Kelowna the last few days

I’ve been really busy the last few days with important stuff like….shopping, eating out, visiting with family, walking,  more shopping and more eating out!  By the end of the day I’ve been too tired to even think about doing the blog so here I am ready to catch up. 

Wednesday was another shopping day and this time with my sister-in-law Linda.  We were off to a shop I really like called His and Hers as it has a lot of really nice clothing which I bought quite a bit of.  It’s always nice to find a shop that has quality clothes that are a bit different from what you see in every other stores.   Wednesday night was taco night at the Michaelbrook golf course just down the street from Ian and Linda’s.  Both Ian and Linda are golfers and this is where Linda golfs on a regular basis.  It is also their local hang out with friends when they feel like a happy hour out.  Linda, Eric and I were off for beer and tacos and it was a really good choice for dinner.  Three big tacos for $7 on Wednesday night along with $4 happy hour beers…..what a deal.  The tacos were served in a holder that I must buy some of.  One chicken, one shrimp and one beef and they were up there with the best tacos we have ever eaten and that’s saying a lot!  Yum!

Earlier in the day on Wednesday we’d received a text from my sister Joy.  She and her husband Wilbur are on their way home to Vancouver from Palm Springs and they are pulling their 5th wheel.  She sent these two pictures of the blow out that they had on the right rear of their truck.  Joy was driving and luckily they didn’t have an accident.  Wilbur decided they needed four new tires and they did that in Palmdale.  Ah….the carefree RV lifestyle. 

Nice mess.  The tire must have beaten the side of the truck to death. 

Thursday I spent the day with my sister Anne and we did a little shopping and I took her out for lunch.  It’s nice that we come through Kelowna twice a year because that way I get to spend some time with her and see our niece Adrian. 

Thursday night we were off for dinner at Brenda and Basil’s.  They are good friends of Ian and Linda’s and we have met them on a few occasions when we have come through Kelowna.  This winter they joined Ian and Linda in Mazatlan for 10 days and we saw them there.  Brenda is generous hostess and she insisted we should all come for dinner….so we did!

Brenda and Basil live on the sixth floor of a condo that overlooks Okanagan Lake. 

How’s that for a view off your balcony.

All along the Okanagan lake shore old houses on big lots are being torn down and two are built in their place.  The monstrosity that you see here will have one that looks the same built next to it.  The son is building a house exactly the same as his father’s according to Brenda.  The architecture along the lake front has become a real “dogs breakfast!” and it’s a shame. 

Linda, Basil, Ian and Eric having happy hour on the balcony.  Very shortly Brenda arrived with a couple of appetizer plates that were delicious. 

Lovely.

Basil listens while Ian talks.

Far down below two little girls were playing on the grass and this one was in a tutu!  They both yelled up at Brenda to say Hi. 

Dinner is almost ready and Linda is helping Brenda serve. 

A lovely table and dinner is ready. 

Beef dip with veggies.   I really like Brenda’s method of serving in that she didn’t fuss with portions….she just dished us up.  Perfect!

Everyone is happy and having a glass of wine with dinner except for Eric who is strictly a beer guy. 

So….a good time was had by all.   Lots of chat, drinks and food.  Brenda even served a hot apple crisp with ice cream for dessert.  No wonder my tummy is starting to bulge over my pants! 

A nice evening with friends and family….thanks Brenda and Basil. 

Friday was a last day to…..shop!  Linda and I were out for the afternoon and by the time we got home it was happy hour.    The evening was lovely and warm and we sat out in the back yard until it was time for dinner.  Eric and I treated Ian and Linda to take out Chinese food and it was delicious.  We have ordered from J-Wok before and it is always good. 

Saturday we plan to head to Cache Creek for the night and then on to Prince George and home. 

A few sunny days in Kelowna

Let’s start with Monday.  Eric and I were off to get some items crossed off our shopping list.  As Kelowna is a big centre we can usually find a few things we want here.  First off were bicycle parts for Eric’s new/used bicycle.  We’d been into MEC (mountain equipment co-op) back in the fall and he remembered they’d had parts.  Success….he got almost everything he wanted and he was thrilled.  Eric as you probably know is a do it yourself kind of guy so he is always looking for parts for something.  Onward to see if we could find a new travel barbecue for me and a tow behind fertilizer spreader for home.   Home Depot had a smaller fertilizer spreader than we wanted and not the barbecue that I was looking for.  Off to Princess Auto and no luck there either.   Hot and tired we were off home because company was coming for dinner.

Our nephew Jason (Ian’s son) and his wife Deb along with Cooper 5 and Ella 9 were coming for dinner.  Above you can see Cooper driving.  He is an incredibly technical little guy and he knows where everything is in the car.  No, he does not have the keys to Grampa Ian’s car!  He thinks it’s funny that the car has a key because most vehicles these days have a fob.  Neither our truck nor our 2015 Jeep have a fob alothough the Harley does and Eric thinks it’s just a big pain!

Eric amused Cooper and Ella in the 5th wheel for quite a long time while we had happy hour.  He let them look in the cupboards and open doors and have a really good look.  Then he put them both up on the Harley which is in the garage.  Cooper wanted to know there the four ways flashers were!  In a few minutes Eric said he had the whole thing figured out.  Amazing for a 5 year old!

Linda, Ella (in the middle) and Deb on the right.   Ella has just started playing softball ….hence the hat!  She’s a nice, pretty little girl who looks a lot like her Mom.

Eric and Jason.  At this point the guys were sitting along one side and it didn’t take long before they asked us to relocate so they could have some “guy chat!”

Cooper is a bit shy but since we saw him back in the fall he soon warmed up to us.   Both the kids are interesting and busy and very polite. 

Beautiful spring tulips on the table. 

Guys together now laughing at us making fun of them.

Cooper has moved in and is having a before dinner snack of dry cereal!  Little kids need lots of energy.

Linda and Deb.  It’s nice that we’ve seen Jason, Deb and the kids on the last few visits to Kelowna.  

The kids get a head start on dinner.  A very nice chicken dish with rice and veggies and a Dairy Queen ice cream pizza for dessert.  Yummy.

Ella is growing and after dinner and dessert she was still hungry so she had a snack of left over dinner carrots! 

So a good time was had by all.  Jason and Deb are off to Las Vegas for a four day holiday with friends on Wednesday so that will be a nice break for them. 

Tuesday was a shopping and lunch day for me along with my sister Anne and niece Adrian.  Anne and Adrian already had lunch plans for the day so I just tagged along.  Adrian is a cardiac nurse at Kelowna general and she is on her four days off and Anne has just retired from the liquor store so she has a little more time on her hands.  We had lunch at Tokyo where we ate last fall.  An interesting concept for a restaurant in that you order what you want on a tablet.  It’s a one price restaurant like a buffet but you order as much as you want, of what you want, as you go along.  Good food and service and you don’t get more than you can eat.   After lunch….off to shop.  I’d started earlier in the morning and now we were off to Costco.  Anne has a card and I was able to find and buy my new barbecue.  It’a stainless steel travel Nexgrill with two burners ($139.00) and it will suit me.  I’ve been using cheap barbecues for years because they have an upper rack which is easier to cook more than one thing at a time but they only last a couple of seasons before they rust out.  This one is what I want because I can leave one burner off and move cooked food over to the side off the heat and…it’s stainless steel.     The Weber barbecue didn’t suit me because it only has one burner.  Eric is relieved not to have to hear about barbecues now that I’ve finally made a decision!  Anne, Adrian and I finished up shopping back at the mall and I did get a couple of light jackets for Mexico.  Nice to have for cool afternoons and evenings. 

Home for happy hour,  dinner (not much for me), TV and bed.  It was a lovely day and it was so nice to sit and have a happy hour beer with the RV door open in the warm sun with no screaming wind. 

Tomorrow probably more shopping and then off to Michaelbrook for taco night.  Three tacos for $7….sounds good to us. 

Coulee City, Washington to Kelowna, B.C.

 

This is Friday night in the Coulee City RV park.  The sun in shining and it’s nice and warm and the little kids are playing in the park. 

On Saturday afternoon we drove a couple of blocks into Coulee City so I could pick up a few groceries.  This is the John Deere dealer and it’s a huge one for such a small town.  Lots of  farming here in Washington.

A photo out the side window because the front one is all bugged up.

Family foods where I picked up some bread (have I mentioned how much I hate the bread in the USA?)….well I do.  It’s always too sweet, or dense and gluey or has some strange taste.  I guess that makes me a bread snob but I have no problem finding decent bread in Canada.  They did have some nice fresh corn and tomatoes at a really good price.  A nice little market for such a small town. 

A pretty day but the wind is absolutely howling and it’s about 10C.  There was no one outside anywhere and no kids in the park.  There had been some sort of event that started by the water at 7am this morning and everyone was in parkas.  By noon everyone was gone and we never saw anyone outside after that. 

This is Sunday morning and although the wind has died down a bit  it is cold and coming from the north.  We were on the road by about 8am with only 200 miles to go.

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The north wind is blowing.

Not a soul to be seen.

A good stop on the way home. 

I wouldn’t be out there fishing today….too darn cold and windy!

Heading north on Hwy 17.  A country road so it’s pretty quiet on a Sunday.

Bridgeport.

Bridge over Lake Pateros at Bridgeport.

If you are Mexican and picking fruit here that’s where you would be living.  Tiny little cabins.

A right turn and now we’ll be on 97 North heading for the border. 

Starting to feel like home!

Coming into Omak where we’ll get fuel.  A nice big station and an easy stop.  Today we were shorted 1 gallon on our fill up!  The last station back in Othello was right on.  Highway robbery and not a thing you can do about it.

Pretty with all the green fields.

Entering Tonasket.

Everything is old here.

Lots of big trees getting their leaves.  I even saw a tulip magnolia in full bloom but I missed it.  It was quite glorious. 

Plowed fields and interesting hills.

Downtown Oroville just before the border and not a soul to be seen.

It is Sunday so maybe everyone is at church.

Here you can see the southern end of Osoyoos Lake which runs from Oroville all the way north past the town of Osoyoos in B.C.

Coming up to the border.   Funny how you always feel like a criminal when you cross any international border.  I haven’t even ever had a speeding ticket and neither has Eric so we’re pretty clean cut citizens.  Today we were asked about firearms and what we’d bought outside of Canada.  Eric declared a replacement tire and I declared some clothes.  About $570 between us.  When we said we’d been in Mexico we were asked if we’d bought any medication there and we said no.  No questions about food or alcohol.  Eric asked about the sign saying don’t set your airbrake even though we don’t have one.  The border guard said setting it could blow out their ear drums….really!  So Eric asked what the drivers were supposed to do and the guard said “ keep your food on the brake and turn off the engine.”  That would work unless they wanted the driver to get out and then….they’d have to set the airbrake.  Huh….always something new.  The border guard was nice enough today and that was that. 

The best place on earth!   Well that sounds a little bit like an American statement and not a Canadian one.   I’m sure lots of people have a different opinion on that!

The grapes have no leaves here.

Some blooms on the fruit trees but it’s really late.

Coming into the pretty little town of Oliver.

A pretty little town where our friend Fraser from Terrace grew up.  Fraser and his wife Genienne moved to Vernon from Terrace a couple of years ago.   Last spring when we came through Kelowna in April he gathered us and some other old friends who used to live in Terrace together for a nice evening.   Four months later he was diagnosed with brain cancer and he lost that battle a couple of months ago.    We’re sure glad we saw him then and we’ll miss him. 

Happier days.

We pulled off the edge of the road and parked in Okangan Falls for lunch.  Sunny and warm….what a treat.   This lovely bronze statue was across the street in Centennial Park.

A big pier on Skaha Lake.

Heading along the highway towards Kelowna.

Crossing the bridge over Okanagan Lake and coming into Kelowna. 

Safe and sound in Ian and Linda’s driveway.  Today we are parked to the right after we wrestled down nephew Jason’s old basketball hoop that was on a pole at the edge of the driveway.  It was in the way of our slide and now we are out of the way so Ian and Linda aren’t so crammed in. 

A nice happy hour and then Linda discovered a flood when she went down into the basement.  They’d had the water tank replaced a few days ago when the basement had been severely flooded and now there was water again.  Ian sucked it up with the shop vac and now they have to figure out what the problem is.   Ian turned off the water and we had a nice dinner prepared by Linda and then we were off to watch TV and bed.  Ian and Linda dumped Shaw cable when they got home because they’d been harassing them about a bill they didn’t owe.   Now they are waiting for Telus to hook them up.  A one month wait without internet, phone and TV…..yikes! 

It never rains but what it pours.   Tomorrow will be a better day!