Ziplining at Grouse Mountain

The weather cooperated and produced the most gloriously nice day for us to go ziplining at Grouse Mountain just outside of Vancouver.  Grouse Mountain is where NBC set up their communication center for the Olympics so there were lots of television crews there but no sporting events.  It was about a 20 minute trip by cab to get to the base of the mountain.  From there we took a 20 minute tram ride up (2 miles?) to the lodge.  Not much snow up there, but there were people skiing and snowboarding. 

This was the gear we had to wear.  It allowed us to kind of sit while we ziplined.

There were 5 ziplines.  The first one was short so we could practice.

Here are Duncan and Stephen demonstrating the "landing" position.

Here they go!  Follow the lines and you will see little people hanging from them - it is Duncan on the left and Stephen on the right.

Here is someone coming in to the landing area feet first.  We had no brakes but the big spring and orange bag absorbed our impact and made for a safe stop.

The next zipline took us over a mostly frozen lake.  That's Stephen on the left and Duncan on the right this time.

Here is one of the guides going through the prep process before Stephen was allowed to go.  The guides were great and followed the safety procedures completely every time. 

Here they go again!  This was a really long one!

This was the 5th zip we did.  The guides warned us to try to go fast and stay streamlined or we wouldn't make it all the way to the other side!  The views were great - I wish I had been able to take photos while zipping.  Check out the big windmill at the end.  It was enormous!

Exploring Vancouver

Yesterday I wandered around Vancouver trying to find some of those red mittens that were so popular during the olympics.  I was directed to the Hudson Bay company, the original source for those mittens.  Unfortunately they are all gone and I was told there were no plans to make more.  Sounds like an opportunity for someone to capitalize on!  Know anyone that knits???

I also went for a walk around the little bay area outside the hotel.  There is a path for bikers/skaters and a separate track for walkers/runners.   

Here are the olympic rings from the side

The boys got in safely last night and we met up with them at a restaurant next to the hotel around 9.  They hung out with us at the Crime Lab until around 11:30 when we had had enough and said good night.  Mike has meetings until lunchtime and then we're going to head up to Grouse Mountain for lunch and a zipline adventure!  Tonight there is a dinner cruise.  It's shaping up to be a busy day!

Vancouver

This is such a cool city and I have not even ventured out to explore it yet.  I can just tell it is a cool place.  Check out the view from our room. 

 I am using a zoom here, but these planes come pretty close.

I can see the Olympic rings from the room!  They light up at night so I will  try to get a picture of that tonight. 

Here are a few cool things about our room.  The soap is a leaf! 

And the shower is fabulous!

I'll be out exploring around lunchtime today.  The boys arrive this evening so my big "to do" today is to figure out how we'll spend our free time on Saturday with them and options for them on Sunday while Mike and I are in meetings.