THE LAST SNOWBIRD PREPARES TO JOIN THE FLOCK

Feb 28/10

At last, we are wrapping up our condo life in Kelowna and are getting ready to head out on the road again in our 5^th wheel trailer.  We had a good week of preparation that included a trip to our storage locker in Kamloops to store extra winter clothes, Christmas decorations and other items that we won’t need in the next few months.  We also packed up most of our personal items in the condo and took them out to the trailer on Saturday. 

Yesterday, I went for a haircut at a one man salon and he was quite a character.  He tried to talk us into buying a cheap house in Kirkland Lake, Ontario and even offered up his parents’ driveway to park our RV if we went there.  It was a fun conversation and at the end, he said there was no charge for my haircut.  Granted, he only did a trim at the back but it was an unexpected surprise.

Today we visited with friends from Kamloops who were in town for the weekend and heard about the events and challenges at the places we used to work.  One thing for sure in working for the government is that change is inevitable.

We’ve kept up with the workouts and walks to the park and downtown.  It feels almost like spring most days although we had a skiff of snow on Wednesday morning.  There is a certain feeling of nostalgia as we walked the streets that we’ve come to know so well and realize that we may not be back here for a long time.

So come Monday, we will officially join the flock of Canadian snowbirds and start our journey south for the rest of this winter and most of the spring.  We thank God that it’s only been a short delay and we hope to have wonderful travel stories to share with you.

READY TO GO

KEEPING BUSY IN KELOWNA

Feb 21/10

So where does the time go?  It seems like I just posted to the blog and here we are again a week later.  It must be a sign that we are finding lots to do and not getting bored with our lifestyle these days.

We had a rainy day on Tuesday and decided to drive to Osoyoos to check out 2 new RV parks on the east side of the lake.  Both of them were nice with similar layouts to Swan Lake Resort in Vernon although one, Island View Resort, was almost full with park models and long term RV’s.  The other one, Waltons Lakefront Resort, looked a little better to us.  It’s good to evaluate these places ahead of time in case we want to stay in that area sometime during our travels.  We took the long way back through Keremeos and were reminded about all the mountains that surround us here in the interior of B.C.

One morning we saw 2 suspicious characters in Waterfront Park climbing onto a chemical toilet and stashing 2 garbage bags of “goods” on the roof of a concrete restroom building.  We debated about phoning the police but we didn’t have much detailed information as we viewed the activity from our 12^th floor condo.  A while later, though, 2 cops showed up in the area, did a short walkabout and left without finding anything.  At that point, we phoned the RCMP and gave them all the information that we had about the event.  They were going to dispatch another officer to the scene but we never saw one as we were out most of the day.  We did check up on the roof the next day and the stashed items were gone.  Hopefully, the good guys retrieved them, not the bad guys.  (click on photo to zoom)

We paid a visit to our trailer in storage and dropped off a number of items that we don’t need in the condo for the next week.  Stuart installed the battery and put the four slides out so it was a real treat to be able go inside and look at everything.  We have so many great memories of our first few months in our rig and will be happy to move back in.

We’re working on our last puzzle and reading voraciously as we will miss having access to a public library while we are on the road.  We’ve watched some of the Olympics and tried to focus on the athletes’ successes and not get caught up in the politics and criticism.  No matter what, we are proud of our athletes and our country.

AN EVENTFUL WEEK

Feb 14/10

It all started on Monday with my last radiation treatment and a visit with an oncologist.  He assured me that I am totally healthy now and I won’t need to go back for a follow-up meeting until the middle of June.  It was both a happy and sad moment, as we had reached a pivot point in our lives and could now truly focus on the next steps.  I can’t say that things will ever return to normal as so many things have changed for us.  I guess our old “normal” will have to be replaced with a new “normal” as we go forward.

We took the opportunity of free time to schedule dental cleanings and had an amazing experience at a downtown place that I can only describe as a dental spa.  We were given a tour of the facilities when we arrived and it included private treatment rooms with TV screens in the ceiling over the chairs, very high tech equipment, candles in the restroom, hygienists dressed like yoga instructors, warm towels to wipe our faces with after the cleanings and the offer of a complimentary neck or hand and arm massage.  We were a bit overwhelmed at first but the hygienists were very thorough and did tests for bacteria and oral cancer that we’d never had before.  Fortunately, we don’t need any other work at this time.

On Wednesday, we walked to the Kelowna Curling rink to watch the German men’s and Swedish men’s and women’s Olympic curling teams practice.  They sure looked young.  The next day, the German team played a Kelowna team that had won previous world championships.  The German team lost the game.  I guess age and experience still count for something—in curling, anyway.

We had family from Chilliwack visit us on Friday morning and today we went for a big hike on Knox Mountain.  It was sunny and warm and we saw flickers, finches and red winged black birds back in the marsh areas around here.  Spring must be on its way.

Views from Knox Mountain

TRANSITIONING

Feb 7/10

Our routine changed a bit this past week and we had some different experiences.  The doctor who was supposed to see me on Monday was ill so we just met with a nurse.  She was nice and helpful but wasn’t able to evaluate my progress so I will have to wait until this coming Monday for a doctor’s opinion.

I had some appointments this week that were scheduled late in the day, but they called me and got me in early in the afternoon.  That was nice, although it meant that we had to drive rather than walk to the clinic.  Then one morning we went in for an early appointment and there was a big delay.  A bulb had burned out in the radiation machine and they had an “engineer” working on the replacement.  We waited for about 2 hours and then they sent us home with a call back later in the day.

We had lunch with friends from Kamloops and it was great to see familiar faces and talk about people and places that we used to know.  We’re finding that this part of our life on the road is a bit lonely as we haven’t had any opportunities to make new friends.  Everything we do is temporary and we’re headed into another transitory period for the next few weeks.  My last treatment is Monday and then we are free to plan our trip, but we won’t be able to leave until March 1^st.  We’ll need to keep ourselves busy or we’ll go crazy (or just crazier?)