As we stood huddled on the Orange Bridge at 6:17 a.m. Sunday morning, I thought to myself: "What are we doing!"

The Hall Clan had spent all day and all night Saturday soaking up the Olympic Torch Relay events in Nelson. Yet here we were in the morning darkness, the wind gusting down the West Arm, looking for one more shot at an up-close Olympic moment.

There were only a small scattering of people on the bridge. Most of them family and friends of the torchbearers who were running the Olympic Flame out of Nelson after overnighting here. We had no connection to the people dressed in the white torchbearer outfits. But we did share an enthusiasm for an important historic moment.

I kind of had to be there. In an effort to document the entire torch event for the Daily News, I figured it was my duty to follow it all the way through to the end. My wife and kids on the other hand...

Both of my kids are in elementary school. So they joined hundreds of other Nelson area young people and took part in the Friday afternoon torch run through the downtown.

The Friday event will go down as one of the highlights of the torch weekend. It will also be a lifelong memory for the 400-plus kids who took part.

Not surprisingly I was at that event too, helping document the day (but let's face it not exactly a tough assignment). The energy, enthusiasm and sheer optics of the event were unforgettable. I've been here for 15 years and can't think of a single event that's drawn together so many school children. I'm not sure if there will ever be anything like it again.

Saturday morning it was a 6:30 a.m. wake-up call for the Halls. We had signed up to volunteer with the set-up of the street hockey venue at the Nelson and District Community Complex. So we joined several other Nelson Minor Hockey parents and kids in rolling out snowfence and preparing the site for the morning activities.

For most of the day we played street hockey, enjoyed the Lion's breakfast, took in the corporate games on Baker Street, enjoyed some local music and checked out the downtown scene.

After a break at home to warm up and refuel with dinner, it was back to the downtown for the nighttime festivities.

The scene at the main stage at Josephine and Vernon was unreal. Thousands of people packed into the stage area. Like the Friday elementary event, a happening unlikely to repeat itself anytime soon, if ever.

It was a long, cold wait for the kids, but they happily endured. The warm-up entertainment was plenty amusing (the Nelson Rhythm Ropers standing out as a highlight). There was a happy buzz in the crowd as young and old soaked it all in.

When Bill McDonnell brought the torch through the crowd and lit the community cauldron it was a magical moment for all who attended — even for those in the cheap seats!

It was a long and busy day in the cold. When we returned home just after 9 p.m. my body ached. My family echoed my grumblings about sore legs and frozen toes. So when I announced I was going to get up early the next morning to go shoot some more photos of the torch leaving Nelson I expected a chorus of "have fun dad, we'll be thinking about you while we're huddled under our warm blankets sleeping in!"

Instead I heard the opposite. They wanted more and were more than happy to set the alarm for 5:50 a.m.

So there we were on the bridge Sunday morning. Still sore from the day before and enduring another round of freezing fingers.

Once the torch started coming across the bridge there was all of a sudden a new surge of energy. We cheered this stranger as she made her way over an iconic Nelson image.

I figured we would follow a couple of the runners, I would snap a few photos and then we'd retreat back to the fireplace. But my son turned to me and said "I'm following it all the way to the end of Nelson!"

My 11-year-old son is an active kid, but running is not his most coveted pursuit. He plays baseball instead of soccer because, well, there's a whole lot less running. In Grade 3 when pretty much every member of his class was in the cross-country running club... he was happier helping the teacher staple handouts.

Yet here he was happily running beside a bunch of folks he didn't know along the highway in Nelson... all 3.2 kilometres of the torch leg.

When we returned home after the torch had completed its march through our community, Kyle was still grinning ear-to-ear.

"That was awesome!" he yelped as he hung up his jacket.

Over the next few weeks the clamour over the cost of the Vancouver Winter Olympics is going to increase. After the Games wrap up the scrutiny and debate over whether it was worth it will continue.

I'm a supporter of the Vancouver Olympics, I've been so from the start. I don't hide it and I don't apologize for it.

I share the concerns people have for the high costs and the corporate agenda that helps drive the Games. If I had my way the spectacle would be turned down a few notches. If I were running the show, I would push for a more intimate and subtle approach.

But I don' run the show and when you weigh the benefits against the costs, in my mind the entire experience is worth it.

Over the years our family has scraped together funds to take vacations big and small. We have gone to places like Disney World, Seattle, Lost Ledge and Drumheller in order to bond as a family and give lasting childhood memories to our kids. We have photo albums full of laughs and exciting experiences that can never be taken away.

Like the Olympics those trips come at a financial cost. One that requires looking at our priorities and deciding whether these moments of joy are worth the cost. We cover the basics, but it's important to have an entertaining release in life.

It's true British Columbians will pay a price for the Games. Personally I'm willing to buck up for an event that will provide something to enjoy beyond the basics and then leave a lasting legacy for our province.

I hope my son will take many journeys near and far during his lifetime. Along the way he will gather knowledge and memories as he is shaped into the person he becomes. One trip he will never forget is the chilly Sunday morning when he ran 3.2 kilometres alongside the Olympic Flame.

bob@nelsondailynews.com

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