The saga of 8-year-old Hannah Mitchell at her first Olympics continues

Last night I went to see the Olympic cauldron, it was raining and cold out and we had to wait in line but it went fast and only took 15 minutes to get to the top of the lookout. When we go to the top of the lookout it really started to rain hard and the wind blew the rain right onto us so we got wet but the closer we got to the cauldron the more you could feel the heat from the burning fires, which felt like a big campfire.

The cauldron looked like a family of five torches all together as one. The flames will be turned off at the end of the games on Sunday.

Also from the lookout you get to see the Olympic rings floating on a barge.

When you walk around Vancouver you can see many ways people show their love for their country by carrying Canadian flags or hanging them from windows, I saw this big crane that had maple leafs in different colored lights all the way to the top.

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-- Hannah Mitchell

Another episode in the story of an 8-year-old at her first Olympics

Today was another nice day in Vancouver, no rain so I went for a bike ride around Stanley Park and then over to English Bay and I saw things that you cannot see if you are in a car or bus.

Along the ride there are all these things to see like Indian tote tome poles, two lighthouses, the Olympic rings that light up at night, a statue of a man running and someone hung some very large gloves with the Canadian maple leaf on them. The ride is mostly on flat land and a pretty easy to ride. It took me three hours. The ride was fun.

 
  

 

I also saw a statue of a girl in a wetsuit sitting on a rock in the water and she had a bird sitting on her head. When we got over to the other side of Stanley Park where they have beaches, on one part along the shore there were so many rocks and some were put together to look like a inukshuk, which is a stone sculpture used by Canada’s Inuit people, the logo for the Olympics.

When we got over to English Bay there on the beach is a very big inukshuk that stands so tall you can see it from very far away, someone also hung some large gloves on it.

 
  

Across the street were these big laughing statues that just made you smile back at them. We bought a hotdog and sat on the sea wall and watched the sun go down.

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-- Hannah Mitchell

The continuing saga of an 8-year-old at her first Olympics

Last night I went out for pizza and then we walked down Robson Street to see all the street scene stuff going on. There were a lot of things going on at once.

I saw these two guys selling Olympic pins, glasses and a Fursey jacket that he said cost $999. I tried on the jacket and a pair of glasses it was warm and soft. They gave me some Olympic pins and we bought one that has the United States flag and Canada’s flag, it is pretty cool.

Along the walk we saw this world map that the Sears store put up on a wall and they give you a pin to stick on the map to show where you live, I put mine right on San Dimas, Calif., in the United States.

All day and night the streets of downtown Vancouver are filled with people walking around and having fun. I met this nice girl Heidi, she is from Vancouver and is in college, we became friends and hung out walked around together and talked about Vancouver, she knew a lot. We ate caramel apples together from this great chocolate candy store.

 There were many things to do for free but you have to wait in lines and it is cold outside, Heidi went to a store and bought some gloves for both of us to help keep us warm because I left mine at the hotel. One of the free things we did was have our picture taken at a photo booth where they put your picture on a front page of a fake newspaper.

Everyone I have met in Vancouver has been nice and polite and very helpful, I would love to come back for another visit, but next time I will bring my dog Lucy, she would love it here.

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-- Hannah Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada

More in the saga of an 8-year-old at her first Olympics

(Photo: Sergeant Deborah Myers & Tina, Officer Martin Devinney & Ella, Officer Mark Matthews and Officer Alissa Caccioli & Eva.)

Over the weekend I went from Vancouver to Seattle on an Amtrak train, and back to Vancouver.

 I have never been on a train except for the one they have at Knott’s Berry Farm, and that goes pretty slow. I was very excited and in the beginning they show this video to you about the train ride and in the video the train looked like it is going very fast, which made me a little nervous but our train ride was nice and never felt like we were going really fast. I loved it.

At both the Amtrak stations in Canada and in Seattle there were Amtrak police all around checking passengers baggage’s. They also rode along in the train with us. I was able to meet three police dogs and their handlers. The police dogs named Eva, Tina and Ella are trained to detect explosive materials on board our train. The dogs would come by every once in a while and sniff the passengers and the areas around the floor walking from one car to another and they really looked like the were enjoying what they do.

They were all very nice. One police officer, Mark Matthews, came by my seat on the train and gave me an Amtrak patch special made for the Winter Olympics, thank you! I would like to thank all the police officers for keeping myself and everyone who ride the trains everyday safe.

I would like to say hi to my cousins Katharina, Julia and Noah Wajerski and thank them for showing me around Seattle. And a special thank you to Aunt Rose and Uncle Amado for giving us so much love.

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-- Hannah Mitchell

More adventures of an 8-year-old at her first Olympics

Thursday I went to an Olympic game, it was women's hockey. The USA vs Finland. The game was exciting all the way through it. Most of the people at the game were cheering for the USA and chanting U S A, and others cheered for Finland.

Two guys at the game got everyone doing the wave, it was very cool. The women who play hockey are very good on their feet they can stop really fast. The USA won 6-0, which made me very happy but Finland did a really good job too.

Before the game, outside of the stadium were two Olympic mascots, Miga, (top photo, left), and Quatchi and I took a picture with them, they were so cute, I wanted to take them both home with me but my mom said they would not fit in the suitcase.

I also took a picture with two Mounties, which means Canadian Police officers, you cannot really miss them in their bright red uniforms, boots and tall hats.

On our way to the game, this nice man from Russia stopped me and gave me an Olympic pin. He was very nice. Thank you!

I want to say hi to all my friends in Mrs. Doolittle's class. I miss you guys!

See below for pictures from the game!

The continuing adventures of an 8-year-old at her first Olympics

Saturday night at dinner I met three speed skaters from Japan, Shigeyuki Dejima (at left) Shingo Doi and Hiroki Hirako, they were very nice and Shingo even put his official Team Japan Olympic jacket on me. If they are reading this, thank you!

I'm beginning to miss my sisters and my dog, but it is still fun here. The people are nice. You can hear them singing outside our hotel every night. I heard the national anthem of Canada and France last night, as people are so happy just walking around.

I want to say hi to my uncles, David, John and Joe, Aunt Lorena, Michelle and Teresa and to my cousins Robert, Bella and Sofia.

-- Hannah Mitchell

The continuing adventures of an 8-year-old at her first Olympics

Friday was the best day ever.

We went down to Homer street and got a chance to see the Olympic torch being carried by someone named Jeff.

We watched as Jeff passed the Olympic flame to another person carrying a torch.

Then, Jeff walked right over to me and let me hold the torch! Jeff was very nice. Thank you, Jeff.

All the people in the crowd were cheering as the torch went by.

There were thousands of people in the streets and people were making noise all night outside our hotel, banging drums and singing.

Waiting for the torch to come down our way sort of reminds me of Disneyland's parade, only instead of the Disney characters you have someone very lucky who gets to run with the torch.

More pictures below:

The Olympics through the eyes of an 8-year-old

Hi! My name is Hannah Mitchell and I am 8 years old. My dad works for The Times, and he asked me to write a blog sometimes on the fun I am having in Vancouver for my first Olympics. If this is boring to you, blame him. And I want to say hi to all my classmates at Sonrise Christian in Mrs. Doolittle's class. Yes, Mrs. Doolittle, I am doing my homework. And hi to Mrs. K, Mrs. Free and Mrs. Ambrose.

On my first day in Vancouver, I already have had two really fun things happen: I was interviewed by a TV station and I saw the prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper.

My mom and I were walking down the street when people from CTV news came up and started asking me questions about how I liked Vancouver. I was a little shy at first, but it was fun.

Then, we were walking back to the hotel when we saw six guys with suits standing outside a building. A limo pulled up and a man walked out, surrounded by the six guys in suits. We didn't know who he was, but we asked a person next to us and she said it was the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. We looked his picture up on the Internet at the hotel, and it was really him.

My mom took pictures of a lot of the things we saw. The picture at the top is of stairs outside a building here. if you stand at the bottom of the stairs you can see the whole picture. It is amazing how they painted it.

Here are the rest of the photos: