Whistler and the Olympics
Feb. 26th, 2010 11:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nonionayHere's a post I've been meaning to make for a while, and I suppose I'd better get it done before the Olympics close. It's probably already lost its impact, but at least I get to rant about the Olympics.
Last August, I spent four days in Whistler, B.C., and spent four days in the future. 2010, to be precise, when Whistler and Vancouver will be hosting the Winter Olympics.
It turns out that Whistler was founded with Olympic aspirations in mind. Across the street from my parent’s timeshare, is a dense block of stores, and sprinkled among the winding passages are plaques relating that Olympic-lusting history. It's stuff I never knew all the years I’d been visiting there.
I'm cynical about the Olympics. I adore the concept and the spirit, but I hate the commercialism and hypocritical totalitarianism the Olympic Committee brings in. (Businesses in Western Washington were given special dispensation to use the word "Olympic" in their names, because we've got, you know, the Olympic Mountains. How fucking kind of them.) So it seems like the equation: (Whistler that I Love)-(Olympics Lust+Standard Desire to Expand)=Sad Me.
Whistler’s always building, and now they’re building even more. Fortunately, they know what makes them special, so "rustic" luxury vacation homes and dense urban villages are padded with copious amounts of trees and winding paths.
They know they'll never be rid of the bears, and they don't want to. My dad told me there were a lot of pleasant hidden corners to be found, and I was surprised to discover exactly how right he was. Whistler’s better than ever.
But there's still the frozen moment of time. In August, signs were posted everywhere marking the various sporting sites. (Alpine Skiing? Not in this heat!) You could get souvenirs everywhere of the mascots and other paraphernalia. And you probably forever will.
Really, the most fascinating thing was living in the height of summer, 2009, but simultaneously living in February 2010. But I do have to wonder just a little bit, what will Whistler do now that it's achieved its slushy Olympic orgasm?
Check out all my Whistler pics over at Flickr They're mostly of this hike my dad and I took.
Last August, I spent four days in Whistler, B.C., and spent four days in the future. 2010, to be precise, when Whistler and Vancouver will be hosting the Winter Olympics.
It turns out that Whistler was founded with Olympic aspirations in mind. Across the street from my parent’s timeshare, is a dense block of stores, and sprinkled among the winding passages are plaques relating that Olympic-lusting history. It's stuff I never knew all the years I’d been visiting there.
I'm cynical about the Olympics. I adore the concept and the spirit, but I hate the commercialism and hypocritical totalitarianism the Olympic Committee brings in. (Businesses in Western Washington were given special dispensation to use the word "Olympic" in their names, because we've got, you know, the Olympic Mountains. How fucking kind of them.) So it seems like the equation: (Whistler that I Love)-(Olympics Lust+Standard Desire to Expand)=Sad Me.
Whistler’s always building, and now they’re building even more. Fortunately, they know what makes them special, so "rustic" luxury vacation homes and dense urban villages are padded with copious amounts of trees and winding paths.
They know they'll never be rid of the bears, and they don't want to. My dad told me there were a lot of pleasant hidden corners to be found, and I was surprised to discover exactly how right he was. Whistler’s better than ever.But there's still the frozen moment of time. In August, signs were posted everywhere marking the various sporting sites. (Alpine Skiing? Not in this heat!) You could get souvenirs everywhere of the mascots and other paraphernalia. And you probably forever will.
Really, the most fascinating thing was living in the height of summer, 2009, but simultaneously living in February 2010. But I do have to wonder just a little bit, what will Whistler do now that it's achieved its slushy Olympic orgasm?
Check out all my Whistler pics over at Flickr They're mostly of this hike my dad and I took.
