NEW iPhone travel app is here!

The island's most complete travel app out there. Get it in the App Store.

It’s here. It’s hot. And it’s only $2.99. The Vancouver Island Exploration Guide app for iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad is stuffed with 130 great things to see and do plus 740 slideshow photos.

Check it out in the iTunes App Store.

Tyee Club’s 2010 record: 54 lb. salmon

Mike Netzel with his trophy catch. Photo credit: Tyee Club

It’s official. This year’s Tyee Club biggest catch trophy goes to Mike Netzel, who reeled in a 54 lb. chinook.

Tyee season in Campbell River, BC, ended last week, and the club handed out 10 awards, including the one for Mike’s catch on August 14. See which guides rowed him and other anglers to the most Tyee of the season.

Check out the club’s trophy room at Painter’s Lodge and an exhibit at the Museum at Campbell River.

Want membership in one of the world’s most exclusive fishing clubs? Land a Tyee (Chinook salmon 30+ lbs.) from a rowboat with an artificial lure, single hook at the mouth of the Campbell River July 15 – September 15. Pre-register and, later, weigh-in at the Tyee Clubhouse on the Tyee Spit.

The golden goal

Fans line up outside the Molson Canadian Hockey House in downtown Vancouver. Photo: Jamie Moore

“Is there anywhere you’d rather be than right here?” asks the TV announcer just before the puck drops at the men’s hockey gold medal game – Canada vs. USA. From my couch I smile that giddy smile I get every time I watch an athlete on the podium lean down to receive a gold medal. And I think, “No way.”

Turns out nearly the rest of the country was thinking the same thing. Today one report confirmed that 80 percent of Canadians saw at least part of that game. Across the country in small-town pubs, sports arenas, even churches, people gathered to watch history unfold.

We cheered “Luuuuuuuuuu!” after every save Roberto Luongo (the Canucks’ goalie) made. We fell silent at the game-tying goal late in the third period. We jumped out of our seats and erupted in the streets when Sidney Crosby netted the golden overtime goal. Yes, this is Canada’s game.

For Canada it was more than a game. It was a galvanization. It unified a country and gave even its adopted residents permission to feel patriotic and proud.

Canada sets 2 new records & other Olympic surprises

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics gold medal. Photo credit: winter2010olympics.net

Today Canadian athletes scored two more gold medals, bringing the country’s haul to a total of 12. That’s more gold medals than any host nation has ever won in Winter Olympic history. And, it’s the most gold medals Canada has claimed at any Olympics.

In my house everything stops when gold is handed out to a Canadian. Someone shouts from near a TV and everyone else comes running to see the athletes’ reactions and watch the Canadian flag rise.

We’ve heard the anthem enough times that Sarah (4) now knows the whole tune, half of the words and fakes the rest. (Not to worry, Mom, today Audra asked me to sing her the American national anthem. “It’s long!” she says at the end.)

I never realized these Winter Games would be a tutorial in anthem singing for my family. Here are a few other surprises and unexpected moments I experienced in Vancouver at the Games:

• Many spectators on the streets shed their jackets as Vancouver sees its warmest February temps in 114 years.
• I stare shamelessly every time an Olympic athlete from a faraway country casually passes by me downtown in an official jacket.
• I’m one step away from pundit Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central when he and a camera crew whisk through the crowd at Russia House.
• I walk out of a men’s hockey game and into a group of people cheering at the Alberta Pavilion’s outdoor TVs. Shaun White has just nailed his gold-medal halfpipe run.
• At the SkyTrain Science World station I hear a group of young people singing “This is the Day” in Russian.
• Up close at the Olympic Cauldron I realize the legs really do have a tin foil look about them.
• New mint knowledge: The rim around a coin helps protect the artwork and extends its circulation lifetime by 10-15 years.
• In the Canada Pavilion I can’t believe the length of long jump skis, a whole arm’s length higher than my upstretched arm.
• The Olympic torch is light! A $400,000 gold bar is heavy!
• For free I get to exchange my old Loonie for a shiny new Lucky Loonie, the same edition that’s buried under the ice at hockey games and in the ski/snowboard cross course. Read the Lucky Loonie story here.

Fans’ most unusual displays of Olympic spirit

The massive Canada flag at Georgia and Howe streets behind the Olympic Countdown Clock. Photo credit: KK Law/Where.ca

Somewhere beyond the face paint and spontaneous outbursts of Canadian anthem singing, there’s yet a higher level of dedication to Olympic spirit here in Vancouver. It’s a privilege to witness. It’s inspiring. And, yes, it’s a bit kooky. Most of all, though, it reminds you that you’re part of something monumental.

Here are a few sightings:

Building-wrap flag. It’s arguably the largest Canadian flag ever and it wraps around the corner of a building under construction at Georgia and Howe streets.

Baby Quatchi. When you see a 9-month-old baby dressed in a furry, homemade Sasquatch suit complete with mascot Quatchi’s signature blue earmuffs, you can no longer debate the marketing power of McDonald’s Happy Meal toys.

Underdog cheering. When the men’s Czech Republic ice hockey team trounced underdog Latvia (3-0) during the first period of play, undecided fans got behind Latvia with chants and cheers. Latvia went on to score two goals that game, and players raised their sticks to the crowd in a gesture of thanks before leaving the ice.

Automated SkyTrain spirit. You don’t think you’re paying attention to the woman’s automated voice that tells you the name of the next SkyTrain stop until she randomly says, ‘Go Canada Go’. And then you look at the person next to you in confirmation before bursting into laughter.

Neon-lit ‘Vancouver Party Bus’. Headed for the suburbs, this motor coach was black on the outside but full-on Las Vegas on the inside. A peek through the windshield revealed every flashing colour of the rainbow.

Cowbell iPhone app. Even teens too cool to wear red are ringing their virtual cowbell while watching the Games from couches in the suburbs.

How to spot a serial Olympic-goer

Spencer Phinney (11) swaps Olympic pins at his third Olympic Games. Photo credit: Les Bazso, PNG, Vancouver Sun

Truth be told, I never imagined there was such a thing as a serial Olympic-goer until I met one in the 1.5-hour line up at the Canadian Mint Pavilion. He seemed a cross between a Boy Scout leader and a perfectionist CEO. This was his 13^th Olympic Games as a spectator.

Serial Olympic-goers are an interesting study. Here’s what made this one stand out:

1. Official-looking lanyard. Athletes have one. Volunteers have one. And so does any serious spectator. Look for a multi-day transit pass (good for the length of the Games) and a plethora of official Olympic trading pins attached.
2. Borderline stalking stories. These spectators see and hear things that only someone who hangs on the periphery of the athletes’ village could. Fascinating tidbits, but you’re left wondering about the embellishment factor.
3. Name dropping. It isn’t with giddy excitement that they mention athletes they’ve met or traded pins with during the Games. The drop is casual and surprisingly modest, just another one for the resume.
4. A chick under wing. This American dad brought his son (maybe 12; not pictured above), leaving the rest of the family at home in Norway. He had instinctively imprinted the next generation of serial Olympic-goers in his blood line.
5. The backpack. Compact yet efficient and definitely high-end. It was packed with sandwiches made earlier that morning for this very occasion, wasting no time when you could be standing in line for the next epic experience.

I could be next. Gasp! After seeing the Sochi House (Russia) 3D model for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games location, I started thinking fur-lined hats and vodka. Hmm. I wonder what kind of sandwiches I could make there.

Torchbearing vs. Goldbearing in Vancouver

$400,000 the richer

Ever wondered what it feels like to hold the Olympic torch or lift a bar of gold? Freaking amazing. You can do both for free, just not simultaneously, in Vancouver during the Winter Games, which end Sunday. For me, here’s how the two experiences compared.

Allure factor

Torch: I cheered it on early one morning last year as it passed through my city on its cross-country tour. Even that experience felt like a brush with greatness, far more historic and significant than any celebrity sighting.

Gold: Friends wouldn’t call me a gold-digger or a big fan of bling. I’ve never envisioned myself rolling naked in a heap of $100s, either. But am I mesmerized by Indiana Jones’s glittering discovery of the lost ark? Absolutely.

Torch passes through Nanaimo on its cross-Canada journey

Wait time

Torch: 30 minutes one night in the Canada Pavilion at the Live Downtown Celebration Site.

Gold: 1.5 hours one early afternoon at the Canadian Mint Pavilion.

Physical reaction

Torch: Big eyes, racing heartbeat, exhilarating. Lighter than I expected. A two-handed grip because it felt remarkably empowering and victorious. I lingered in the moment as long as was socially acceptable with a line up of 30 people waiting.

Gold:

Big eyes. Big gasp. I’m nervous. The bar nearly thudded to the table before I adjusted to its weight in my hands. “It’s heavy!!” I love the way the golden light reflects from the bar and makes my face glow. I soak in the beauty and warmth, completely forgetting about the value between my fingers.

Torchbearing pose in the Canada Pavilion

Interesting stats

Torch:

Weight – 3.5 lbs. with fuel, but this one is about 2 lbs.

Value – Check eBay after the Olympics

Contents – Anodized aluminum, stainless steel and a composite compound; fuel is propane and isobutane

Texture – Sleek, smooth, well-balanced

Design – Curved and modern, inspired by the Canadian winter landscape and able to withstand colder temps than any other torch in Olympic history (-40 degrees C)

Manufacturer – Bombardier, the company who brings us planes, trains and Ski/Sea-Doos

Travelogue – At least one of the several thousand produced traveled within 559 miles (900 km) of the North Pole on the cross-Canada relay

Gold:

Weight – 28 lbs. and no way you could toss them as easily as in “The Italian Job”

Value – $400,000

Contents – 99.9% pure gold, the purest there is

Texture – Softer than you’d expect; a fingernail could mark it (I didn’t try with armed guard onlookers)

Design – Standard issue a bit bigger than a brick

Manufacturer – Canadian Mint, which has produced foreign circulation coins for more than 60 countries

Travelogue –This bar is chained loosely to the table and going nowhere.

6 World Party-goer Stereotypes

Canada men's hockey fans in the herding zone

If you’ve ever been to the Olympics, Mardi Gras, Carnival or any other world party you’ve likely logged some serious time negotiating crowds. It doesn’t take much time people watching before your mind begins sorting your fellow event-goers into classifications.

At least that’s what happened to me last week at the Winter Games in Vancouver. As I waited in long lines, experienced cattle-like herding and walked chaotic streets, the labeling began.

I give you 6 world party-goer stereotypes.

1. Fanatical fans. This category typically involves face paint, a wig or at least one special-purchase item not already in your closet. Evidence: Full-body spandexed Red Men at men’s hockey game. (see pic in earlier blog)
2. Repeat business. Addicts. Junkies. These guys can’t get enough. They spend big vacation time and big bucks to be where the party is year after year and they pass on the addition to their kids. Evidence: Dad (his 13^th Olympic games) and son in line at Canadian Mint.
3. Face-time fashionistas. The rest of the crowd is decked out in Olympic and Canadian apparel, while these cool cucumbers don chic boots, dress coats, small skirts and maybe a touch of red in their scarf. Evidence: 20-somethings looking to meet at a downtown Starbucks.
4. Line budgers. This sly breed pretends not to speak your language or it makes excuses about just having been to the washroom. Not only do you not buy it, you motion and loudly proclaim where the budger will find the back of the line. Evidence: Man squeezing into 12th position in a 1.5-hour Canadian Mint line.
5. Shameless drunks. They’re loud, can’t walk straight, make excellent cheerleaders and are usually accompanied by sober friends who apologize for their language/trampling/spilled drink. Evidence: Friday nights on the streets of Yaletown.
6. Pitch-in parents. Unlike their pushier, sense-of-entitlement counterparts, these parents step back and give late-comer kids the front row to the kids’ show. They lift up your child so she can hug a furry character and snap a photo for you while they’re at it. Evidence: My section of the railing at Olympic mascots on ice performance at Robson Square.

Any others we should add to the list?

Family-friendly Winter Games itinerary

Mascots on ice at Robson Square

Going to the Olympics, for most anyway, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and you don’t want to miss a thing. It’s tempting to set an ambitious agenda and try to tackle it all. But, just like you had to do at Disney World, let it go. You can’t and won’t experience it all with kids in tow, not with Olympic-sized walks and waits.

We planned to spend 3 weekdays in the middle of the action with tickets to 3 events, one on each day. The first day was family day, the second was kid-free and the third was kids’ choice day. The next day we were glad we didn’t have to face any more lines or crowds.

Here’s the 3-day itinerary (mostly impromptu) that worked for us. It’s all within walking distance and free, unless noted.

Family Day

• SkyTrain – free ride to downtown, Stadium station
• Robson Square – see zipline and Olympians skating on outdoor rink
• Howe Street – for quirky sculptures and photo ops
• Sears building short cut – a DJ spins club tunes at entrance
• Aboriginal Pavilion – dancing in full regalia outside
• CBC Radio – (next door) pick up little flags street side
• Moxie’s – for dinner ($70 for four) with kid’s meal dry-ice volcano ice cream
• BC Place – medal awards ceremony ($50×4); Canadian snowboard cross champ gets gold

 Kid-free Day

• SkyTrain – free ride to downtown, Science World stop
• Russia House (Science World) – Russian club music, 3D model of next Winter Games site, virtual hockey. Celeb spotting: US gold medalist speed skater & Stephen Colbert
• Olympic Village – see across False Creek; athletes hang their flags on balconies
• Quebec House – open-air bar with poutine chef, fancy cheeses and grapes
• Ontario House – drink local wine at bar, watch events on big screens
• GM Place – Men’s hockey game: Canada vs. Switzerland ($80×2); full-body vibrating national spirit
• Olympic Rings & Cauldron – yes, there’s a camera-friendly fence opening
• German House – gotta love the German accent: “Have a beer, eat a sausage and hang out.” ($20 at night)
• Live Downtown Celebration Site – live music, events on huge screens, Manitoba House and Canada House where we hold the torch and measure up to long jump skis

 Kids’ Choice Day

• Drive and park in garage ($13/day)
• Canadian Mint – hold a bar of gold worth $400,000, coin exchange for a “Lucky Loonie,” buy Olympic coins (the line to see medals was 5 hours; ours was 1.5)
• Robson Square – smell fresh cedar shavings and see aboriginal carvers at work, watch street performers, flamenco dancing on cultural stage
• Robson Square ice rink – see Olympic mascots ice show, go ice skating on outdoor rink ($3 each)
• Pacific Place – get food court snacks ($10) and O Canada! Pin inside igloo-shaped entrance
• Yaletown Celebration Site – a long walk, but cool to see steam train in the nearby Casa Italia (Italy House) Roundhouse building

Know of any other fun family sites and activities? Let’s hear it.

Canada + Hockey + Olympics = Mayhem

Red-hot fans line up for Canada vs. Switzerland men's hockey

Confession: I’m not a huge hockey fan. I know what ‘icing’ is and what it means to be ‘off-side.’ I do occasionally linger by my family room TV when the score is tied and there are two minutes left in the third period. But hockey doesn’t move me to the edge of my seat. It doesn’t work its way into my casual conversation.

 That all changed one afternoon at the Olympics. Men’s hockey: Canada vs. Switzerland.

“Did you bring extra Kleenex?” asks my husband. “We’re in the nosebleed section.” Yes, our seats in GM Place were in the second to last row. And yes, it’s dark up there. But that’s where it happened, my temporary hockey fan metamorphosis.

Here’s a play-by-play:

Pre-game crowd control

We clear the security check and funnel into a parking-lot holding area with a volunteer on a lifeguard chair, bullhorn in hand and tossing out bubble gum, along with thousands of red-clad fanatical fans.

100% spontaneously break into song: “If you’re happy and you know it,” “O Canada”

95% wear jerseys.

45% wear facial tattoos or face paint.

30% wear flag capes.

25% wear helmets, crazy hair or other above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty adornment

Photo op: I pose with the two famed Green Men who taunt the penalty box during Canucks games. Every inch of their bodies is tucked, this time, into red spandex suits.

Game on

After we’re herded into the stadium we discover we’re in luck. We can actually make out the players’ jersey numbers from our seats. Even better luck: Our seats are behind the net where Canada will score for 2 of 3 periods. 

With every Canadian goal the crowd goes wild. The Red Men (who make front page provincial news) pop up dancing and waving a sign. A girl in a bikini top sweeps an enormous flag from atop a broomstick. It’s the kind of intensity and volume you can feel vibrating through your feet, your seat and your lungs. My heart rate elevates and I become breathless from cheering, especially when news cameras visit our section.

Two minutes left on the clock. I’m on the edge of my seat. The game ends in a 2-2 tie. Overtime. I’m half out of my seat for every not-quite goal. Overtime ends with no goals scored. Shoot out. I’m squeezing the bar in front of me. The shoot out ends with no goals scored. Sudden-death shoot out. Every muscle is tense. Sidney Crosby scores the winning goal. The entire arena and entire country heave a sigh of relief. Then we cheer until we’re hoarse. This is Canada’s game.

Post-game mayhem

Streaming out of the stadium, the crowd floated on endorphin power. You could feel it buzzing just beneath your skin. Spontaneous wah-hoos and yeahs erupted. Someone would shout out “Go Canada!” and without fail, even blocks away from the arena, some other random person would shout back “Go Canada!” That kind of spirit carried on in the streets late into the night. That kind of spirit could transform anyone into a hockey fan.

Are you a hockey fan? We want proof.