Chapter 6 – Kelowna farewell
Unfortunately, as with every place we have been to, eventually it is time to say farewell. I can prolong this as we haven’t covered much of the adventure we had in Kelowna. For example, I still haven’t mentioned the tubing experience or Mike showing us his work and a very hush hush project or the snowing experience and many others. Where to start? I guess the next best thing to do on snow if you cannot afford the high prices of renting skis or snowboards would be to climb on a big rubber tube and fly down a snowy hill spinning in clockwise circles unsure as to whether the hay at the bottom would in fact prevent you from continuing your descent to the car park. This was to be our first tubing experience at Silverstar ski slope above the city of Vernon. Tubing is a lot more fun as it requires much less work and thought. I mean, all you need is a rubber tube big enough for your bum to fit in, an Australian guy who hooks you up to the pulley system and another Australian guy who flings you recklessly down this 50 degree slope. Simple!!!
So we arrived at Silverstar midday for a good afternoon of tubing and then a beautiful sunset. Tubing was not quite what I had imagined. As with most things, I still think I have a pretty vivid imagination when it comes to thrill activities yet in this case I hadn’t finished putting the whole picture together. Who knew that it was difficult to stop a tube flying down a hill close to 40km/h on snow? If you did, then did you know that hay on snow provided enough traction to stop a tube coming down at those speeds in a mater of 20 meters? If your answer to these questions was yes, then you have been tubing before or you are just a genius. So as you would guess, I was first up and ready to go down with Ang and Mit. We decided to go as a threesome with our tubes linked up and the poor Australian guy lugging all three tubes to the edge and then trying to put some “super” spin on as we plunged to our doom. I say poor Australian in a sort of South African ha ha ha way!!! With the rush of the wind in our faces and the thrill of the ride soon over, we began the next incline with hay in our mouths and snow in our hair. Over and over and over again until eventually the sun began to set and the chill factor rose to a point where it was more fun being indoors than riding down the slope with the wind brushing your face into near full paralysis. As snowboarding was the highlight of things to try in snowy weather and I really enjoyed cross country skiing too, tubing gained the third position – a proper snow fight may have gained it but we never really had one.
One thing Kelowna is renowned for and we couldn’t fully do as the weather hindered it, was the beautiful walks along the lake and up the mountains. The only real hindrance was the snow which prevented certain walking experiences but also aided the perspective of the walks Ang and I were able to take. Many of these walks included going downtown to the old part of Kelowna nearest the lake shore (beach as it is referred to). One such walk we took downtown was to visit Corbin’s favorite video store called Leo’s to hire some movies. Unfortunately our previous movie hiring experience was failed and so we were hesitant as to what to choose. In the end, we walked out with nothing and decided that the lake front would be a much better walking experience – which it was. By about 2:30 we ended up near the library so instead of coming home empty handed we went and got some magazines to browse through. Sometime during our browsing, the weather changed from a sunny day to strong wind and plenty of snow. This was one of our first proper snow storm experiences since arriving in Canada. It also wouldn’t be our last but it was magnificent and so picturesque and cooolllldd. We made it back home safely with our pile of library magazines and a good memory of our day with the first snow storm we were outside in.
Another walk which was memorable was our dinner with Mark and Kerrin – friends of Mike and Mit - who invited us over to visit and walk up Knox Mountain. This was memorable as we got to meet some great friends of Mike and Mit and we got some good experiences with them. Knox Mountain is the one closest to where we were living and had a pretty impressive view of down town Kelowna and Glenmore. The hike back from the view point was more interesting as it was icy and very close to the edge of the mountain. We made it safely back for some delicious supper and then some fun. Ang says I am an addict when it comes to talking and day dreaming of one day owning the new Nintendo Wii. Mark and Kerrin have to beautiful children who play the Wii and I was able to have my first ever Wii experience. Memorable!!
But as with past adventures we soon had to say farewell to Kelowna and our new family (well my new family). It was very hard to say goodbye to Corbin and Kelsey having grown attached to them both and knowing it would be a while before we saw them again. And off we went on Saturday morning driving west through Kelowna and out in some white powdery snow. Who knew that a few minutes after we had left that morning they issued a warning to travelers heading through to Vancouver that the pass may be very risky and most should avoid it if possible. But here we were, already on the highway heading over the first of our Mountainous passes when the “Blizzard” struck us. You probably wont believe me if I say that we could not see the road in front of us. We couldn’t even gage where the side of the road was. But we knew where the middle of the road was as we heard it a few times under the tires. I suppose the two blessings for this experience was that Mike was driving which meant we could all look away and close our eyes at the most frightening parts and the other was that there were cars in front of us meaning we weren’t alone. Now thinking back to the experience, I am most grateful that God was with us because my attempts to help Mike push the brakes from my side of the car were useless. But we safely made it through the worst part and came out at Hope to find sunshine and 5 degree weather. That’s all I have to say about Hope!!!!
Joking aside, when you come visit Canada, a place renowned for its weather shifts you have to experience them all and survive to truly say that you have been there. I have been there! We will miss our Kelowna family and all the fun experiences we shared with them. Until our next chapter in Langley, ting tow tae…
Unfortunately, as with every place we have been to, eventually it is time to say farewell. I can prolong this as we haven’t covered much of the adventure we had in Kelowna. For example, I still haven’t mentioned the tubing experience or Mike showing us his work and a very hush hush project or the snowing experience and many others. Where to start? I guess the next best thing to do on snow if you cannot afford the high prices of renting skis or snowboards would be to climb on a big rubber tube and fly down a snowy hill spinning in clockwise circles unsure as to whether the hay at the bottom would in fact prevent you from continuing your descent to the car park. This was to be our first tubing experience at Silverstar ski slope above the city of Vernon. Tubing is a lot more fun as it requires much less work and thought. I mean, all you need is a rubber tube big enough for your bum to fit in, an Australian guy who hooks you up to the pulley system and another Australian guy who flings you recklessly down this 50 degree slope. Simple!!!
So we arrived at Silverstar midday for a good afternoon of tubing and then a beautiful sunset. Tubing was not quite what I had imagined. As with most things, I still think I have a pretty vivid imagination when it comes to thrill activities yet in this case I hadn’t finished putting the whole picture together. Who knew that it was difficult to stop a tube flying down a hill close to 40km/h on snow? If you did, then did you know that hay on snow provided enough traction to stop a tube coming down at those speeds in a mater of 20 meters? If your answer to these questions was yes, then you have been tubing before or you are just a genius. So as you would guess, I was first up and ready to go down with Ang and Mit. We decided to go as a threesome with our tubes linked up and the poor Australian guy lugging all three tubes to the edge and then trying to put some “super” spin on as we plunged to our doom. I say poor Australian in a sort of South African ha ha ha way!!! With the rush of the wind in our faces and the thrill of the ride soon over, we began the next incline with hay in our mouths and snow in our hair. Over and over and over again until eventually the sun began to set and the chill factor rose to a point where it was more fun being indoors than riding down the slope with the wind brushing your face into near full paralysis. As snowboarding was the highlight of things to try in snowy weather and I really enjoyed cross country skiing too, tubing gained the third position – a proper snow fight may have gained it but we never really had one.
One thing Kelowna is renowned for and we couldn’t fully do as the weather hindered it, was the beautiful walks along the lake and up the mountains. The only real hindrance was the snow which prevented certain walking experiences but also aided the perspective of the walks Ang and I were able to take. Many of these walks included going downtown to the old part of Kelowna nearest the lake shore (beach as it is referred to). One such walk we took downtown was to visit Corbin’s favorite video store called Leo’s to hire some movies. Unfortunately our previous movie hiring experience was failed and so we were hesitant as to what to choose. In the end, we walked out with nothing and decided that the lake front would be a much better walking experience – which it was. By about 2:30 we ended up near the library so instead of coming home empty handed we went and got some magazines to browse through. Sometime during our browsing, the weather changed from a sunny day to strong wind and plenty of snow. This was one of our first proper snow storm experiences since arriving in Canada. It also wouldn’t be our last but it was magnificent and so picturesque and cooolllldd. We made it back home safely with our pile of library magazines and a good memory of our day with the first snow storm we were outside in.
Another walk which was memorable was our dinner with Mark and Kerrin – friends of Mike and Mit - who invited us over to visit and walk up Knox Mountain. This was memorable as we got to meet some great friends of Mike and Mit and we got some good experiences with them. Knox Mountain is the one closest to where we were living and had a pretty impressive view of down town Kelowna and Glenmore. The hike back from the view point was more interesting as it was icy and very close to the edge of the mountain. We made it safely back for some delicious supper and then some fun. Ang says I am an addict when it comes to talking and day dreaming of one day owning the new Nintendo Wii. Mark and Kerrin have to beautiful children who play the Wii and I was able to have my first ever Wii experience. Memorable!!
But as with past adventures we soon had to say farewell to Kelowna and our new family (well my new family). It was very hard to say goodbye to Corbin and Kelsey having grown attached to them both and knowing it would be a while before we saw them again. And off we went on Saturday morning driving west through Kelowna and out in some white powdery snow. Who knew that a few minutes after we had left that morning they issued a warning to travelers heading through to Vancouver that the pass may be very risky and most should avoid it if possible. But here we were, already on the highway heading over the first of our Mountainous passes when the “Blizzard” struck us. You probably wont believe me if I say that we could not see the road in front of us. We couldn’t even gage where the side of the road was. But we knew where the middle of the road was as we heard it a few times under the tires. I suppose the two blessings for this experience was that Mike was driving which meant we could all look away and close our eyes at the most frightening parts and the other was that there were cars in front of us meaning we weren’t alone. Now thinking back to the experience, I am most grateful that God was with us because my attempts to help Mike push the brakes from my side of the car were useless. But we safely made it through the worst part and came out at Hope to find sunshine and 5 degree weather. That’s all I have to say about Hope!!!!
Joking aside, when you come visit Canada, a place renowned for its weather shifts you have to experience them all and survive to truly say that you have been there. I have been there! We will miss our Kelowna family and all the fun experiences we shared with them. Until our next chapter in Langley, ting tow tae…
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