drugs in foreground.
Lanterns on Granville.
More illumination on Granville.
The street was full of happy people,
and every block had a different genre
of street music. Yowza!
Robson Square, the epicentre of the action.
Robson Square with the BC Pavilion (Art Gallery) in background.
The Zipline over Robson Square. If you look closely,
those ghostly shapes are lucky riders who made it
past the 4- to 6-hour wait!
And here it is folks, the 2010 Olympic Flame!
And, more importantly :-), moi and my
better half in front of it.
Waaaayyy in front of it :-). At this point in this very
full day, my back was giving out, and there was no way
I was going to stand hours in line to get any closer!
Heading home on the Skytrain at Waterfront Station.
It was packed, but kudos to Translink, police and volunteers
for keeping things moving smoothly. Well done!