Monday, September 15, 2014

Jay back in Canada



It’s Mon., Sept. 15, 2014.  ISIS has decapitated another man, a British aid worker this time, the Ebola crisis in Africa has now taken more than 2,000 lives, the teachers’ strike in BC continues; although the mediator is back, which bodes well and Jay has returned to Korea.  I used to worry about his living in a hot spot on the planet, but everywhere is so hot now that the earth will soon have to be reclassified as a sun.

The week with Jay was wonderful.  He got a lot done on the immigration front, and we had some good walks, drives, chats and meals.  We worked out plans for their move here, and he replaced the showerhead as well as some difficult-to-get-at light bulbs.  We did some shopping for the house and for May and the girls.  I think that what gave him the greatest kick was driving again.  He’s been over 4 years without a car.  He told me an expression they used to describe their means of transportation when he lived in Montreal.  They took the BMW, which meant Bus, Metro and Walk.  He has the same deluxe system in Incheon, except that he bikes to and from work.

I spent Saturday in a daze, getting the house back to its one-person state, napping and going for a walk to Black Rock, my regular old neighborhood route.  Jay and I had risen at 3:45am to get him to the Kelowna airport by 4:45, so I needed to slowly get back to normal.   Meanwhile, he faced another 5-hour wait in Seattle, which he tried to shorten by getting an earlier flight to Incheon.  He was unsuccessful but messaged me to say that when he finally took off he was in a double seat, so the trip home would be more comfortable.  Whether he was able to sleep or not on the 12-hour passage, I don’t know.

We continue to have glorious fall weather in the Okanagan.  Yesterday I met the VOC gang in the municipal parking lot at 7:30 am to go on a hike to Vidler Ridge, where you get long, blue/green views of the surrounding hills and lakes, extending into the white peaks of the Monashees.  The drive to the trailhead took about 2 hours and the first kilometer or so of hiking was mostly uphill, but the whole trip was well worthwhile.  The Alpine meadows, even without their midsummer wild flowers, were lovely to walk across and the views were long and clear.

I will spend the next few days preparing to go to Korea.  I’m going to stay at Bert and Peg's on Thursday night.  Bert has volunteered, as he always does, thank my lucky stars, to drive me to the Kelowna airport on Friday morning to catch the 8:30 flight to Vancouver.  For once I’m happy that I will be going on Air Canada instead of West Jet because I heard on the news this morning that starting today West Jet is going to charge Economy Class passengers $25.00 to register a bag.  Air Canada will follow suit but not until Nov. 2nd.

Jay in Kal Park with Vernon in the background at the north end of Lake Kalamalka

A view of Lake Okanagan from Mission Hill Winery in West Kelowna.  The two statues are by an Icelandic sculptor, SteinunnThorarinsdottir


A new sign near Black Rock.  I puzzled over it a while and then took a picture because I couldn't understand it.

A view from Vidler Ridge with the snow capped Monashees unclear in the background, unless you click on the picture and make it bigger.  

1 comment:

  1. Hi Jan -- I'm glad to hear you had a fine week with Jay and chuckled at the "BMW"! And now you'll be with him and May and the girls by the weekend! Thanks, too for the great photos of your hikes on the recent posts. Glorious views! Safe travels -- Mary Lou

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