While the sound of the rain outside made me want to climb into bed early, I went out, and am I glad I did. I didn't even bother with an umbrella. I knew that I'd return home soaked whether I carried one or not.
My route took me around most of downtown. I started at the seawall and walked until I reached the Olympic torch.... probably a little less than a mile. As you can imagine it's a hotspot, but I did manage to poke my camera through chainlink fence for some pictures. Next, I headed to Robson Square for a quick fireworks show (I did not manage to catch any fireworks on camera), along with a concert. Thousands of people were there and in excellent spirits despite the rain. I was very impressed with how well behaved the crowd was.
I've included some pictures and comments from my travels tonight.
Thank you to those of you who have written comments so far. Yes, I do plan to answer the questions you post. In fact:
Paul1: I would love to connect with some Olympic participants, but just being a fly on the wall here I'll have to see how it all unfolds.
Also, I think there is certainly a sense of unification downtown. Robson Square and Granville Street were both packed the two times I was there today. From what I hear, it's similar up at Whistler. I can imagine it's just a different sense of community than you might have experienced in Lake Placid.
Michalko: I, like hundreds of thousands of others, felt sick over the luge accident. It is a dangerous sport, but no one wants to imagine something like that could happen. I did think the tributes at the opening ceremonies were appropriate.
That's all for tonight. I'll be checking in again soon.
Until then,
Leigh
