Day 5

Up and out again by 7.30am to catch the train out to the airport to collect the rental car. As we were leaving we saw a racoon come through the gate of a neighbouring property. He/she was closely followed up by a friend. They stopped to look at us but then continued on their inspection of other properties, not the least bit concerned about us. One was not the least bit embarrassed to stop and use the corner of the little retaining wall to scratch its butt.

We have a red Elantra to drive in the Rockies for the next 2 weeks.

Vince had successfully set up the GPS so we had no problems getting back to our accommodation. Light Sunday morning traffic was a bonus. We packed up the car and said our farewells to our lovely hostess, Sue. We asked for advice on anything in particular we should see and she suggested to take route 3, not route 5 (GPS choice) as this was more scenic. Sue then generously lent us her BC/Alberta referdex, as we can return it to her when we stay with her on the weekend prior to our cruise.

We had a good run out of Vancouver with the only hitch being Vince had not programmed the GPS to avoid tolls. Luckily there was only one toll bridge on our route. Obviously heading out of the city on a Sunday morning is popular as when the 4 lanes merged to 2 lanes we had a bit of crawl for 9 minutes (the GPS said so). It reminded us of going to the coast on a fine summer's day.

The scenery is so different to home. Mountain ranges that just keep going up and in places almost vertically from the road side. The first half of the drive the mountains were well wooded with pine trees (don't ask what species). Again different in appearance to our alpine regions as the trees go straight and tall in comparison with the angled wind swept trees of home.

We stopped at Manning Park and braved purchasing our second coffee in Canada (the first was on our first day of sightseeing and we had cappuccinos). This was drip filtered coffee and you served yourself milk and sugar from a side table. 5 little UHT capsules of milk later and the coffee was drinkable. We drove a little further up the road to a day picnic area to have our morning tea ( at midday).

The mountain appearance started to change at this point. Gradually becoming less wooded and lots or bare rock face with a scattering of trees.

Continuing on and ignoring the GPS when it wanted to take us back onto route 5 (nobody tells us what to do!) we went through Penticton at the base of Lake Okanagan up to Kelowna (pronounced Key loaner) where we are staying the night. The lake is huge and has many people swimming on the shores or out in boats enjoying different water sports. The hottest part of the day here is mid-afternoon. At 3.00pm it was 32 degrees which explains the popularity of the lake.

At Penticton there is a stretch of several kilometres where the lake narrows to a canal. This was jam packed with people floating on colourful inflatable tires enjoying the water on a warm day. Pity it was not in a spot where we could stop easily to take a photo.

Our accommodation in Kelowna is a little B&B. Cherie, our hostess, is lovely if a[m1] little eccentric. After settling in and having a homemade coffee we went for a walk towards town turning to walk along the waterfront. It has been beautifully designed with lush green grass parks with weeping trees hanging down along the boardwalk. Unfortunately, as it was late in the day and the light did not do justice to the photos. The area appears to be well patronised but we are not sure as to whether this was due to the "Rock the lake concert" being held. It is well done,

Whilst walking we checked out several options for a place to dine. We finally settled on an Irish pub where we sat out on the roof top patio to eat. As the meal was a generous size we shared the plate of ribs, chicken breast, lettuce chips and garden salad. Here a garden salad consists of lettuce, lettuce and lettuce and about a dozen pieces of finely shredded carrot!!!

Margaret had 2 lemonades whilst Vince had 3 (light?? The waitress told me they were) Canadian beers (luckily we were walking and not driving). That is when all the texting started back and forth with Neil, Lauren and Adam. A great discussion was had about Mario's twin brother Alfonzo, who was sitting near us in the restaurant.

(Shhh, do not tell Vince - I do not find being a front seat passenger in a left hand drive car as relaxing as a right hand drive car. I seem to constantly be very close to the edge of the road)., Marg needs a spare steering wheel and brake pedal!

[m1]