It is something of a tradition amongst the lads to go to the Oakanagan for a long-weekend in the Summer. I missed out on EVERY long weekend last year on account of being the new guy in my role. I was on call for all those long weekends. It just so happened to line up that way.
This year, I travelled a lot more during the summer and so was n
ot around when the lads went. I fully intended to make it to the Oakanagan at least once this Summer and so I decided to go the next long weekend I was in Vancouver. That weekend was Labour Day. So with the trusty bottle of sunscreen, the good old straw hat and the usual travel stuff, a trio of us embarked early on Saturday morning. We were aiming to go to the smaller of the towns on the shore of Lake Okanagan, Penticton.
It was a really nice day. The roads were relatively clear. We did not come across any major traffic related issues until we got to close to Manning Park. There was a LOT of smoke in the area, probably because of the wild fire south of the border. We saw Okanagan-Coquihalla MP Stockwell Day's big grinning face welcoming us to Penticton as we drove past Skaha Lake. Frankly, I feel somewhat bad for the folks of that area, they seemed nice and all and yet they seem to have elected someone less than sane as their representative to Ottawa. Perhaps that shows the general lack of respect for Ottawa or perhaps that shows the value of Ottawa to these lovely folks.
Anyway, this is not a discussion on Canadian politics. We had a hard time finding the Sandman. For some reason, in a town so small, we got lost. Actually, we drove up to the Sandman, didn't see it, made a U-turn and went in the opposite direction. A quick call to Sandman's reservation number fixed that (they have an Australian accent on the phone's system). The hotel was pretty reasonable though the carpets etc could do with an update. The room itself was decent though small for 3 decent sized folks. The extra bed arrived in time too...
We headed
for Lake Okanagan which was literally behind the hotel. The familiar Peach was there, the water looked gorgeous and the weather warm. The road leading up to the Peach and the casino is lined with some wonderful houses... some day, if I win the lottery, I am buying a place on the lake front.
The one thing missing there were the people. Normally, on every long weekend that I have been to Penticton, finding parking near the lake is equivalent to finding parking in the downtown core of Vancouver and sand is at a premium, sort of like in those nature shows where the gulls are defending their tiny nesting space. Sadly, it wasn't the case this time. Why would I care about the people? Why not. Well really, if you're a guy and you're at a beach and its warm and sunny... you expect to see some things.
Anyway, hiding from the sun for a while (see pic)
for a bit, I hit the water... and got one theory on why no one was really there. The water was cold. Nice and cold. Made things shrink. As to why I was hiding from the sun... well for starters, I was born blessed with a tan. You see, the good lord gave me enough melanin so that I take longer to burn. I did read an article in the Lancet I think recently that said that those of us that have the permanent tan are at risk for all sorts of things (like a reduced ability to absorb Vitamin D). And it makes us lazy because we think we are protected from the sun. That is false. We need sunscreen just like everyone else. So lather up folks. Anyway, back to the beach. Empty. I was hungry. We headed back to the hotel, got rid of as much sand as we could and then hit the shower. I hate sharing anything hygiene related (like my drink at a bar... and women especially think its fine and dandy to drink out of my glass... its NOT)... and it was not 
the most pleasant thing to share a bathroom with 2 other people... no matter how good they are as friends.
Off to Jose's Pepper Club, a restaurant in the heart of downtown I believe (it _was_ on Main Street after all) where the chirpy waitress (who we shall find out more about later) was all talk. I thought she was perfect for the job: she had the looks, she had pig-tails (the first night), she knew what to say and do (the beer had a built-in cooling thing) and was in general doing an awesome job. She was friendly too... the sort of friendly that makes the male mind wander into territory it goes into anyway, but with the behaviour of this character, the mind strides forth with authority and purpose. Of course, the male mind being what it is, it is used to disappointment.
We decided to go to Kelowna that evening to go to Gotchas (the usual place we visit when we go to Kelowna). It was empty when we got there but got busy as the night progressed. We punched the punching machine for a while and I actually beat a relatively sober Voja at pool (which, given my skills is an accomplishment). That place has a reputation for having a lot of girls and it usually delivers. We had to leave early on account of some things and ended up walking to McDonald's. The one close by was closed. So was the Tim Hortons. I have no idea why. One theory I heard was that they close relatively early to avoid the rowdy folks that come out of the bars after those close. Apparently, the crowds in this town get rather rowdy.
We had to walk through an outdoor cafe with its own fire breathing folks, find the car (which was parked far away) and then head further into Kelowna to the McDonalds by the Sandman Inn there. After satisfying our late night McDonald's craving, we drove over the metal bridge, through West Bank and back to Penticton. The drive between Kelowna and Penticton is one of the most beautiful things I have done. You are on the side of this massive body of water that holds all sorts of things in it... and you're between that and a giant cliff. At night, it is absolutely dark and usually peaceful. You could almost go to sleep in this bit of paradise. Though it better be warm... I saw a shooting star the last time I drove this road.
I woke up to snoring. Looked at the clock and it was past 8:30am. Tried to go back to sleep, couldn't. I cannot sleep if someone is snoring. I tried to cover my ears with the extra pillow. No luck. Hoped the snoring would stop... it did not. Finally, after what seemed like hours, it stopped briefly. I tried as quickly as possible to go back to sleep, but alas, no such luck.
Woke up, did the rounds, went to get breakfast at the attached Denny's. Line up was too long. Headed for Skaha Lake. Avoided the Dairy Queen. Saw an A&W. Missed breakfast hour. Had chicken strips and coffee. The canal I wanted to go on was empty (it is parallel to the road to Skaha). Skaha was empty too. Found a somewhat shady spot and tried to read. Fat chance. I was distracted. But not by the usual stuff you would expect at a lake on a warm summer's day. I was distracted by aircraft. I saw a plane coming in, then another and then another after that... Turns out that the 'airport' is by the lake and the aircraft come in that way. Must be beautiful as you descend from the plane to be over a lake. No security lines at this airport I imagine. I filmed a few of the aircraft flying by. There was some sort of warbird thing going on, I could swear I saw a few old warbirds buzzing by.
Went back to the hotel, found out that they hadn't cleaned our room, cleaned up and headed out for dinner
again. Ended up at Jose's Pepper Club again, sat inside this time and still had the same waitress. She looked more mature today, probably because she was sans pigtails. She was her cheerful self. We found out that she was training to become a refrigerator technician. She grew up on a farm, was 20 years old, knew someone who purchased a boat recently, did a few split shifts and in general behaved as a 20 year old would. Since that was cleared up, we decided to eat. I had some fancy stuff, I forget what now. It had ribs in it. Tasty ribs. We even had dessert though Voja abstained. The bar wench did take a photo of all of us.
Settled the bill and we decided to go to the Barking Parrot lounge. The place was absolutely gorgeous; set on the lake by a small marina, the outdoor area had a walking path next to the water. The sun had set by the time we got there and the views of Kelowna in the distance and the general twinkle of light here and there was absolutely beautiful. The outer area of the Barking Parrot was surrounded by flame posts. The crowd was old, lots of people who rode bikes (lots of helmets). We had a fellow playing some music and singing fairly well to it. We were even treated to a show in one of the rooms above (the bar is in a hotel). A couple were having a little too much intimate fun with the curtains open. We cheered them on.
I must say that the Barking Parrot was a really nice place... the crowd was boring though. Far too old for my liking. Anyway, we left and walked back to the hotel, hit the sack. By now one of my companions had probably smoked over a hundred cigarettes. He was on some sort of record breaking sprint. He snored as well. I woke the next morning again, but much earlier, around 5:30am to snoring. That was not on. I almost wanted to poke him and see if he would stop. After suffering for about 15 minutes, I was ready to do so... when he stopped. I took the chance to go back to sleep. I succeeded!
Woke up around 10, decided to have breakfast at Denny's. Waited in line, finally got in, ate a hearty meal and left Penticton. Drove by Stockwell Day's sign again and off we went. Forgot to take a photo of it. I saw a Smart car making the journey back as well, the little
0.7L turbo diesel beast was doing well on the uphill climb out of Penticton. Heard a couple of bikes roar by us (we were going around 100 km/hr). Said a prayer for their safety... I'd hate to be held up by stupid bike riders crashing on the road ahead of me. Listened to Bob Marley on the way back. Stopped for fruit along the way. The fruit stand was quaint and pretty. The surroundings had smoke once again. We drove back via Manning Park; the fire had crossed the border into Canada apparently. It was a lot more smoky as a result. We had to close the window
s and turn off the air intake into the car from the outside on account of the smoke.
Traffic was getting busy on the way back. We stopped for fuel in Chilliwack and then Highway 1 was just packed. We made it all the way to 160th and then we got stuck. Turns out there was a bad accident on the Port Mann bridge. Three aircraft were circling the bridge high above... we were stuck for a couple of hours as we inched forward. People were going backwards on the 152nd exit into Surrey and trying to take the Patullo bridge. We resisted the urge and stayed put. Until the truck driver next to us told us we might be here another couple of hours. By then we were at the mouth of the 152nd Street on-ramp onto Highway 1. We went backwards. Just as we did, we heard that the Westbound left lane was opened to traffic, the very lane we were on! We kept going though, hit the Patullo bridge and eventually got home a lot later than we expected.
It was a really nice trip despite the lack of people on the beach and despite the lack of the rest of the guys. Perhaps we will do this next year too...
This year, I travelled a lot more during the summer and so was n
ot around when the lads went. I fully intended to make it to the Oakanagan at least once this Summer and so I decided to go the next long weekend I was in Vancouver. That weekend was Labour Day. So with the trusty bottle of sunscreen, the good old straw hat and the usual travel stuff, a trio of us embarked early on Saturday morning. We were aiming to go to the smaller of the towns on the shore of Lake Okanagan, Penticton.It was a really nice day. The roads were relatively clear. We did not come across any major traffic related issues until we got to close to Manning Park. There was a LOT of smoke in the area, probably because of the wild fire south of the border. We saw Okanagan-Coquihalla MP Stockwell Day's big grinning face welcoming us to Penticton as we drove past Skaha Lake. Frankly, I feel somewhat bad for the folks of that area, they seemed nice and all and yet they seem to have elected someone less than sane as their representative to Ottawa. Perhaps that shows the general lack of respect for Ottawa or perhaps that shows the value of Ottawa to these lovely folks.
Anyway, this is not a discussion on Canadian politics. We had a hard time finding the Sandman. For some reason, in a town so small, we got lost. Actually, we drove up to the Sandman, didn't see it, made a U-turn and went in the opposite direction. A quick call to Sandman's reservation number fixed that (they have an Australian accent on the phone's system). The hotel was pretty reasonable though the carpets etc could do with an update. The room itself was decent though small for 3 decent sized folks. The extra bed arrived in time too...
We headed
for Lake Okanagan which was literally behind the hotel. The familiar Peach was there, the water looked gorgeous and the weather warm. The road leading up to the Peach and the casino is lined with some wonderful houses... some day, if I win the lottery, I am buying a place on the lake front.The one thing missing there were the people. Normally, on every long weekend that I have been to Penticton, finding parking near the lake is equivalent to finding parking in the downtown core of Vancouver and sand is at a premium, sort of like in those nature shows where the gulls are defending their tiny nesting space. Sadly, it wasn't the case this time. Why would I care about the people? Why not. Well really, if you're a guy and you're at a beach and its warm and sunny... you expect to see some things.
Anyway, hiding from the sun for a while (see pic)
for a bit, I hit the water... and got one theory on why no one was really there. The water was cold. Nice and cold. Made things shrink. As to why I was hiding from the sun... well for starters, I was born blessed with a tan. You see, the good lord gave me enough melanin so that I take longer to burn. I did read an article in the Lancet I think recently that said that those of us that have the permanent tan are at risk for all sorts of things (like a reduced ability to absorb Vitamin D). And it makes us lazy because we think we are protected from the sun. That is false. We need sunscreen just like everyone else. So lather up folks. Anyway, back to the beach. Empty. I was hungry. We headed back to the hotel, got rid of as much sand as we could and then hit the shower. I hate sharing anything hygiene related (like my drink at a bar... and women especially think its fine and dandy to drink out of my glass... its NOT)... and it was not 
the most pleasant thing to share a bathroom with 2 other people... no matter how good they are as friends.Off to Jose's Pepper Club, a restaurant in the heart of downtown I believe (it _was_ on Main Street after all) where the chirpy waitress (who we shall find out more about later) was all talk. I thought she was perfect for the job: she had the looks, she had pig-tails (the first night), she knew what to say and do (the beer had a built-in cooling thing) and was in general doing an awesome job. She was friendly too... the sort of friendly that makes the male mind wander into territory it goes into anyway, but with the behaviour of this character, the mind strides forth with authority and purpose. Of course, the male mind being what it is, it is used to disappointment.
We decided to go to Kelowna that evening to go to Gotchas (the usual place we visit when we go to Kelowna). It was empty when we got there but got busy as the night progressed. We punched the punching machine for a while and I actually beat a relatively sober Voja at pool (which, given my skills is an accomplishment). That place has a reputation for having a lot of girls and it usually delivers. We had to leave early on account of some things and ended up walking to McDonald's. The one close by was closed. So was the Tim Hortons. I have no idea why. One theory I heard was that they close relatively early to avoid the rowdy folks that come out of the bars after those close. Apparently, the crowds in this town get rather rowdy.
We had to walk through an outdoor cafe with its own fire breathing folks, find the car (which was parked far away) and then head further into Kelowna to the McDonalds by the Sandman Inn there. After satisfying our late night McDonald's craving, we drove over the metal bridge, through West Bank and back to Penticton. The drive between Kelowna and Penticton is one of the most beautiful things I have done. You are on the side of this massive body of water that holds all sorts of things in it... and you're between that and a giant cliff. At night, it is absolutely dark and usually peaceful. You could almost go to sleep in this bit of paradise. Though it better be warm... I saw a shooting star the last time I drove this road.
I woke up to snoring. Looked at the clock and it was past 8:30am. Tried to go back to sleep, couldn't. I cannot sleep if someone is snoring. I tried to cover my ears with the extra pillow. No luck. Hoped the snoring would stop... it did not. Finally, after what seemed like hours, it stopped briefly. I tried as quickly as possible to go back to sleep, but alas, no such luck.
Woke up, did the rounds, went to get breakfast at the attached Denny's. Line up was too long. Headed for Skaha Lake. Avoided the Dairy Queen. Saw an A&W. Missed breakfast hour. Had chicken strips and coffee. The canal I wanted to go on was empty (it is parallel to the road to Skaha). Skaha was empty too. Found a somewhat shady spot and tried to read. Fat chance. I was distracted. But not by the usual stuff you would expect at a lake on a warm summer's day. I was distracted by aircraft. I saw a plane coming in, then another and then another after that... Turns out that the 'airport' is by the lake and the aircraft come in that way. Must be beautiful as you descend from the plane to be over a lake. No security lines at this airport I imagine. I filmed a few of the aircraft flying by. There was some sort of warbird thing going on, I could swear I saw a few old warbirds buzzing by.
Went back to the hotel, found out that they hadn't cleaned our room, cleaned up and headed out for dinner
again. Ended up at Jose's Pepper Club again, sat inside this time and still had the same waitress. She looked more mature today, probably because she was sans pigtails. She was her cheerful self. We found out that she was training to become a refrigerator technician. She grew up on a farm, was 20 years old, knew someone who purchased a boat recently, did a few split shifts and in general behaved as a 20 year old would. Since that was cleared up, we decided to eat. I had some fancy stuff, I forget what now. It had ribs in it. Tasty ribs. We even had dessert though Voja abstained. The bar wench did take a photo of all of us.Settled the bill and we decided to go to the Barking Parrot lounge. The place was absolutely gorgeous; set on the lake by a small marina, the outdoor area had a walking path next to the water. The sun had set by the time we got there and the views of Kelowna in the distance and the general twinkle of light here and there was absolutely beautiful. The outer area of the Barking Parrot was surrounded by flame posts. The crowd was old, lots of people who rode bikes (lots of helmets). We had a fellow playing some music and singing fairly well to it. We were even treated to a show in one of the rooms above (the bar is in a hotel). A couple were having a little too much intimate fun with the curtains open. We cheered them on.
I must say that the Barking Parrot was a really nice place... the crowd was boring though. Far too old for my liking. Anyway, we left and walked back to the hotel, hit the sack. By now one of my companions had probably smoked over a hundred cigarettes. He was on some sort of record breaking sprint. He snored as well. I woke the next morning again, but much earlier, around 5:30am to snoring. That was not on. I almost wanted to poke him and see if he would stop. After suffering for about 15 minutes, I was ready to do so... when he stopped. I took the chance to go back to sleep. I succeeded!
Woke up around 10, decided to have breakfast at Denny's. Waited in line, finally got in, ate a hearty meal and left Penticton. Drove by Stockwell Day's sign again and off we went. Forgot to take a photo of it. I saw a Smart car making the journey back as well, the little
0.7L turbo diesel beast was doing well on the uphill climb out of Penticton. Heard a couple of bikes roar by us (we were going around 100 km/hr). Said a prayer for their safety... I'd hate to be held up by stupid bike riders crashing on the road ahead of me. Listened to Bob Marley on the way back. Stopped for fruit along the way. The fruit stand was quaint and pretty. The surroundings had smoke once again. We drove back via Manning Park; the fire had crossed the border into Canada apparently. It was a lot more smoky as a result. We had to close the window
s and turn off the air intake into the car from the outside on account of the smoke.Traffic was getting busy on the way back. We stopped for fuel in Chilliwack and then Highway 1 was just packed. We made it all the way to 160th and then we got stuck. Turns out there was a bad accident on the Port Mann bridge. Three aircraft were circling the bridge high above... we were stuck for a couple of hours as we inched forward. People were going backwards on the 152nd exit into Surrey and trying to take the Patullo bridge. We resisted the urge and stayed put. Until the truck driver next to us told us we might be here another couple of hours. By then we were at the mouth of the 152nd Street on-ramp onto Highway 1. We went backwards. Just as we did, we heard that the Westbound left lane was opened to traffic, the very lane we were on! We kept going though, hit the Patullo bridge and eventually got home a lot later than we expected.
It was a really nice trip despite the lack of people on the beach and despite the lack of the rest of the guys. Perhaps we will do this next year too...
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