The Biathlon

Yesterday was a very long (but fun!) day. At seven a.m., I was already at the Lonsdle Quay in North Vancouver, waiting to be picked up to go to Whistler. We then made the long trek up to Whistler, to see the Paralympic Biathlon. We were also supposed to watch the awards ceremony, but because of the time it was supposed to start, we weren't able to stay for it. That way, we'd end up getting home at around eleven. Shame.

The Biathlon, Anyone?

-The amount of people that came out to cheer was pretty astonishing. Granted, some of them were from Squamish and some of the other surrounding areas, but a lot of them were from Vancouver, just like us. It's always nice to see so much enthusiasm for such an event.

-Apparently, the biathlon is huge in Germany. Sort of like hockey here. I learned that from some German tourists that we talked to. One of them was the wife of one of the paralympians, Josef Giesen.

-The blind do not compete against the amputees. Embarrassing as it is, I did not know that. But, hey, you learn something new every day.

-There's actual snow in Whistler. Imagine that.

-As we were heading down from the biathlon venue, we got to talk to a native carver, who was carving out a totem pole. He started at the beginning of February, but left everything until the last minute, so now he has to finish a whole totem pole (and paint it too) by Sunday. Good luck!

-Whistler Village has a lot of Paralympic venues. A concert hall, a tent where you can learn about some of the athletes, a Paralympic store... It's awesome.

-Check out the Cow's Ice Cream shop in Whistler. No more need be said.

-Whistler has built a pretty cool accessible playground. What I liked best was that it was made so that disabled kids could play on it, but it is still fun for able-bodied kids. It encourages them to play together!