When I first heard Arnold Schwarzenegger would be running a leg of the Olympic Torch Relay I thought it was some kind of a joke. However, upon further investigation I discovered that the claims were legitimate and I thought “This, I have to go and see!”

Arnold’s leg began at the statue of Harry Jerome and ended at Brockton Point Lighthouse where he handed off to two time Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe. Arnold was scheduled to run at 7am so Elora and I arrived with Josh at about 5:15am! It was a long, cold wait but worth it in the end. The Torchinator arrived on time with a full entourage and the crowd when nuts! I have never seen anything like it. I managed to be forceful and surged forward with passion to try and get a good shot. Amazing stuff! I think I might switch to the paparazzi from now on ;)

With Arnold was the Premier Gordon Campbell. I didn’t even notice him really until we got to the lighthouse. A morning I will never forget and by far the moment of the Olympics… and it hasn’t even begun!

Well, a dicky bird told me that the Olympic Torch was coming to town! I figured it might be a cool thing to check out, so, off I went to Lynn Valley Centre to join in with the fun. It wasn’t until I arrived there that I realized just what a big deal this whole Olympic thing actually is! I thought there might be a few folks come out to cheer on the flame but there were literally thousands of people lining the streets and even more in the Lynn Valley Centre parking lot. A huge stage had been erected and BC Premier Gordon Campbell was there to join in with the festivities! Surely this must be the biggest event ever to be staged in Lynn Valley?

I haven’t been looking forward to the Olympics. It seemed like a lot of fuss and even more headaches for the locals trying to go about their daily lives. Let’s just say though, the excitement is starting to creep in…