Oh Canada!

I'm going to skip all the negative economic and political news I could be reporting about this morning.  Instead, let's talk about something really positive.   If you live in Bellingham or anywhere within driving distance of Vancouver, British Columbia...please...please...please...get yourself there for the last week the 2010 Winter Olympics.  Don't worry about not having a ticket to any events. The show at Robeson Square alone is worth the crowds, the border, the drive. Here's how we did it:

(1) Pack some snacks and a camera and some water bottles in a backpack. Arrive at the border early with your passport or Nexxus pass or enhanced license.
(2) Drive to King George (or Scott) Skytrain station. Buy an all day ($9 CN Adult $7 CN Child) pass with your credit card or Canadian cash. (You have to run your bank card as a CC if you don't bring credit.)
(3) Take the Expo Line to the Waterfront or other downtown exits.
(4) Walk to the  Olympic Cauldron. Take lots of photos.
(5) Walk to Cathedral Square. Hang out. Take lots of photos.
(6) Walk to Robeson Square. Hang out. Eat. Skate. Watch wonderful concerts. Watch gymnastics. Watch comedy performers. For extra credit, zip-line across the square. Take lots of photos.
(7) For extra credit, get back on the Skytrain and take your children to Science World.
(8) For those with extra cash, take the ferry or the bus to Whistler or Squamish, stay the week and bask in the glow of victorious nation.

Canada is America's alter-ego.  It's who we should be when we are depressed, sad, angry or full of paranoia. And nowhere is the 'joie de vivre' of Canada in more prolific display than Vancouver, B.C. with or without the Olympics: multi-racial, multi-ethnic, alert, joyous, worldly, and (of course) polite.  My only concern about going there is that I might just throw my border pass in False Creek one day, so I make sure I never come back!

Olympics 2010.  Don't miss it.