OK Okanagen

Temperatures were dropping fast when we rolled into a motel at the bottom of the Okanagan Valley. When we went to pack up the car the next morning, we found the water jug and everything else frozen solid. It had reached negative 9 degrees Celsius overnight. Good thing we didn’t camp.

Many people have asked us how the heater in the van works, and because we’ve lucked out with the weather, I didn’t really know. Now I know – not well. We bundled up and headed up to Penticton. The scenery was much better than yesterday’s interstate views. We saw lots of orchards and  stopped at the first fruit stand we came across. I couldn’t believe how many types of apples they had. Must have been at least 30. They also had a very cute kitten that entertained Bode while I shopped. Jason was under the van doing something.

The beachfront park was incredibly beautiful, but man it was cold. Bode doesn’t seem to mind cold and again we had to talk him into getting back into the car before we froze.

That evening we were Couchsurfing with Jason and Meggan, a super nice couple who make the most out of all the outdoor activities Penticton has to offer. Jason is an Iron-man triathlete and Meggan’s glory day’s included being on the Canadian field hockey national team.  Real athletes.  Jason entertained Bode by building forts with the couch cushions and letting him raid his movie collection. Meggan was nice enough to make us all dinner. They had recently been on a trekking trip across Peru and had also gone to see some friends compete in the Olympics in Beijing – we talked all evening about travel.  Their guest room walls were lined with maps and Bode made sure to go over each one and ask lots of questions… add Antarctica to our list.

The next morning most of the town was closed down because of the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday. Bode and I headed out to hike the Munson Mountain Park, with incredible views of the town.

Brett, a fellow Westy owner had very generously invited us to Thanksgiving dinner at his house in Kelowna, BC. We weren’t really sure what Canadian Thanksgiving entailed, but we were really excited to find out. I was stoked to find it included all the American favorites. Suri, Brett’s girlfriend informed us that the Canadian Thanksgiving actually pre-dates the American version. During the revolutionary war many Americans brought their traditions, including turkey, to Canada.

They were amazing hosts and treated us like family.  Brett has 2 kids, so Bode played all evening and probably pulled out every toy in the house.  We’re thankful for our new friends in B.C.

We stayed 2 nights in Kelowna. Weather forecasts indicated rain and snow, but that never happened. Our motel had an indoor pool and hot tub so of course Bode had to test that out. Outside, it was still really cold, and I noticed a bowling alley across the street. Bode and I went over and paid for a game and started putting on our rental shoes. I looked up and noticed that the balls were all small. I looked down the lane, and the pins were also small…and there were only 5 of them. I had to go back to the cashier and explain my dumb American status. Apparently, this is 5 pin bowling. 3 balls per frame, 10 frames. The balls are about grapefruit sized, and appear to all be the same weight. So we bowled and had a ton of fun experiencing a new game.

And speaking of new sports, last week we watched a kid’s TV show produced here in Canada called This is Daniel Cook. This kid, who’s maybe about 8 or so was learning about curling. We all watched with great interest, and Bode has been asking to go ever since. We have passed a few curling clubs now, but never at a convenient time. Now we all really want to go curling, and I’m afraid we are leaving Canada soon. I sure hope we can find a place to try it. If anyone knows a place we can go in Montana/Wyoming let us know!