Tom Tom works. He got me to the Gray Monks Winery without a hitch. But my home address is not on his map. I live on a 3-block section of 26th Street in Vernon that is cut off from the rest of that street and not included in the GPS map system. I have to set the destination and drive out of the driveway on to 32nd Street before Tom picks me up. Going home I have to either remember the route, which I can usually manage, or punch in a nearby address or intersection. If I ever have to resort to the latter option, I should probably call a care home immediately upon entering the house. When Caroline gets here next Sat., we will go to the Gray Monks and then let Tom take us to some destinations.
This morning I continued my developing tradition of buying a Globe and going to a café to read it. I went to the Bean Scene for the 2nd consecutive Sat. and sat outside in the shade on a soft chair, sipping a double Americano, munching a raspberry and white chocolate scone and trying to pass myself off as a perfectly contented local. But it’s hard to concentrate, even on an interesting, well-written article, when all around you are people in colorful spandex outfits speaking in loud voices of the hikes they’ve just returned from and the hills they’ve descended on mountain bikes earlier that morning. It was 10:30 for heaven’s sake. The Bean Scene is definitely the café to be and be seen in, but next week I think I’ll try the one just a block away that seems to attract a less tightly dressed crowd.
Last Sunday’s hike on Mount Revelstoke was great. It was a long day but not difficult, and the scenery and smell of fresh mountain air reminded me of the hikes I took in the Rockies when I worked for the Brewster Bus Co. in Lake Louise. There was snow around once we reached a certain height, and it had melted from the meadows so recently that the wild flowers were hardly out.
On Wed. night I rode my bike to Kin Beach on Lake Okanagan around 4:30 to attend the Vernon Outdoors Club annual picnic. I swam in the lake for the first time. The temperature of the water was fine, but the bottom was a bit skuzzy. We played some games and shared food until the wind began to freshen, at which time I looked up and saw some dark clouds approaching. I couple I had been having a good conversation with offered to drive me home, but I decided I could ride. And I did, but about 15 min. after I got home lightening flashed, thunder banged and the rain began to fall. It went on for a long time. I stood on the front porch and watched until I realized it wasn’t going to stop for quite a while. Even I, from Thunder Bay, was impressed. It was all the news the next day, the biggest thunderstorm in living memory in the Okanagan.
Eva Lake in Mount Revelstoke National Park
No comments:
Post a Comment