So Many Happenings.....

It is quite unbelievable to us just how quickly time has been flying by.  It has been spotty to keep up with regular blog reading; let alone trying to write a blog.  It is a good busy however.  So....no complaints on this front.  

Brie out for a walk with her Nana

Ginette flew off to Edmonton, last Thursday, to conduct a series of seminars.  She would be away for several days.  For two of those days, Jeanette and I had Easton and Brie at our home.  They overnighted with us. Following dinner with us on Friday evening, Trevor took the two grand kids back home.  With a 2+ year old and a 6 month old, Jeanette and I were kept busier than a one armed paper hanger.  It reminded us of the time our own two kids were small.  It was fun too.

At the local bicycle endurance track with Easton

Keeping the two grand kids busy meant keeping our own schedule busy.  While I kept Easton going with activities he enjoys, Jeanette kept Brie busy with the kind of play she enjoys.

Taking on an obstacle course

The kids do not have any issues staying over at our home.  We 'face timed' with their mom - from Edmonton - and their dad too once he was home from work.

A bit of playtime before bedtime

Brie still wakes up a couple of times during the night but Easton sleeps right through.  Keeping the two kids overnight made it easier for Trevor to get a solid sleep and avoid having to drive the kids back to our home on the Friday morning.

A walk in the park

Saturday was reserved to attend my cousin's daughter's wedding.  It was a first class event.  The bride and groom were full of fun.  The meal was one of the best we have experienced these past couple of years.  Congratulations to the the newlyweds.

The groom in the red shirt (white tie) and the bride along with one of her best friends.

Sunday morning had us up early, packed and ready to motorcycle out for a planned three day ride into Washington State.  More specifically, our ride took us to Sedro Wooley before heading east on Highway 20 and over the North Cascade Mountains.

Highway 9 - south towards Sedro Wooley, WA.

The border was seamless and we were over the 49th parallel within minutes. 

A great little coffee spot along Highway 20

We enjoyed a coffee at the Cascadian Farm on Highway 20 before continuing up and over the high mountain country. This roadside organic farm is a popular stop for coffee and ice cream lovers.  We are never disappointed.

This mountain highway remains closed during the winter months.  The roads are never plowed.  As a result, the highway remains undamaged and is in pristine condition when it is open for travelers. This is a motorcycle ride we plan for at least once every summer.  It is simply majestic!

Unbelievable mountain scenery.

Once over the North Cascade mountains, we arrived in the western town of Winthrop.

We always enjoy stopping in Winthrop and although we often overnight here, we only planned for lunch before continuing on our route past Winthrop and Twisp and heading south to Lake Chelan, WA.

A rustic yet most interesting western town.

Blackened hillsides that were ravaged by mid-summer fires.

Riding south from Twisp - towards Lake Chelan - revealed the vast devastation created from the raging forest fires that hit the area with catastrophic winds.  The fires destroyed so much land and several homes.  Some areas looked like a moonscape. The rebuilding effort is evident.

Arriving at the 'T' in the road, we headed south on Highway 97 to Lake Chelan, WA.

The gorgeous summer weather afforded us a most pleasant and scenic country ride through some of the nicest back roads in this north-west and north-central Washington area. Traffic was negligible. 

 Lake Chelan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One of the lake-shore resorts on Lake Chelan, WA.

We had motorcycled through here before but had never made it an overnight destination.  Choosing to arrive on a sunny Sunday evening afforded us a wide choice in overnight accommodations.  We chose a nice place in town.  We could then walk everywhere we wished to visit.

And walk we did.  The town has a paved walkway that surrounds the extreme southern end.

With the summer tourist crowd long gone, we felt as though the place belonged to us.   What a treat to visit and escape the crushing summer crowds that take over resort areas like this. Early off season travel is something we cherish and take advantage of.

Beautiful Lake Chelan.

Following a mid-morning Monday breakfast in Lake Chelan, we loaded the motorcycle before heading north on Highway 97 and back into Canada.

Riding along Highway 97 north in the Okanogan countryside of Washington State.

This is wine and fruit country.  The area harvest of grapes was beginning and the fruit harvest was in action.  Every variety of apple is grown here.

Approaching the Osoyoos Border entry into British Columbia's Okanagan Valley

By early afternoon, we had arrived at the border to Canada.  It was not a long wait but when we did approach the border station, the Canadian border guard must have been having a bad day.  He was a miserable sod.  When he asked whom I worked for and I answered that I did not work, he showed his disdain. When he asked what I had done for work and I replied that I had been Executive Producer of a TV newsroom, he quickly sent us on our merry way.  Miserable man he was!  Mentioning that I had been involved in TV news made him nervous, so it seems.  He quite likely felt somewhat stupid about his attitude.  I hope he changed his attitude for the better after dealing with us. 

For your information, I did manage a TV newsroom for CBC-TV (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).  

That was several years before I created and Executive Produced my own network television series 

and before I managed two TV stations; eventually leaving the CBC to open and operate

 my multimedia production company.

The port of entry at Osoyoos, BC, Canada

Enjoying a large apple at a BC Okanagan fruit stand in Oliver.

Jeanette and I chose to overnight in the small Okanagan city of Penticton.  True to form, the summer tourist season had waned and we had a vast array of choice for overnight accommodations. We chose a lovely place on the northern downtown waterfront.  We settled in and, once changed into summer clothing, we headed out for a very long walk around the Okanagan lake waterfront, the downtown and a couple of the local parks that dot the waterfront.  This is a great city to walk around.

One of the many spots to enjoy Lake Okanagan.

While walking on the extreme west side of the waterfront, we found what we believed would be a truly good restaurant for dinner. When we walked back there later, we were not disappointed with the menu and the meal.

 Home | City of Penticton

Beautiful gardens along our walk in downtown Penticton, BC

The very last paddle wheeler to shuttle people and goods between Penticton (in south Okanagan Lake) to Vernon (at the very northern end of Lake Okanagan.

Tuesday morning saw Jeanette and I back in walking shorts and revisiting many of the same places we had walked the day before.  With a late breakfast completed, we loaded up and motorcycled further north.  Our destination?  Peachland.

Heading north along Highway 97 on the western edge of Lake Okanagan

Our principal focus in traveling back into the BC Okanagan was to spend a few priceless hours visiting our long time friends who live in Peachland.  Garry and Aline retired to their beautiful home after leaving White Rock, BC, several years back.  Their kids and ours grew up together.  We enjoyed many dinners and activities together.

Garry is living with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).  Any opportunity to drop in for a visit is important to us.  He tires very quickly.  We had a good three hour visit before leaving Peachland by 4:00 pm. We headed for home, taking the Okanagan Connector Highway to Merritt, BC, then south along the Coquihalla Highway.  Our return ride had us back in our driveway within 3.25 hours.

A view along the Okanagan Connector Highway - heading west towards Merritt, BC

Back home by 7:15 pm, Jeanette and I unpacked before settling in for a bit of catching up on the news.  It was early to bed because I was leaving very early the next morning to join my foursome buddies for another round of golf.  Jeanette had previously agreed to drop in to Ginette and Trevor's home to look after Brie and Easton for a couple of hours while Ginette met with a client. 

Heading for another golf course.  Denis (left) and Fred (right)

We recently purchased a US Pacific Northwest Golf card that lets us play five good golf courses within 90 minutes from the border.  Last Wednesday we visited the Whidbey Island Golf course.  Established in 1961, this course proved to be a fun round for us.

I'll write a bit more about the Pacific Northwest USA golf card in a future blog.  The card offers some incredibly inexpensive golf rounds on some pretty amazingly lovely and challenging golf courses.

That covers things from here for now.  Our routine has returned to a more even balance.  We should be able to keep up with our favourite blogs and possibly contribute a few more regular blogs, from time to time.  We'll see!

Thanks for dropping by.