Day 9 - Crazy Crazy Crazy

The day started of with my phone alarm going off with the dog barking ring at 5:15 am! Yup that's freakin' early but you have to do what you have to do to keep your dreams alive! Michelle had a tough time getting up and going but she was able to nap on the Canada line, the sea bus and the shuttle. When we arrived at Cypress for the women's aerials we had to walk for a couple of miles but we didn't have to go up the stands with 250 steps ( that will be tomorrow!). The sun was shining and it was +8 in the seats. It was funny to hear the people from warmer climates complaining about how cold they were while we sat there in our spring jackets saying how warm it was! Back tracking a little bit when we got onto the shuttle bus a Canadian aerial skier sat with Judy for the ride.

Karen qualified for the 02 Olympic team but got injured in an event leading up to the games. She walked with us up to the hill and gave us some insight on aerials and the Canadian competing. We asked her how she ever started aerials - what a funny story! She was from Toronto and took gymnastics growing up. She then tried skiing, moguls were her favourite. Everyone kept telling her how good she was so she called the Canadian coach in BC and move to try out for the team one summer. Her gymnastic skills were great and her dry land training sessions went well then it was time to hit the slopes. Karen said that she was like a singer on an idol show...one that everyone said was great but really wasn't!!! After a couple of days the coach approached her and said that she would be better off in aerials!!!

The event was amazing. I can't believe there are people crazy enough to try going off of the jumps! Veronika Bauer went third and she nailed her first jump but she played it safe on her second jump and missed the landing. It was disappointing because we felt like we had a small connection to the team!!! I have to admit that watching the successful jumps was out of this world but watching them miss was just as fun. I couldn't put the camera down ...just in case! Well after the aerials finished we made the mistake of taking our time to catch the shuttle back to Vancouver. The lines were massive and it took us 1.5 hours to get on a bus. Then it was another 40 minutes to catch the sea bus. It sounds worse that it was because everyone from the volunteers to the fans are great. What an atmosphere - it's unbelievable to be part of it! Once we got off the sea bus Marc and Holly were waiting for us. Marc worked with me at UCV before he ran away to BC about a year ago. We only had about 15 minutes to chat and catch up because Michelle and I had to head to our next event - short track and Apollo but it was great to see them.

The short track skating was out of this world Canada had two Canadians in the mens 1000m finals and were leading the race for a couple of laps. It was so exciting the noise in the building lifted the roof! Do I ring our cow bell, cheer or take photos? All three is the answer. The bell was looped on my pinky, I screamed (and Michelle would say too loud) and the camera clicked away! It's a good thing for digital. Well the event ended with Canada in 4 and 5 and Apollo breaking the US record for Olympic medals won! It was time to get back in the lines and head home. By the time we arrived in Richmond it was 11:30 and we were exhausted. Michelle spotted a cab and I am thankful she did!

Wow what a day!

Our Medal Count

1 Gold

1 bronze

2 Gold medal ceremonies

Still dreaming

Tracey