GOLD MEDAL BIRTHDAY!

i'm sitting at the Vancouver airport awaiting my departure back to the states...i'm sad to be leaving, but excited to get back to chicago on my birthday!

last night was my last shift at the USA house and it was by far the busiest we've seen it!! the streets were electric and everyone was celebrating the end of the games and all of the medal success the USA had during these last 2 weeks. i was able to cap off the shift ringing in my 29th birthday with a glass of wine with the staff! they are so sweet and i will miss them all so much :)

there also happens to be a GOLD MEDAL HOCKEY GAME on today...round 2 of USA v. CAN! it's on again, this time for all the glory and there couldn't be a better way to end the games than with the biggest showdown of all!! i knew it was going come to this and i can't wait for USA to win the GOLD!!! thanks to everyone reading my blog the last 2 weeks, it was fun to share my trip with you! hope you liked it as much as i enjoyed writing it!

last few days...

as my trip winds down to beautiful vancouver, BC, i've been reflecting a lot on what's next for me....i've had the time of my life here, with a couple ups and downs thrown in, but for the most part, i couldn't be happier. i was incredibly fortunate to come here and have a great house to stay at with such a sweet family! i was also very lucky to attend some events, meet some of the coolest people and build lifelong friendships, and make connections i never would've made otherwise. i can't say enough how amazing this entire experience has been, it's going to be hard to leave and head home, but at the same time i'm ready to move forward to what's next...

speaking of what's next, my next adventure might be taking me to monterey, california! coincidentally, while i was up here in vancouver, i had a job interview with lululemon athletica (a sportswear company based here in vancouver) via skype! oh the new technological world we live in!! it went really well and i find out next week....if i get it i'll start right away! my time in chicago was winding down anyway after continually not finding work there and kyle not being there. he will be in monterey as well learning french at the Defense Language Institute. we're both really excited to see what happens :)

anyway, back to the present and the last day or so...thursday, i had off and took the entire day to relax after how crazy this last few weeks has been for me. i did laundry and had the interview so no adventures out in the city. then on friday, i worked at the house all day and it was by far one of the busiest at the house yet! friday night i used my second day pass for myself and stayed with some girls to watch the canada v. slovakia men's hockey game! canada won and so it'll be the USA v. CAN again for the GOLD!!! the streets were absolute mayhem last night, i'm talking INSANE!!! some of the girls and i went to CLUB BUD, which is invite only, and just walking there we were scared. we made it in though and had an absolute blast! it was really fun, but another long day. it was really the only night i went out big here and got home REAL late. oops. it was worth it though, a great way to end with the girls and some USOC staff! 

yesterday was also my brother's birthday, and mine is tomorrow!!

happy 23rd birthday matthew :)

today is another cold, wet, and cloudy day here in western canada...and tonight is my last shift at the USA house...waa waa  :( 

USA HOCKEY!!!

i got tickets to yesterday's USA game versus the SWISS!!! it was a little too close, but a really good game, probably one of the best i've ever been to of all time...

USA flags all over the place!!

start of the game...

a cool twins hat i spotted in the crowd, only to find out later that it's US men's curler Chris Plys, he's from duluth! he and his family walked to the house with me after the game...

GOAL!!!!!! the first 2 periods were really close, we had a chance at the end of the first, but it was reviewed and called no goal :( finally, in the 3rd Parise scores!!!

the SWISS took a timeout near the end of the game...

empty netter to secure our W!

great job TEAM USA!!!

2-0 win & handshakes!!!

SUCH a great game!!! i then went to work at the USA house for the night, another great day in Vancouver, BC :)

no more nice weather :(

i had another day off today, and unfortunately, the weather has gone back to the way it usually is here in vancouver, cold, dreary and overcast... waa waa! i still had a few things to see and was determined to do as much as i could irregardless of the crap weather!! 

some pretty flowers on my walk to the bus, and of course a canada flag on a house in the background. they're everywhere here, shocking!

the corner store...your welcome for stating the obvious :)

this is robson square, they have live concerts and a zip line. people wait in line for 6-8 hours to ride across this thing for 20 seconds. dumbest thing in the world to me, but whatever works...

the coke pavilion, i didn't go in, the line was really long and it was raining. boo!

me and the samsung pups, they are adorable!!

they were so good, and some pretty ladies :)

apparently, you can hold a bar of gold and a gold medal here at the royal canadian mint...once again the line was super long and yours truly didn't stand in line in the rain. i might stop by one day if there's no line!

got tickets to canada versus germany to see my man #87 play, it was a blowout by canada. final score 8-2, and they play russia tomorrow now, that'll be crazy!! 

julie and i at the game...can you tell how tired we are?? oh well, we'll sleep when we're dead right?! we were the only one's not cheering for canada - oops!!

jon hamm from mad men was there too! he came through the USA house yesterday, YUM-O! he was super nice, cuba gooding jr. was in as well! oh the celeb sightings...anyway, back to more important things like medals!!! USA has 26, congrats and WAY TO GO!!!

30th anniversary of jim craig and USA gold!!

yesterday, february 22nd, was the 30th anniversary of the US men's hockey team winning gold in lake placid, ny! jim craig also happened to be at the USA house to sign the olympic hall of fame wall and talk about that moment in history. so many moments are talked about the games and now being at one, i truly understand how incredible the olympics really are and how i'll remember these stories forever. jim is a really nice guy and he and his wife chatted with us after the press conference was over. here's a few pics...

USA STUNS CANADA!!!!!

in case you weren't watching a tv or near a computer, on sunday the US beat canada and stunned everyone in this city!!! it was AWESOME!!! the USA house was filled and beyond excited that we beat them and while in canada. the streets were silent afterwards as well. i think most canadians were in shock and ran home to cry...i would've if i was them! 

quick side story, when i was on the bus heading downtown i was the only american on it. the bus driver decided to heckle me and say that it was canada's game and they were going to win, but i said we shall see....and look who won :) WOOOOOOO USA!!!!!!

another nice little saturday!

yesterday was the halfway point for the games! hard to believe it's already half way, but that there's still another week of craziness left to go. it's been amazing to watch the USA get 20 medals already, i can't wait to see the final count!!! 

saturday was another gorgeous day here and i took full advantage of another day off to get out for a run and then go downtown to meet up with julie, my friend at US figure skating. my run was great, i ran over the lions gate bridge and into stanley park. i ran about 5 miles and took photos along the run...

this is the little town i stay at during my time here

this is the shortcut to go along the river...kinda feels like a nike commercial

this is the picturesque view from the bridge

i ran over the lions gate bridge 

some purple and gold i found in stanley park for a particular vikings fan i know ;)

this is point at stanley park that has the lowden lookout, 

i just stood here and soaked in the view

the view on the way back over the bridge towards north vancouver

the flowers are in bloom all around the city, it's like spring is already here!

trail on the way back...nike what?!

this is the P&G house, it's for the athlete's families to relax at during the games. this area was to watch the games and set up like the united nations. it was awesome! other services there are spa, laundry, they have a wii, and pretty much anything you can think of, it was amazing! i was also able to see one of my dad's co-workers there with his family. they are there with their niece who is on the women's hockey team, molly engstrom. such great people, it was cool to see them here in canada, eh? 

then julie and i wondered down powell street in gastown. it's a cute little street that reminded me of southport in chicago and the brick streets in london. it was filled with shops and boutiques. we walked through there for a while before going to dinner at a place called tapas tree with some figure skating folks. great night, but another long day!

today, i'm back at the house for the BIGGEST HOCKEY GAME EVER!!! 

USA V. CANADA at 4:30!!!!! 

GO USA!!!!!!!!!!

LEGENDary!!

i don't even know how to start this post other than i was beyond starstruck!!! i don't normally get all excited seeing celebrities coming through the house, but this one was a BIG one...or should i say the GREAT ONE!!!

scott hamilton was also at the house to sign the olympic hall of fame wall!

my friend julie was able to come to the USA house on thursday night and it was also the night i happened to use a guest pass for myself to stay and enjoy the USA house! thank goodness i stayed, otherwise i would've missed mr. gretzky!!! julie was there for evan lysacek's GOLD medal party!!! it was a great night of hanging out for team usa :)

beautiful day to tour the city!!

woooo, a day off and sunshine!!! it was an absolutely perfect day in vancouver, clear skies and 50 degrees. it was my plan to walk around and see a lot of the city and i think i was fairly successful...i missed a couple things, the art gallery, and i haven't made it to julie's figure skating house yet, but i'll hit them later on another day off. 

i started my trek on the seabus from north van (that's what the locals call it), and since it was finally sunny i took a bunch of pics! i saw the lions heads on top of the mountain, the rings, and then made my way to the olympic flame cauldron next to canada place. 

from there i headed to granville island. i took the bus over there and then wandered the shops and public market. i think my favorite was the sweets and fresh everything!! i got some amazing food and just sat out 

watching the boats along the river, bliss! 

from there i took the bombadier street car (the olympic line) to over near the olympic village where all the athlete's live during the games. you can't get close to them, but i walked allll the way around to the sochi house, which is also the science museum here in vancouver, and i saw the plan for russia in 2014! it was pretty cool in there, they had a mock design up of the venues and athlete's village. they also had a hockey hall of fame, which included some cool jersey's of ovechkin and federov. anyway, i think sochi 2014 will be pretty sweet...not sure if i'll make it there, but we shall see  :)

from there i made my way along the waterfront to all the canada houses set up next to BC Place and Canada Hockey Place. alberta house, quebec house, saskatchewan house, and canada house are there. i took a lot of pics, but didn't go into any of them. they're all the same and plus the USA house is WAY cooler ;) if i had $500 to blow i could've bought a ticket to get in there, i was debating, since it was a possible chance to get a glimpse of sidney, but i decided otherwise. i'll just plan to see him at the USA v. CAN game!!!!!

next, i continued on to the edge of chinatown where they have what's called the best of beijing. it's a photo gallery of some of the coolest images of beijing and a place only for olympians to visit. no, i'm not an olympian, but since the guy came to USA house to put out some information, he gave us passes to get in and see the exhibit. the collection is put on by what's called the world olympians association. i have never heard of this organization, but it sounds pretty sweet and i'm going to do some research...

finally, i was debating going somewhere else, but was exhausted after walking around for 6 hours. i the seabus back and am going to lay low tonight. it's back to work tomorrow at the USA house front desk!!