Tour 13B

I spent this weekend bringing a tour from Seward to Denali. This was a Holland America Line tour, tour 13B to be exact. On Saturday afternoon, I drove to Seward, to get in position for the tour. On Sunday, the ms Ryndam was in port, and I met this group on the dock that morning.

We pulled out of Seward just before 8:00am, and headed north on the Seward highway. I was touring for most of the trip, and I played a couple movies during the trip as well. I thought the trip went quite well. We made our first stop in Portage, at the Glacier Lodge, for some snacks and a chance to stretch and use the bathroom. We only stayed there about fifteen minutes, even though the schedule called for us to be there nearly an hour. I chose to left early so we could spend a little time touring in Anchorage.

Tour 13 is not scheduled to stop in Anchorage, but I thought it would be nice to detour a bit in town and see some of the highlights on the way through. We went around Lake Hood, and then headed out across town on Northern Lights Boulevard, because there are often moose on that road. So we spent the extra time in Anchorage, because no one really had a lot to do in Portage. Our next stop was in Wasilla.

We drove through Wasilla. I took a route that allowed the guests to see the house where Sarah Palin grew up. I figured that was politically safe, because the group was from Tennessee, which just might be more conservative than here. Well, we had one Texan on board, but generally Texans are not exactly liberal either. That ended up being a big hit, and then we stopped at the Settlers Bay Lodge for lunch, which was included with the trip. We spent about an hour eating lunch, and then continued on again.

Our next stop was at milepost 147 on the Parks Highway. There is a big Veterans Memorial there, which is about halfway from Wasilla to Denali, so we use it as a rest stop. On a good day, it also offers a good view of Mount McKinley. Unfortunately, Sunday was cloudy, with rain periodically, which meant we were not able to see the mountain. We made about a fifteen minute rest stop there. At that point, the group leader asked me what time we would be into Denali. I told her we would definitely be there by 6:30pm. That was not a good answer for her. She had signed the whole group up for a dinner show that started at 7:00pm, and they wanted to be there fifteen minutes early. She was worried that they would not have time to get to their rooms to drop off their luggage, and make it to dinner on time. I guess wen she booked the tour, she had been told that they would arrive in Denali at 4:00pm, which is simply impossible when leaving Seward at 8:00am, unless it is driven nonstop. I apologized and explained the schedule and the distances to her, and we got going again after about a fifteen minute break.

We crossed the continental divide, and arrived in Denali just a few minutes before 6:00pm. As we were arriving in Denali National Park, the group leader handed me a tip envelope, and thanked me for all the information and entertainment had given them during the trip. When we got to the lodge, I drove them right to the building they were staying in, so they would only need to walk about six feet to the door. I unloaded their luggage and then helped them all off the motor coach. After all the guests had disappeared, my tour director wanted me to count the tip money, because it would give her an idea of how she would do at the end of the trip.

It was very low. In fact, on my first highway tour like that, I had driven from Denali to Seward, and made more than twice what I made this time. I was a bit disappointed, because the first trip is supposed to the worst. I did my best and really gave them a great trip, but I could have done better financially just driving people back and forth between the ship in the airport. I know that tips are not a good indication of your worth as a person, but it is a bit disappointing when you get one of the most coveted tours in the division and then it is nothing more than a pretty drive with a lively bunch of people.

New England

Over the last couple weeks, I have, not surprisingly, spent quite a lot of time on the move. At the end of March, I drove back to Utah, from Whistler, Canada. That was a long drive, split into two days.

Once I arrived in Utah, I basically began packing up again. I took care of some business and got everything packed up for the summer. Once all that was taken care of, I was on the road again, figuratively. I boarded the train in Provo, and headed east.

The train trip across the country was great. The weather was perfect, and everything ran on time, allowing us to spend most of the daylight hours in Colorado, which really is quite spectacular. The whole trip to Chicago went off without any problems, and we arrived in Chicago the next day, just a few minutes ahead of schedule. In Chicago, I was to catch a train to New York. I decided to check on the possibility of upgrading to a sleeper roomette for that leg of the trip. I was in luck. Rooms were still available, and I was even offered a very good price, so I bought one. At the same time, I decided to check a bag to New York, just so I wouldn't have to carry it anymore. I still held onto my other bag. I checked those at the station, and then left for the few hours I had in Chicago. One of these days I'll spend more than 8 hours there at a time! I walked over to the lake and the Navy Pier and just enjoyed the pleasant weather and the breeze. I also found some dinner at a local restaurant, and then made my way back to the station. Before long, the train was boarding, for the first class passengers, so I got on.

The first class passengers board the train over an hour before it is scheduled to depart, and have some time to get settled in their rooms. Before the train leaves, there is a free Wine and Cheese event for all the first class passengers. I went to that, and then retired to my room. When I got to my room, the bed was made and turned down, and all I had to do was go to sleep. Breakfast was still 600 miles away.

I woke up the next morning, as we were pulling out of Depew, NY, which is the stop that serves Buffalo. I looked out the window, and lazily got ready for the day. I really did not have a lot to think about that day, as all I had to do was sit on the train and watch upstate New York roll by. I eventually showered and went to the dining car for breakfast, followed by a leisurely late morning nap. It was a great day. When we arrived in Albany, we were about 45 minutes late, but we made up that time along the Hudson River, before arriving in New York City. By then, it was the end of the evening rush hour, and things were beginning to quiet down to some degree in the city. I collected my luggage and got on the next train to Long Island, to go see my grandparents.

I had a very nice, although short, visit with my grandparents. Once the visit there was over, I got on the train again, and headed for Boston. This was a comparatively short trip. After a short delay in the Bronx, due to a failed signal, we really got moving. We did arrive a little late everywhere, but we did not get further delayed. The trains really move through that area. Our maximum speed was 126 mph. At one point, we were stopped at the station in Kingston, Rhode Island, and one of the high speed trains passed us in the other direction. As I understand, the track speed there is 150 mph, so you can just imagine the blast as it roared by. Our entire train shook from the air it pushed out of the way. We arrived in Boston about 20 minutes behind schedule, and I continued to New Hampshire, where I have been for about a week now. It has been nice to visit the east coast again. It always will be my home.

Downhill Skiing

I apologize for the delay in this post. It has been some time coming. About a week ago, I had the opportunity to attend the downhill skiing event at the Paralympic Winter Games. This was combined men and women, and it was three different categories. They started with the women in all categories, and then had the men compete afterwards.

The first event was the downhill skiing for the visually impaired. This amazed me, because the athletes that were competing in this were blind, or pretty close to it. They all had a guide who skied the course about 10 metres ahead of them. Both were wearing headsets and would talk to each other as they skied down the mountain. We were asked not to cheer until after they had crossed the finish line so that they would be able to hear their guides.

Following the visually impaired athletes, the women sit skiers competed next. There were only six of them. These were women who were paralyzed. They had a special arrangement, where they sat in a bucket which was mounted on a single ski. There was a suspension system that connected them to the ski. On the ends of their poles, they had little skis, so they could use their poles to help them balance. These skiers were faster than the Olympic skiers. They are the fastest skiers in the world usually. Unfortunately, the two skiers competing for Japan both were unable to finish the race. The first one had a pretty serious crash because her binding came apart when she was going about 120 km/h. She was actually pretty seriously injured and was picked up by a helicopter and flown away from the scene. The second woman from Japan also crashed, although it was much less serious. She was not hurt, but she was not able to finish the event.

After the sitting skiers the standing skiers competed. None of these were the same. The Standing skiers all had limited or no use of at least one limb, but sometimes it was a leg, other times it was an arm. In a few cases, an athlete could not use either of her arms. Some were missing limbs as well. After the last standing skier ran the course, the women were all done the event. There was a short break while they touched up the course and repainted some of the lines, and then it was time for the men to compete.

During the break, Jeremy and I got talking to the woman sitting next to us. We knew she was an American by what she was wearing and by the fact that she was cheering for all the American athletes. As it turned out, she was from Kingston, New Hampshire, which is only about 45 minutes to an hour from where I grew up. Also, she was the mother of Chris Devlin-Young, one of the athletes who was yet to compete. He is one of the sit skiers for the USA team. He would be competing in a little while. She was telling us a bit about him though. He had won medals, both gold and silver, at past Paralympic Games, in Salt Lake, Torino, and Lillehammer. He had won many other events worldwide for his sit skiing ability. She was very excited to see him compete again, and had even made a big banner for him.

After the break, the competition resumed with the visually impaired men. Once again, their guides led the way, typically only by about 10 metres ahead of them. Every team had their own way of doing it which worked for them though. Some preferred to ski a bit closer together, while others liked being farther apart. I was impressed at the fact that there were really only one or two crashes, even though these guys couldn't see what was in front of them. They were out there skiing a pretty fast and challenging course without ever skiing it. It was incredible.

Once the visually impaired skiers all finished up, it was time for the sit skiers. The lady next to us was excited for this part, because this was where her son would compete. He had to wait for several other skiers to go before him. When it was his turn, he got a good start, but he was 0.36 seconds behind the person who was in first place up to that point. By the second checkpoint however, he had made up some time. He was actually in the lead by 0.52 seconds. If he kept that pace, he would take the Gold Medal again. His mother's excitement was getting higher and higher as she watched her son compete and ski extremely well. He did very well, and came into view just about 200 metres from the finish line. There was one final hill, where most people got a bit of air, and then he would come off that to the finish line. He was doing very well, and it looked like he had probably gained more time since the second checkpoint. He came around that last turn, into clear view of all of the spectators, and hit that last hill. He got air, which was expected, but when he hit it, he was still finishing up the turn, and he did not land the jump. He crashed, and got right back up, still finishing quickly. Unfortunately, that crash cost him just over four seconds, which put him well outside the possibility of getting any medal. His mother was just devastated. I had no idea what to say to her, because there really is nothing you can say to make losing a gold medal better. He did finish the race, despite the crash, which was good, but still disappointing.

After the rest of the sitting skiers were finished, the standing skiers competed. The man who won for standing skiing actually did not have any arms. Yet he was the fastest person down that mountain. It was amazing. When the last standing skier reached the bottom, there was a short break and then a flower ceremony for those who had won medals. The actual medals ceremony was not until later that evening though. Medals were given for each category and for both men and women, so for the whole day there were six of each medal.

Opening Ceremonies-Part 2

Today, again, we have Opening Ceremonies. This time, they are for the Paralympic Games. They will be this evening. Unlike with the Olympics, tickets are not sold out actually, and go for $30. For the next nine or ten days (I think it is ten, but I am not sure) we will have the Paralympic Games going on, mostly in Whistler. Actually, Vancouver only has two events. The sledge hockey and wheel chair curling events will be held in Vancouver, but everything else, including the Closing Ceremonies, will be here in Whistler. Most of the events are skiing events. I am actually going to the Alpine Skiing event on the 18th, which is a standing event. The athletes will be standing to ski down the mountain. There is a separate event for those skiing sitting. It is both men and women, and I imagine it will only be a couple of hours. It should be good though. I have heard, from just a few people who have actually been, that the paralympic events are often more exciting and incredible than the Olympic events.

Things have still been quiet around here. Tomorrow the work is expected to pick up a little bit again, because events will be starting tomorrow. We shall see what happens. It still will not be anything like a few weeks ago. Security is much more relaxed at the events this time around. Spectators will not even need to be screened.

Paralympics

About a million people have asked me what in the world I could possibly be doing in Canada for all of March if the Olympics ended a week ago. Well, for that last week, I have worked exactly eight hours. Starting next week however, we will be busier again. The 2010 Paralympic Games begin next week. There will not be nearly the same crowds or craziness or media attention that the Winter Games got, but there will still be a bit for us to do. After that, things will go back to really quiet. It has been very quiet everywhere for the past week. Actually, it was a little strange, because we were just getting used to the crowds and the craziness, and then it all disappeared, and people resumed life as normal. Normal felt odd for a bit. It is nice though. Whistler has gone back to the nice quiet skiing town in the mountains that it was when I arrived. Things are going very well here, although I really do not have a lot to talk about, because very little has been going on. I will do my best to keep everyone posted on everything though.

Life

I mentioned recently that I finally figured out what I am going to do with my life. A few people have asked me what that is, and a few people have made guesses as to what it might be. I will elaborate here, since this space is a bit larger than a comment box on Facebook.

All my life I have liked trains, which I have talked about on here in the past. I think it all started when my dad would take me to the end of the street, even before I could walk, so we could look down the tracks and see if there was a train coming. That was a daily ritual until I began going to school every day. Since I could talk I always said I wanted to drive trains when I grow up. I think growing up I never honestly thought I would grow up though. I still don't think I will! At any rate, now is the time when we try to figure out what we want to do with the rest of our lives. We are expected to choose a major in college or pursue some sort of technical training from which we can build a career. I have been in college for about two years now, trying to figure out which major sounds the most interesting, and which one I could have a job with for the rest of my life without being bored to tears.

When I first started college, I was a Civil Engineering Major. That was fine, and it was interesting enough, but I discovered, after two failed attempts at Calculus, that I am not very good at math! I decided that engineering was not for me, so I switched my major to Facilities Management. It seemed a bit easier, while still fairly interesting. As I continued in those classes it slowly became less interesting though. By the end of the semester, and after a mission, I was completely bored by it.

When I returned from my mission, I decided to switch my major to Construction Management. That seemed a bit more interesting. My only hesitation was that it required calculus. I figured I would give that class another chance. After all, they say that the third time is a charm! Well, I did manage to pass the class that time, although it turned out it was luck. I actually did not have any higher average than I had in the past, the way the grading ended up being curved was just enough to give me that passing grade. That was an obstacle I had overcome, even if I had barely overcome it! Construction Management did not lose its interest, however I did get thinking more about my future. I liked it, but I still wondered if it was interesting enough to do for the next 40 years.

Last summer, I took a job in Alaska, where I drove motor coaches around Anchorage and the surrounding areas. I had never planned or even wanted to be a bus driver, but it was a good opportunity that found me, so I took it. Buses had never been interesting to me. As I worked in Alaska, I learned a few things. I learned a ton about Alaska, and learned that I like that place a lot. I also learned that I really love transportation in any form, even if trains are my favorite mode. I also found that I liked work everyday. I liked being on the move all the time, and always going somewhere, even if I had been there before. That got me thinking about a career again. I really didn't and do not want to make driving a bus my career. As I mentioned, it was just a good opportunity for the summer, although it has provided me with work ever since too. I would like to work in transportation though.

As I was thinking about transportation work, I remembered a school I had seen ads for in some of my train magazines when I was about 17. It is called the Modoc Railroad Academy, and it is outside of Sacramento, CA. So I went online and got some more information about the place. It is a kind of trade school. They train people to be certified conductors and licensed locomotive engineers. The whole program is six months long. It is more than book learning though. There is quite a bit of that, complete with homework assignments, however a large amount of the time is spent actually operating trains in a railroad yard, and working on the tracks. They try to create as much of a railroad setting as possible. They set up scenarios in the yard, and you stay there for as long as it takes to complete, even if it ends up taking 15 hours. Classes are five days a week, but they are scheduled anytime during the day or night, and that time can change from day to day, just as your schedule likely would on the railroad.It sounds like a challenging program, but it sounds like something I would enjoy a lot. At the end of the six months, they help in the job search. They do not guarantee employment, although every person who has graduated from there has been offered a railroad job. There is an average of six job offers for each graduate. I have decided that I will go to Modoc, and then see where life takes me after that. I seems that my childhood dream of driving trains when I grow up is going to become a reality. I am trying to start school in September, however I will probably have to wait until May 2011 to begin. Part of this is the federal age requirement for engineers. If I do have to wait until May, I will just work and save money until then. I will no longer be attending BYU. Perhaps when I am a bit older I will decide to get a degree, but I think railroad work will be more interesting to me, and I will get paid quite a bit more to start than I would with a degree.

In short, my life plan is to get my Conductor Certification and a Class 1 license from the Federal Railroad Administration. Then I will get a railroad job, ideally as a locomotive engineer, but possible as a Conductor, and I will drive trains, just as I have been planning since I was three.

Bobsleigh

On Saturday and Sunday, the two man bobsleigh events were held. Saturday was the qualifying runs and Sunday was the finals. There are four heats, and the times for each one are added together. Basically whoever has the fastest total time gets the gold medal! I went to the finals on Sunday evening. It was incredible. I had a general admission ticket, which meant I could wander anywhere along the track. The track was 1.4 km long, and it is supposed to be the fastest in the world. There are sixteen turns on the track. The teams start running and pushing their sled. There is no rule on when they have to be in the sled, but they do have to stay with it. It gets going a bit faster than most athletes can run! The Germans set the track record at 153 km/h. You can stand a metre from the track as they go by at that speed, and it is incredible. It is SO fast! I took a couple of videos right next to the track, but they don't really give you an idea of what it is like to be standing there. It was so much fun. There were 23 teams racing in the first heat of the night, which was the third heat for them overall. In the fourth heat, the second of the night, 20 teams raced. The fourth heat was the last. Once that was finished, the times were all added up and the winners were announced. The Germans took both Gold and Silver, while the Russians took Bronze. The best USA team was in 6th place. That night, and the medals ceremony, the German National Anthem was played to honor their Gold Medal. It was so much fun to be there. That was one event I have wanted to go to since I was a kid.

Olympic Update

I thought I should send in a little update on what all is going on here in Canada. The Olympics are in full swing now, and things are, for the most part, going very well. The USA currently leads with 17 medals, much to the disappointment of the Canadians. There is a bit of a friendly rivalry between the two nations.

The events have been interesting. I have not made it to any in person yet, but it is all that is on the TV, so I have seen what has been going on. I will be attending the bobsleigh event on Sunday, which is am looking forward to. That should be fun. This is supposed to be the fastest bobsleigh and luge track in the world. Athletes have hit speeds as high as 175 km/h in practice runs. It is a very fast track.

Yesterday, I think it was yesterday, was the Ladies Downhill Skiing. That was rather intense, if anyone missed it. It was a very fast course, and actually very steep. You really cannot tell how steep it is on the TV. The women who were racing on that course were going as fast as 100 km/h down the hill. Some of the little bumps were enough at that speed for them to get air. There was one last mound at the very end of the course which people got a lot of air on. The trouble with it is that is was right after a turn, so they had to straighten out really quick and then hit the hill. A lot of skiers were not able to do it without crashing, but some did. They were travelling 40 to 60 metres in the air off that mound. There were some injuries, fortunately non serious. It was interesting though, because some of the skiers would have a great run, but that last hill in the course would really throw the run off in the end. You couldn't really tell how well they were doing until they hit the finish line.

In other news, there has been one serious incident with the luge and with pairs figure skating. On the opening day, the team from Georgia (the nation) was practicing, and one of their athletes got going a little too fast, and lost control of his sled. He flew from the track and struck a concrete post at 155 km/h. He died a couple hours later in the hospital in Vancouver. That was rather sad. In the pair figure skating, first of all, there was not a single performance without a fall. All the athletes stumbled or fell at some point. One girl was accidentally kicked in the face by her partner. She received 80 stitches in the right cheek, but was back on the ice later. Those have been the worst injuries of the Olympics so far. Fortunately, most events are going just fine, and there have not been more serious injuries.

Being here is a lot of fun. I am enjoying myself a lot. There is a lot of excitement here, because everyone knows the whole world is looking. It is really quite an experience, and I am glad I am part of this.

Once in a Lifetime

When I was younger, my parents would sometimes take us to do something because it was likele the only time in our lives we would get such an opportunity. Some of these activities involved all of us, while some just involved a few of us. Some of these were elaborate activities, like the time we all vacationed in Newfoundland. Others were much smaller and more simple, like going to the top of the Empire State Building. Even since I have left the nest, so to speak, I have continued to take opportunities, especially when I think it might be the only time I'll ever have such an opportunity. One example was the time I was invited into the Church Administration Building, where President Hinckley worked. Over the years, a surprising number of these once in a life time opportunities have come up more than once. Of course, many have also been just once so far. One event in particular that comes to mind was in late May or June of 1996.

I don't remember the exact date anymore, although I could dig up the photos and find out. My parents got all four of us up much earlier than usual for a school day. I was in third grade, and normally we got up at 6:15am. On this day, we were out of the house before 6:00am. We headed to the south end of town, because the Olympic Torch was going to be passing through town. I didn't know much about the Olympics back then, but everyone seemed to be making a big deal about this torch. As I understood, someone was running with a torch to Altanta, which seemed like a long run from New Hampshire! We got to the south end of town, and there was a huge crowd, and all the streets seemed to be closed. We joined the crowd, and waited a while. As a kid, it seemed like we were standing there for hours, when in reality it was probably less than half an hour. After we stood there for what seemed like forever, some vehicles came into sight. They passed slowly, and behind them was a guy, with a torch, running down the street. He only ran for a little bit, and then got to someone else with a torch. He lit the other torch, and then the next guy ran for a little bit. That guy lit another torch, and then a third person ran a little ways with that. As an eight year old, I thought the excitement was a bit overdone, because they guy only ran a hundred feet or so! I think I was excited because everyone expected it, although I really did not understand what was going on very well. Over the next few weeks in school, we talked a lot about the Olympics, and I began to understand a little bit, although I did not make the connection between the Olympics and running with torches. Whether I understood it at the time or not was not why my parents brought me to see that. They brought me because they knew I would eventually understand it, and it was very likely the only chance I would ever have to see such an event. They were quite justified in thinking that, because it is the only time they have seen it. As I have gotten older, I really never expected to relive that event. Yesterday proved me wrong on that expectation.

Yesterday evening the Olympic Torch reached Whistler, British Columbia. While this is part of the torch relay, it proved to be much more than that day in 1996, when we simply watched the torch go by. Whistler is one of the Olympic towns. When the torch got here yesterday, there was more going on than just having it pass through. All day long, there was live music and entertainment all over town. Some of the performers were local, and some were very well known. Grateful Dead and Justin Timberlake were both here yesterday, and did free concerts in the Village Square. Local choirs and performers were here. There were acrobatic performances, magicians, and comedians. It was all free to the public. At the Skiers Plaza, there was another stage set up, with more similar events. Right around 7:00pm, the torch made its way into Skiers Plaza. Skiers Plaza is where the town meets the mountain. You can ski down the mountain, pop your skis off, and then walk around town. The Olympic Flame was skied down the mountain, and into the plaza. Once in the plaza, it was relayed to the stage, where the Olympic Cauldron was lit. This cauldron will burn continuously until the Closing Ceremonies, in three weeks. There were speeches, and following the Whistler Opening Ceremonies, there was more free entertainment until late in the evening. Dignitaries included the Mayor of Whistler and the Primier of British Columbia. He is equivalent to a governor in the USA. The CEO of the Vancouver Olympic Committee was there, as well as athletes from Russia, the Czech Republic, the USA, Germany, Norway, and of course, Canada. There were probably many others that I did not see. This event generated the biggest crowd Whistler has ever seen. SKiers Plaza was absolutely packed. The excitement level of everyone there was extremely high. This is the first time Whistler has ever had the Olympic Torch, and certainly the Olympics. I understood pretty clearly what was going on this time! That flame came all the way from Olympia, Greece, and has visited every territory and province in Canada on its way here. Next week, that cauldron will be brought to Vancouver, where it will light the Vancouver cauldron at the Opening Ceremonies. That takes place on Friday, the 12th.

During all the festivities, as I mentioned, Whistler Village was quite crowded. Several other torch runners were hanging around town too. I got a picture with one of the runners and the torch. I have no idea who she is, I just asked if I could have a picture, and she was okay with that. She ran the torch earlier in the afternoon, through a place called Bandywine Falls, which is not far from here. I took other pictures of the festivities. It was dark, but some did turn out okay. I will post those eventually, when the internet I have access to is a bit faster. It is very exciting to be right in the middle of the Olympics. I would reccomend to everyone that you take some time off, travel if necessary, and go to the Olympics at least once. It is really neat to be here, in the middle of all the action.

Oh Canada!

I am now in Canada. It has been an interesting trip so far. We all were told to meet in the Lewis Stages office, in Salt Lake City, at 7:00am, on Thursday. I got there about fifteen minutes before that, figuring we would have a short introduction, and then head out. We all met then, but there was paperwork to be done, and things took a while. There were three people assigned to each bus, and we were all given maps. A dozen buses were being driven to Canada. After all the paperwork was done and things were kind of organized, we headed out. By this time, it was almost 10:00am. Rest stops and meal times were all planned out, and we were supposed to stay in order, so no one, ideally, would get left behind and lost. We were to drive to Ellensburg, Washington, on Thursday.

The trip to Ellensburg went fine. It was pretty simple really, get on I-15 North, and go to Ogden. There we would get on I-84 West, and take that to Hermiston, Oregon. There we would get on I-82 West, which would take us to Washington. In Washington, we would drive a few miles on I-90 West just a couple of miles, and then stop for the night. We would all stay in a particular order, and no one would get lost or left behind. Turned out, this was easier said than done. The convoy broke apart after the first rest stop, and everyone was on their own. We all met up again at the designated stops, and then all headed out and got separated again before long. Besides that, the trip was uneventful as far as the Washington state line.

When we crossed from Oregon to Washington, we had to stop at a weight station. Buses usually have to stop at state lines unless they are carrying passengers. The weight is not the concern, it just allows authorities to conduct a quick safety inspection. It also gives them the option of checking the vehicle and driver paperwork, if they choose. Well, they decided to check our paperwork, and they were picky about it. We all had to park and go into the office to show our log books. They were ruthless. If the lines were not straight enough, they threatened to fine the driver. If the log page was not neat enough, they threatened to fine them again. It was rediculious. For the drivers who had nothing wrong with the log books, they asked to see the vehicle registration. On the registration, which had been copied at the office, the Washington part was partially cut off, and they threatened to pull the buses out of service, and not let us drive any farther. We spent an hour and a half at that weigh station. We later learned that getting into Canada was easier than Washington, and I thought Washington was only a state line. somehow, we all managed to dodge getting a citation, which was nothing short of a miracle.

Once we left the weigh station, we continued on without any problems. There was a little confusion on the location of the hotel, but we found it. We were all put two in a room. It was about 1:45am when we finally arrived there, due to the weigh station delays, the late start, and lengthy meal stops. I think most of us fell asleep pretty quickly that night.

On Friday morning, after a good night sleep, we all got up to hit the road again. One nice thing about being a driver is you are required to have at least eight hours off between shifts, so even though we got in late, we were able to get a good night sleep ebfore we headed out again. We all refueled and hit the road. It took a few hours to get across Washington, and we did not have any more weigh station problems. We got on I-5 North, and headed for the Canadian border. The border was an interesting experience. Since we were not driving private vehicles across, we had to have each bus cleared as a commercial good. They had to be declared in customs, because they are worth more than $800, and tariffs had to be paid according to their estimated value. The value on these is around $350,000. There was a lot of paperwork. It was not difficult, just time consuming. It took just over two hours to get across the border, although it was far less of a hassle than getting into Washington had been! Once across the border, we drove to Vancouver. There we parked the buses and went to a downtown hotel for the night. I stayed at a place called the Shaughnessy.

The next morning, we got up and went back down to the bus yard in Vancouver for some training and orientation. We got our uniforms, which consists of a coat. We also got our olympic accreditation, which proves we belong here. We also got our assignments. I was assigned to a place called Whistler, which is about 120 kilometres north of Vancouver. Next, we drove up there. There was a bit of a mix up, and two people who are not qualified to drive motor coaches in Canada were assigned to take them here. I was asked last minute if I would mind driving. That sounded better than riding to me! I drove. It is a narrow, hilly highway, with a ton of curves. It was rather interesting. The speed limit is 80 km/h for almost the whole way to Whistler, but it is hard to go that fast in a bus, because of the dynamics of the road. It is a fun road to drive though. It is actually surprisingly similar to Alaska here. When we arrived in Whistler, we dropped off the buses, and then went to our accomodations. It is a little temporary camp called CSC Rainbow Village. My accomodations are a building made of shipping containers stacked three high, with windows and doors cut in them. It is finished on the inside, so it does not feel like it is the inside of a container, but it is a rather small room. It is not exactly what I was expecting, but it seems to be working just fine. The container building has everything we really need. The kitchen and dining room is there, and they feed us all our meals. There are several lounges, laundry rooms, washrooms, and an internet cafe there too. Our room even has a balcony! One nice thing to living in a container is that you cannot hear anything that goes on in the room, or container, next to you, because there is a pair of corrigated steel walls between you and the next room! You cannot hear anything from one room to the next! As rediculious as it sounds to live in a shipping container, it really is not such a bad arrangement!

A few people have asked what I am doing up here. Well, I am driving buses for security personnel. Lewis Stages is the company I work for, which is a Salt Lake City based company. They were hired by Edison Transportation, who was hired by Gameday Management. Gameday Management was hired to manage transportation for Contemporary Security Canada. Contemporary Security Canada, or CSC, was contracted by the Vancouver Olympic Committee to manage security at all the venues during the Winter Olympics. The Vancouver Olympic Committee, or Vanoc, was created by the International Olympic Committee. Basically I am a sub-sub-sub-subcontractor! arious other companies have been sub-sub-subcontracted to move spectators, athletes, and other employees. In total, there are about 2,000 buses here for the olympics from all over the USA and Canada. I do not know the exact number of employees here, but it is a lot. Vanoc has 35,000 employees working directly for them. I am not counted in this number. There are 25,000 volunteers, and a roughly estimated total of 75,000 paid employees working for the olympics in some way. As you can imagine, this does wonders for the local economy. It ends up costing the city and British Columbia quite a lot, but it is quite the economic boost.

The olympics are more than just athletic competitions. I am learning this actually. Those are the focus of the event of course, but the olympics also includes concerts every night and arts exhibits. The mission of the olympics is to enrich the lives of those in this area, and the art exhibits and concerts are part of that. The concerts are free, and are usually a well known person or band. They have a different concert every night, both in Vancouver and in Whistler. Displays and art exhibits are set up all over both towns, also available for free to the public. There is actually quite a lot more going on than just the athletic events everyone knows from watching tv.

On a side note, for any of you who have ever seen the movie "Cool Runnings," about the Jamaican bobsleigh team, they will be here this year, and they are racing in Whistler. I am hoping I will get to go to that event.