Mike-- Olympic Volunteer!

Mike's Volunteer Experience for Vancouver 2010 started last year when his boss approached all the staff in his office with the idea of taking time "off" to enjoy the games and represent all BC government workers. He was offered a driver's position in November, but declined when he thought he would be taking too much time off work. But, with the offer of "half-days" off, he couldn't refuse and decided to use his class 4 licence for something other than a bookmark. He was outfitted with an official uniform, had training, and the offer of an apartment in New West from our friend Nell B. All the ducks were in a row-- let the games begin!! He had to commit to 10 shifts over the course of the 3 weeks. Most of the time was spent waiting for someone to call, but he did have a Whistler trip and some Richmond "runs" over the course of the time he was on-call.



As a volunteer, Mike could get really close to places that noone else could. He got to drive BRAND NEW vehicles, and got plenty of free gifts.

Here is the cauldron from inside the fence.
This is at the athletes' village. He had free access to all the great spots, saw the Canadian Olympic hockey team eating lunch, and spent some time shopping in the athletes' exclusive store. It was a great experience for him and he says he'd do it again in a heartbeat! It was an experience he'll never forget!

Of course, he was away from home a lot. But, we decided that we would make the most of this experience together. So, we spent 3 Saturdays in a row travelling between the Fraser Valley and Vancouver. Every day we saw something different, every time was a new experience.

Our last Saturday was spent at the Heineken house. We got to skip the line because our friends Joop and Grace Admiraal have Dutch passports. It was a party!! Here's a few pictures of our time in Richmond:












The Heineken house was so much fun. We ate a lot of Dutch food, tried to speak some Dutch, and whooped it up with our new-found friends. The kids loved it. Mike bought me an official jacket as a "thank you" for allowing him to be away so often. We got a great deal on the one for Anna, too. Her pink jacket was getting a little small, and there was one orange jacket left in her size. It didn't have the official patches, so we got it on sale! Hopefully it lasts her for another 2 years.