The last day is always bittersweet. We've seen everything we wanted to see, we've done everything we've wanted to do. Heck, we even did somethings TWICE! We've had some awesome adventures and pushed ourselves pretty hard these last 6 days and our bodies are pooped. (Carolyn wanted me to make a note that she is still awake right now and it's 11:30pm.) So today we decided to take it a little slower...
We spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get to the Whistler Olympic Park. Little did we realize it is not even IN Whistler... it's a 40$ cab ride OUTSIDE of Whistler! EACH WAY! NOT IMPRESSED!!! But ultimately we flew accross the country to spend a week in a place that just hosted the Olympics (and being the Olympic fanatic that I am...) how could we NOT go? So, let me explain, in case you didn't know: the Olympic Bobsled, Luge and Skeleton Track is walking distance from Whistler Village but as you can imagine, it's quite a hike. They call it "Whistler Sliding Centre". The location where they had the medal ceremonies with the big stage is smack dab in the middle of Whistler VIllage (we walked by it everyday). The park that hosted the Cross-Country, Biathlon, Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined events is the park we ventured to today: Whistler Olympic Park. It's a good 20 minute drive South of Whistler and there is no transit to and from that location. What a terrible tourist attraction from that perpective. We took the Fuel Cell Bus to Function Junction (the end of the Whistler Transit Line) and then called a cab. It may not have been worth the 80$ drive but I'm glad we went. Our cab driver Martin was from Guelph and kept us entertained. He even stopped to let Carolyn take pictures of a bear on the side of the road (TWICE!)
At the Park we got to explore some of the Cross-Country trails, the Biathlon stadium and the Ski Jump ramps. The highlight was definitely firing off 5 rounds with the biathlon rifles. They explained the sport in detail and I have to say I have a newfound appreciation for the sport. A) That rifle isn't light! B) You try holding that thing steady and shooting at a 45mm or 15mm target while gasping for air and fighting a racing heartbeat. I went first and missed my first shot but nailed the other 4. Carolyn, obviously needing to show me up and watch me run a penalty lap knocked out all 5. NOT EASY! These guys and gals fire off they 5 rounds in 30-45 seconds... we fired off 1 round every 45 seconds. We didn't even get to fire standing up - that would have been a total shitshow. I got to practice trying to hold it steady...yeah right. Really cool though - we loved it! We are damn good shots (if I do say so myself). The ski jump at the other end of the park was also awesome. Deceivingly HIGH! TV doesn't do these sports justice. Unfortunately the lift doesn't run on Wednesdays and Thursdays so we couldn't go up (but that's ok... it looked mighty high right from ground level...) I might be athletic, but I ain't no athlete and seeing these venues in person really makes you respect the athletes so much more. Sports junkie - I admit it!
I called Martin to come pick us back up... unfortunately our attempt at hitchhiking didn't work out so well. HAHA... By the time we got back to the Village it was 3pm and we still needed to shop a bit (because we really hadn't had time to up until now) and decided we wanted to downhill Wmen's Nght one more time. Took forever to get our gear and get up to the top. Different group, Matt wasn't our guide but Paula was equily as awesome! We stepped it up and started some blue runs and mixed it up a bit. I got back into my rhythm and remembered why I loved downhill so much in the first place. It's been 5 years since I've done downhill and never have I ever attacked anything like Whistler but this was the most fun I've had and the biggest rush I've experienced in a very VERY long time! I'm hooked all over again. Nothing quite like flying down a mountain, over rocks, around burms, around trees (unless it gets in your way... no comment) on 2 wheels at 60km/hr. Even got some good air a few times! WICKED!!! MooReece was well strapped in and screamed "WEeeeeeeeeee" all the day down. The nice thing about Whistler is that the run down is LONG! Alot of traffic sometimes but the ride down can be upwards of 20 minutes. SPEED DEMON!!! BRING IT ON!!!!
Beer and prizes at the GLC restaurant afterwards. The group sits together, Paula (who is also a Cross-Fit trainer) sat with us and it's an awesome social event! Carolyn won a bag on Monday and I won a pair of gloves today. I totally forgot to go for the beer chug but after seeing the 2 beer chugs that won this week, I better get practicing - I can chug, but the girls that won this week... WOW! Never seen anything quite like it! IMPRESSIVE!!! I like this sport. Race down a mountain on a bike and then drink beer... I could totally get used to Whistler life. The people that we've met seem to come here and never leave...
This place is my Disneyland! It doesn't get much better than this.
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