Travel tales

Photos courtesy of Cindy and Don Barber

The Barber family; Cindy, Emma, Jake and Don; at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The Barbers watched the Men's Downhill competition from a public-access area on Whistler Mountain.

Courtesy Cindy and Don Barber

The family takes a break on Blackcomb Mountain.

Courtesy of Cindy and Don Barber

The Barber family was on hand for the Two-Man Luge competition.

Don and Cindy Barber of Moneta and children Jake, 11, and Emma, 8, recently returned from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in British Columbia. "Don and I attended the Summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996. We wanted our children to experience the thrill and excitement of international competition," said Cindy. "What could be better than to combine our favorite family activity -- skiing -- with the Olympics when they are being held right in our backyard?" Don is a pilot for United Parcel Service and a volunteer with the ski patrol at Wintergreen Resort. Cindy has her own bookkeeping business, Books and Ledgers, in Westlake. Jake is a fifth-grader and Emma is in the third grade at Dudley Elementary. The Barbers were accompanied by friends Nancy Cameron and Doug Wolfe of Lynchburg on the trip, which Don said was special because of the access they had to the athletes and "being able to ski up to downhill events, watching the events and realizing that we were able to be a part of history." Cindy, with help from Jake and Emma, has agreed to share the family's Olympic experiences.

Who went?

Don, Cindy, Jake and Emma Barber of Moneta and Nancy Cameron and Doug Wolfe of Lynchburg

Where did you go?

Cindy: Vancouver, B.C., and Whistler Blackcomb Mountain, B.C., Canada. We attended several Olympic events, including the Opening Ceremonies on Feb. 12. We also purchased tickets for the Two-Man Luge and Curling (women's). We were able to see the start of the Men's Downhill and the Women's Downhill from public-access areas that were set up on Whistler Mountain.

When did you go?

Cindy: Feb. 10 - Feb. 19

How long were you there?

Cindy: Our total trip was about 10 days. We spent two days in Vancouver, one for the Opening Ceremonies and one the day of Curling. The other days were spent at Whistler Blackcomb snow skiing, watching the Alpine events and luge and just hanging out and absorbing the Whistler Village atmosphere in the evenings.

How did you hear about your destination?

Cindy: Don is our ring leader on the vacation. He is an avid skier and a volunteer ski patroler at Wintergreen Resort. He LOVES snow skiing and has been organizing our trips out West for many years. We have been taking our annual ski vacation out West for the past 12-plus years. For the last eight years, it has grown to include the kids and our friends, Nancy and Doug. We have been to Colorado several times and skied resorts such as Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, Steamboat, Copper Mountain and Beaver Creek. One year, we went to Lake Tahoe, Calif., and skied at Heavenly and Squaw Valley. But our favorite place and the one we have been to the most is Utah. Utah has great skiing and it is so easy to get to. You can fly into Salt Lake City and be on the slopes by lunch time. Some of our favorite places in Utah are Park City, Deer Valley, The Canyons, Snow Basin, Sundance, Snowbird and Alta. Our family also really enjoys watching the Olympics, both summer and winter. We started planning the trip about one year in advance. Arranging our lodging was the first key, then on to getting tickets for the events and air travel, etc.

What did you like best about your trip?

Jake: I liked the Opening Ceremony. My favorite part was when a big screen showed a guy snowboarding down a mountain and he suddenly appeared in the stadium and jumped through the Olympic rings, like he had snowboarded right off the screen.

I liked seeing the Luge competition. It was fast-paced and exciting. We could hear the rumble of the track and feel the spray of ice as the athletes raced past us. After the U.S. team competed, they gave high-fives to people in the crowd and I was one of them. The excitement of the crowd was fun, too. We rang cowbells, cheered, and made lots of noise for the US team. I also liked trading Olympic pins with other people. I have 22 pins on my Olympic lanyard, but my favorite one is from the Calgary Olympics.

I also got to meet the sister of Julia Mancuso, the Alpine skier who won two silver medals, and I traded pins with her. My family and I went skiing at Whistler Blackcomb. I liked the terrain park and the ski cross-course. My sister and I had a favorite run called "Bark Sandwich," which was a tree and mogul run. With all the trees, if you aren't successful in this run, you can become a "bark sandwich" in a hurry.

Emma: I liked the Opening Ceremony. It was fun to see all the flashing lights, wearing the white ponchos, and having little flashlights to use. My favorite part was that the crowd got to be part of the show. I liked all the people, restaurants, and shopping in Whistler Village. They had live music and lots of activities. The Canadian network, CTV, broadcast Olympic coverage live from the Village. We had dinner one night at an awesome restaurant called Mongolie Grill. You are given a big bowl and get to pick out all the ingredients you want for stir-fry and they cook it right in front of you. It was yummy and fun. We had a lot of fun trying to find the official red Olympic mittens. Finally we found some and I was so happy.

The best part was watching the Women's Downhill event. It was exciting to cheer on Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso to their gold and silver medals. The only bad thing was after the race, it was scary trying to ski to the bottom of the mountain with so many people in a small area. I loved skiing at both mountains and liked riding the Peak to Peak Gondola that takes you from one mountain to the other. They have a special silver car that has a clear bottom. Hope you're not afraid of heights like our friend, Nancy.

What, if any, were the negatives?

Cindy: The only negative that I can really think of is that for a ski vacation, it is a long way to travel. For the Olympics, it was well worth it, though.

Jake: I didn't like skiing in the morning. It was cold and the snow had refrozen overnight and was too hard.

What attractions should people make sure they visit?

Cindy: Vancouver is a very interesting city with many things to explore. We did not even begin to dent the surface on all that it has to offer. One thing that I heard about trying was the Japadog, a Japanese hot dog. We saw it on CTV and I wanted to try it. After walking around the city for a few hours exploring, we finally found a Japadog vendor. It was over an hour wait. For a hot dog! I might have to go back just to try one, or maybe some nice lake resident will bring me one. Take advantage of visiting all of the venues that were created just for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Jake: Anyone who visits the area should definitely go to the Whistler Olympic Park in Callaghan Valley, which was built just for the cross-country, alpine, and biathlon events. They should also see the Sliding Center at Whistler Blackcomb.

What advice would you give to lake residents who are considering this destination?

Cindy: If you are going to go skiing at Whistler Blackcomb, be prepared for all types of weather on and off the hill. The locals like to call it "variable" conditions. It can vary from day to day as well as from one run down the hill to the next. It might be cold and icy on the top, foggy and snowy in the middle and raining at the bottom. However, the hill offers something for all skiing abilities and beautiful scenery (when you can actually see it.)

Emma: Stay in a place with a hot tub!