The Stills @ 2010 Winter Olympics, Feb. 26-28, 2010

The Stills @ Olympics Day 1, Feb 26 2010

After one day back in NY, I'm flying right back to Vancouver for round 2 at the Olympics, this time with The Stills. Haven't seen the guys in a little while, so I'm looking forward to it.

I just don't know if I'll see them! The weather in NY today is brutal, we got pounded with snow. Almost every flight out got canceled, no flights are coming in, it just looks bad. When I got to the airport and looked out at the runways, I didn't think there was a chance. It was a little reassuring when the security folks told me that Air Canada was the only airline flying out today, only one that could deal with snow! So I patiently waited out a couple delays, and about 90mins late, we were finally airborne.

Fortunately I had time between flights, so I wasn't too worried when I got to Montreal. I got through customs and everything really easily and before I knew it, I had met up with the guys and a couple of us went up to the lounge to chill before the flights to Van. I was also a bit more relaxed because I was able to get my seat upgraded, so I was in business class for the long one. Always a nice touch.

It was a smooth one, we got in a bit early, our ride was waiting for us, it was all coming together. And to top it off, I found out one of my old friends from Ottawa was also in town and out that night, and I actually had time to head in and meet up for a couple drinks. A couple of us went in together and stopped for food on the way, then we split up with plans to meet up again later. I ended up at the Sutton Place hotel bar and I ran into loads of people I knew but rarely see. This whole Olympics thing is like a reunion for touring guys. It's awesome. I ended up being out later than I wanted to be, missed the last SeaBus back to the hotel, but I was able to split a cab back and all was good.

Day 2

Today is show day, but we're actually free till about 5:30pm. I woke up a little early due to the ridiculous time zone changes I've gone through in the last week, but that was good because it gave me time to hit the gym and meet up with a couple of the others for coffee across the street. Good times had by all. After all that we went in to town as a group, I gave a bit of a guided tour from my experience last week, but we still had to miss out on visiting a couple of the provincial houses and Russia House because of ridiculous lineups to get in. I'm sorry, but 7hrs is not worth it. I don't care what's inside. I ended up getting in touch with my cousin again, and with perfect timing we all met up and went for a big lunch together. I hit Wicked Cafe on my way back to the hotel after before we had to head down to Richmond for the show.

The venue is actually really nice. It's on a great athletic field near the Olympic Oval for speed skating, huge stage, great PA, and then I find out there's a ridiculously low sound level limit, but it's the last night and no one seems to care so I didn't worry about it.

The show was actually a lot of fun, and it sounded really good. We tried to get into the Holland Heineken House during our dinner break, but that didn't go so well and there wasn't much else to do. Saw some hockey on a big screen outdoors and that was pretty much our night. It took an eternity for our ride to come pick us up afterwards, but eventually we made it out. There was no going out tonight. We were all beat and we have to head to the airport at 9:30am. Painful.

Day 3

And so my Olympic experience comes to an end today. I briefly considered changing my flights to stay for the men's hockey gold medal game, but flying out tomorrow would be a nightmare. Instead I settle for watching it in the lounge at the airport, which was actually a really interesting experience. There were dozens of people crowded around the lone tv, screaming and yelling for either team, and everyone looked disappointed when it was their turn to leave for their flight. Interesting, but fun experience. I ended up watching with a bunch of NBC guys, but didn't feel sorry for them at the end...

I had to head down to the gates with about 5 mins left, which really hurt, but my plane was late so I was able to watch the end of the 3rd near the gate, and we all cursed Luongo together. It was the most alive I've ever seen an airport. Overtime was really painful because I had to go about 7 mins in, but at least I heard the good news of Canada winning right when we walked on the plane. I really wish I had waited an extra 90 seconds before boarding... Oh well... At least I have a fairly unique story for the whole thing...