I jumped right back into things when I returned form Vancouver. I’m glad I had most of Monday to relax and wind down from my trip to Vancouver. This also allowed me to prepare for a busy schedule in Phoenix.

I met with Ryan and Niki at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library for their engagement photos. Ryan and Niki are planning a beach wedding this summer in Lake Tahoe. They were a blast to work with and a fun way to get back to real life if Phoenix.

On Day 19, I left. I left good friends and great times. Like all good things, this too came to an end.

I’m glad I had Monday afternoon to relax and reflect. This helped me get my head on straight for being back in Phoenix and jumping into a packed schedule for March. Just over 24 hours gone from Vancouver, it almost seems like a dream. This morning, I asked myself, “did that really happen?” The details are already getting fuzzy and it almost feels like I never left. I’m amazing at how quickly I adapted to my new normal of being in Vancouver and how quickly it went away when I returned home. I’m going to spend the next week journaling as much as possible to try to capture my experience in greater detail. I’ve gained an enormous amount of perspective on my life and I’ve returned with a sense of calm. Looking back, it was an amazing trip on many levels.

Maybe all worked out the way it did because I had Batman protecting me at night. This was were I slept for 19 nights. A Batman comforter and sheets on a a futon in the living room of some truly awesome people.

This morning I left early to get some photos of workers taking down the fences. The fences that have kept me away from the venues since I’ve been here. Fences and lines seemed to be two themes for the games. I took photos of that, but they didn’t feel right. The tone of the city had changed. It wasn’t an Olympic city anymore. It was a city recovering from a huge two and a half week party. Some people went back to the lives they had before the Olympics. Others it was their job to help restore the city to it’s previous state. Tourists were leaving, very few were out on the streets. The mood I wanted to capture was one of loneliness. When the crowds were around, I never felt alone. I felt part of something greater than myself. While wandering the same places I’ve been many times in my time here, they were empty and cold. I felt alone.

My last full day in Vancouver. I’m filled with emotions as I reflect on this trip. I’ve been here long enough that this is my new normal. Phoenix seems like a lifetime ago. When I think about this trip, I feel opposite extremes at the same time. It seems like I just arrived, but I also feel like I’ve been here a very long time. I can’t express how much fun this has been. It’s also been one of the hardest assignments I’ve shot. I’ve questioned myself many times. It seemed kind of crazy to head up with about a month’s notice and no guarantees of work, but it also seemed like a no brainer. How could I not go?

Interacting with people from all walks of life has been a great joy on this trip. I feel like I missed many more photos than I captured. I’m confident in what I did capture. I’m glad I had today to reflect on the trip and gear down from Vancouver. I’m already gearing up for a busy couple months when I return to Phoenix. I’m excited about making prints and going through my work with Arielle and other photographer friends. I feel my work is done in Vancouver and I’m ready to leave. I’ll also miss the city. I’ll miss the amazing time I had hanging out with Seth, Vickie, Margo and Dale. All of them are very special people. I’m excited to return home to my wife, Arielle. I’m excited about the thought of coming back to visit.

I think hockey was the only gold medal that Canada truly cared about. When Canada beat Slovakia on Friday night, the town went nuts and that was only the quarter finals game. Today was the gold medal game versus the United States, the only team Canada lost to in the Olympics. To say people were rabid would be understating the mood of the city. When I was a quarter of a mile from BC Place or the nearest bar when Canada scored their first goal. I literally felt the air move when fans exploded in cheers. It was unlike much I’ve experienced before. When the United States scored to tie the game with 24 seconds left in the 3rd period, I thought people would start crying. The mob scene that followed Canada’s overtime win was incredible. After an hour of photographing and fighting through the crowds, I left. All the way back to Seth and Vickie’s place there were fans streaming into downtown to celebrate. It was pretty unreal.

My day didn’t start out covering fans watching the game. It started following a small group of protestors. This was the same group that I’ve covered before, but not the same group that engaged police and caused property damage. The Vancouver Police blocked off several streets to keep the protestors moving in a certain direction but they also cleared the way for the protestors. They even pulled away a couple very pissed off hockey fans that looked like the wanted to start something with the protestors. I have to say that the Vancouver Police have been some of the nicest people I’ve meet here. Everyone has been kind, respectful and helpful. The most I’ve seen them to do engage someone was to pull them aside, talk to them for a couple minutes then let them go about their business. I think just about any city in the United States would react in a much different way.

I watched the closing ceremonies among a small group of people my new favorite Vancouver hangout caffe, La Fontana. I felt this was a much more appropriate way to close out the Olympics than to fight through crowds of drunken people, again.

In the end the United States earned 37 medals, Germany had 30 and Canada made a strong push in the last couple days to earn 27 medals. So America did Defeat the World.

Today was my last day of dedicated unfocused wanderings. I had a few ideas that I’ll be finishing up over the next few days, but nothing came through for today. The few events that I was going to check out turned out to not be very interesting. With my day open, I decided to head back to Richmond to check out the Richmond Oval where the speed skating finals were happening. Afterwards I went to the Vancouver Olympic Centre. I haven’t been by many venues since the first couple days of my trip. I now remember why I haven’t been hanging around the outlying venues. You can’t get close and there’s not a lot of people traffic like there is downtown. Outside the Vancouver Olympic Centre, I tried for one of my wide angle self portraits. I took a couple then checked my screen for framing. I noticed something. I look tired. Then I realized that yes, I am tired. This trip had been a lot of fun and I feel like I’m producing good work, but it has been very tiring. It’s pushed me in ways I didn’t expect and drained me physically and mentally. By the time I leave, I’ll have been home only 1 of the past 21 days. I have 2 more days before I head home and I still have a lot left to shoot. I’m ready to be back with my wife, my cats and sleep in my own bed. Until then, I’m going to keep pushing and shooting right up to the end.

Today started out very slow. It was cold and rained all morning. It also rained most of the evening. I’m starting to come down with a cold so this made being outside pretty unpleasant. I went by the CTV outdoor studio, where people were lined up to get a free CTV olympic pin. I decided to call it a day around 6 and met up with Seth and Margo for dinner and to watch the Canada vs Slovakia hockey game. Canada won 3-2 and advanced to the gold medal game on Sunday. Afterwards the town went crazy. We headed out to Robson Street to check out the craziness. The streets were packed, you had to push through people to get around. From the way people were acting you would have thought that Canada won the gold medal. I’m interested to see what happens after the gold medal game between Canada and the USA on Sunday.

Today was my refocusing day. I took the day off from Olympic coverage and went with Seth, Vickie and Dale to Merritt. Merritt is a small town with a population around 7000. It reminded me of a much smaller version of Clovis with it’s high evaluation, dry climate, gusty winds and tumbleweeds. The town also has a yearly Country Music Festival. Another interesting thing about the town is the hand full of Country Singer Murals around town.

Hope is a little smaller than Merritt, but is very different. It is and on the west side of the mountain and is much more lush. It’s also the site of the movie First Blood.

Today was very relaxing. Getting away from the Olympic buzz, I was able to let the stress I’ve been feeling over the past 2 weeks drain away. When I first got to Vancouver, I had no agenda except to make good photos outside the Olympics. As the days have added up, the pressure has built and I’ve felt it. The beginning of this week I felt at a loss to make good photos. I’ve found that the best way to get out of a rut is to keep shooting. Today was the change of pace I needed to help prepare me for my final few days in Vancouver.

I think I’ve mentioned it in a previous post, but I can’t stress enough that there are lines for everything. If you want to do anything you have to wait in line. I’ve found myself checking out exhibits that I had no interest in and were not very good because there was no line. Every time I’ve passed the Royal Canadian Mint the lines have almost been as long as the ones outside Russian House, which are by far the longest lines I’ve seen here.

This morning I got out to Granville Street early to get an idea when people start showing up. This was by far the least busy I’ve seen it and there was still a 100 yard long line for the Mint. A lot of shops on Granville have added an olympic theme to their display windows. I showed a little of this in a previous post fromm the Adidas store window.

Since it’s been raining again, the scalpers have started to huddle by the exit to the SkyTrain. As soon as you leave the station, you’re bombarded by people trying to sell you tickets or buy your extra tickets.

Today I realized I’m leaving in 6 days. I’ve heard rumors about more protest this weekend and I suspect Sunday will be very busy with the Gold Medal Hockey Game and the Closing Ceremonies. My goal for monday is to see how quickly things go back to normal. I have to leave early Tuesday to head down to Bellingham for my flight. This only leaves me Thursday and Friday to truly set my own schedule. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m heading out of Vancouver for a day trip to take in some of the scenery in British Columbia. I’m not quite sure where we’re going, but it will be a nice change of pace to get out of the city for a day. I feel it will help me focus for my last few days in town.

Shortly after I arrived in Vancouver the sun came out and stayed out until today. The week of sunshine is pretty normal for this time of of the year in Phoenix or anytime for that matter. It’s not normal for Vancouver. Normally it’s cold and drizzling.

Two things that have been an everyday part of life around the Olympics have been ticket scalpers and public transportation. The scalpers are on just about every corner looking to buy or sell tickets. They are incredibly easy to spot. Most are older men in their mid to late 40s. Besides holding out tickets or two fingers advertising they have tickets, they all have this look of being out of place.

The trains seem to be much more packed than the buses. I’m guessing tourists that don’t normally ride public transportation are much more comfortable boarding a subway than a waiting on a city bus. The city has done a pretty good job of adding extra buses and trains to keep the crowds moving. The only times it seems to break down is later at night when everyone is going home. I’ve heard that some places had over a 2 hour wait to board the train during peak times.

This morning I took the SeaBus over to North Vancouver to check out the Russian Tall Ship. Afterward, Dale was nice enough to drive me around North Vancouver and show me some sights. From the north shore, I took several shots and stitched them together for a panoramic view of the Vancouver skyline. Unfortunately, it was a little hazy.

After my tour of the north shore, I went back into the frenzy of downtown. People seem to be obsessed with olympic pins. I passed the Olympic Cauldron, where there were a lot of vendors selling pins.