And I Would Walk 500 Kilometers...

Actually, I walked 219 kilometers in Canada. The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee gave all press members these pedometers and I wore mine everyday. 219 kilometers amounts to 136 miles. To give you some perspective:

The distance between Vancouver and Seattle is 141 miles.
The distance between San Antonio and the Mexican border is 145 miles.
136 miles amounts to more than 5 marathons.

The real reason for this final Olympic Nick blog post is to show off my comprehensive online photo album from my adventures in British Columbia. Included in the album are shots from opening and closing ceremonies, alpine skiing, curling, hockey, and the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Check it out!

Goodbye Canada, Hello Unemployment

I'm home. My last few days in British Columbia were spent in Vancouver. Among the activities were watching the U.S. lose to Canada in the gold medal hockey final, watching about a hundred thousand Canadians celebrating like madmen, watching Neil Young and other acts perform at the closing ceremonies, celebrating the end of the Games with co-workers, visiting the famous Capilano Suspension Bridge and honoring Vanessa's birthday with friends. It was a fun two and a half days and a great way to cap off my time in Canada.

The photo above is from the suspension bridge, which is just the largest of a labyrinth of bridges amongst the trees in Northern Vancouver. Locals probably consider it a tourist trap, but I had never seen trees like this before and the photo opportunities along were worth the steep price of admission. The Olympic Games were an amazing conclusion to an awesome nine-month stint with the U.S. Olympic Committee. As a way to close down this blog, I will post an extensive photo album in the coming days. Thanks for reading and see you in London 2012.

Canadian Observation of the Day: Canadian hockey fans talk trash but are otherwise completely harmless

Final Medal Count: USA 37, Germany 30, Canada 26

An Experience Worth Its Weight in Gold

Steven Holcomb and his "Night Train" crew won the 4-man bobsled competition, giving the U.S. it's 36th medal. This ties the all-time mark set by Germany in 2002. Tomorrow, the U.S. is assured a 37th and record-breaking medal in the men's ice hockey final versus Canada. Win or lose in that game, these Olympic Games have been hugely successful for the Americans. The Canadians have hosted a great party. The bronze medal pictured above belongs to Elana Meyers of the third place women's bobsled team.

Tomorrow, I leave for Vancouver where I will spend the next two nights before returning to Texas. Not sure if I'll be able to catch the Closing Ceremonies or where I will be for the gold medal hockey match but I do know that I'm just about ready to head home. It will be nice to spend some more time in Vancouver and hang out with the USOC crew down there. Go USA!

Click HERE for my flash quotes from today's men's alpine slalom event.

Canadian Observation of the Month: The Olympic Games will be considered a bust for many Canadians if their men's hockey team falls to the U.S. in tomorrow's final.

Medal Count: USA 36, Germany 29, Canada 25

Winter Winding Down

Tomorrow is the last full day of competition for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Today was the second to last day for me to stand outside in the freezing cold at the alpine skiing venue. Aside from these blogs, I haven't had too much time to reflect on my month in Whistler. I fall asleep almost immediately upon hitting the pillow. My best times for meditation have been on the ski lift rides to and from the alpine venue. On the way up, I get to see ten thousand flag-waving Olympic fans gearing up to cheer for their country. On the way down, I overlook Whistler Creekside and the forest that surrounds it. Every day brings new experiences and memories. Yesterday, I was able to visit the USA House in Whistler. This was my first time at the House on the evening after an American won a medal. I got to see the athletes and their friends and family enjoy the moment together. With their own medals hanging from their neck, the athletes present a special medal to their coaches, thanking them for all their hard work. It's a pretty cool sight to see and yes I was able to touch the medal.

Click HERE for the flash quotes from the women's alpine slalom event today.

Canadian Observation of the Day: Seems like half of the staff and volunteers with the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee are American.

Medal Count: USA 32, Germany 27, Norway 20

Bringing Home the Hardware

With the women's hockey team winning the silver medal, the U.S. now tops the medal count with 31 podium finishes. Three more medals will tie the all-time best finish by the Americans at a Winter Games, set in Salt Lake City in 2002. With over two full days left of competition, Team USA has already set the record for most medals earned at a Winter Games outside of the U.S. The U.S. Nordic combined skiing team arrived in Canada having never won an Olympic medal. Today, Billy Demong and Johnny Spillane finished first and second, bring the team's medal haul to four at these Games. At the Whistler USOC Media Services Office, we've been adding the names of each medal winner to the wall on either side of the entrance. It's a simple yet impressive display that might come off as showboating. I'm not sure even we anticipating this kind of performance.

Canadian Observation of the Day: The only thing they Canadians love more than hockey is talking about how humble and polite they are.

Medal Count: USA 31, Germany 26, Norway 19

The Cultural Olympiad

After sport, the Olympic Games is a celebration of music and art. Music and sport are both universally loved and great ways to bring people together. Everyday, four free concerts are within a quick walk from my office. I've been unable to see a few of the shows I had circled on my calendar, such as jewish rapper Matisyahu and costumed deejay Deadmau5. But recently I've made up for it by catching Damian Marley (son of Bob) and Canadian indie rock group Stars. The Games are nearing their end and Whistler goes out with a bang with hip-hop artists on three straight nights: the Roots, Knaan and Usher. Oh yeah, there are some sport competitions going on as well.

Click HERE for my flash quotes from the first run of the women's alpine giant slalom event.

Canadian Observation of the Day: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, affectionately known as Mounties, are everywhere, although not all of them wear the official red jacket, tan Stetson and boots.

Medal Count: USA 28, Germany 24, Norway 18.

Venturing Into Vancouver

Yesterday was my first entire day off so naturally I went to Vancouver to see experience the Olympic Games away from the mountains and in the big city. After freezing at the alpine venue the past week, I welcomed the opportunity to thaw out at some indoor sports. First off was U.S. women's hockey semifinal match against Sweden. Team USA won and go on to play Canada in the gold medal match on Thursday. Then I saw the U.S. men's curling match against China. Curling has been one of the few areas where the Americans have underperformed and yesterday resulted in another loss. Nevertheless, it was very cool to see the sport in person for the first time and to hang out with former USOC intern Maura.

In between the two competitions, I was able to walk around Vancouver, which is much more urban and diverse than I expected. It seemed like a less intense version of London or New York. It was every bit as visually stunning and hip as I expected with lots of interesting bars, restaurants and artwork. Tons of people were out on the streets, soaking in the Olympic spirit. I stopped by the USA House, where I ate a gourmet lunch and met up with former USOC intern Vanessa. It was a great day off and it has re-energized me to finish off these Olympic Games strong.

Click HERE for flash quotes from the men's alpine event today.

Canadian Observation of the Day: Tim Horton's is the Canadian Dunkin' Donuts, Blenz is the Canadian Starbucks, they also have plenty of Starbucks.

Medal Count: USA 26, Germany 23, Norway 17