Autumn in Kelowna

It always seems to happen as we are packing the van getting ready to get back on the road, we can't believe how fast time seems to go by. Our three weeks in Kelowna have quickly come to end. It has been beautiful here in the Okanagan Valley, warm weather, gorgeous fall colors and lots to do. This time we took advantage of some events in Kelowna. We saw the local WHL hockey team, the Kelowna Rockets, a production of A Streetcar Named Desire and the Kelowna Symphony Orchestra. It is very civilized here where one can, if they so desire, enjoy a glass of an Okanagan wine while watching any of these events. Nothing says Kelowna than sipping on a red wine while young hockey players beat each other up. Darcy has been either practicing or playing a round of golf most days and I think he is anxious to get to Phoenix to continue his regime. We spent some time looking at real estate and are thinking this is where we finally want to settle. We will spend 6 months here next year to really get a feel for the area but for now we are still having the time of our lives just being nomads. Friday we start heading to Phoenix with a stop in Las Vegas on Halloween.

New York Adventure

Our Panama Canal cruise ended in New York so we took the opportunity to spend a few days there before heading back to San Francisco to get the minivan. NYC is in our Top Five list of favorite cities. Trevor and Brenda found a wonderful hotel, The Carlton, on Madison Avenue. We were able to either walk or take the subway wherever we needed to go. This was a chance for us to do some of the things we didn't have a chance to do our last trip like go up the Empire State Building. Even before you get to the top you have to stop and notice the architecture of the lobby. After 90 minutes we finally go to the top. The view is outstanding and worth the wait. Our first night we celebrated Brenda's birthday with some of their Toronto friends at Keene's, probably the best short ribs I have ever had but I don't think you can get a bad dinner in New York. Saturday morning we took the subway to Battery Park and caught a ferry which took us by the Statue of Liberty and then to Ellis Island. Like we usually do, we got the audio tour and took our time exploring that National Park. You really get an appreciation for what thousands of immigrants went through. We didn't realize that you need tickets to see the new World Trade Centre monument but we got as close as could. The accountant in Darcy really needed to walk through Wall Street and see NYSE but unfortunately it isn't open to the public so he just had to breath in the money vibe from the street. Then we headed back up to Macy's and Time Square to meet Brenda's sister, Vonne. They have closed some of it to vehicular traffic so it is much more pedestrian friendly. If we had had time and a kid with us, we would have ridden the ferriswheel in Toys 'R Us. That night we had another wonderful dinner with Vonne at Chez Josephine, a french restaurant near Time Square named after Josephine Baker, the American expatriate singer and dancer who became famous after moving to Paris in the 20's and 30's. Our last day in NYC started with breakfast at Ellen's Stardust Diner where we were entertained by our waiter, Shawn, and his co-workers, all aspiring Broadway actors. Then it was off to the Museum of Modern Art. We couldn't believe how lucky we were that we were able to see Van Gough's Starry Nights and Monet's Waterlilies. It was the chance of a lifetime! Then we were off to Broadway to see Spiderman at the Foxwood Theatre. How surprised where we to find out that Trevor and Brenda had organized box seats for us. We had our own box in the first balcony right beside the stage. Spiderman and his nemesis, The Green Goblin, flew right over top of us! We knew that this show was having problems with the safety of the actors flying over the audience and you could see why especially when Spiderman and The Green Goblin had their big fight scene suspended by cables right above us. It was outstanding and by the end everyone was on their feet cheering. That show and then another wonderful dinner at Tony's were the perfect end to a perfect trip. The next morning we piled into a taxi and headed to Newark to go our separate ways. I have to give special thanks to Trev. He bailed me out by letting me copy his pictures after I accidentally erased my camera card. Thanks, Trev! We are now planning our next trip hopefully to Tuscany. Next stop Kelowna, BC.

Panama Canal Cruise

After about a week driving down the coastal highway enjoying links golf in Tacoma, the Lewis and Clark National Park and haystacks in Oregon, the redwood trees in California and many seafood dinners all along the way, we arrived in Walnut Creek, CA. How lucky are we that Elizabeth lives near San Francisco. We were able to leave our minivan with her and head to The Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill. We had a day and a half to do all the tourist things in San Francisco, ride the cable car, go to Fisherman's Wharf, see fortune cookies being made in Chinatown and ride the top of the doubledecker tour bus across the Golden Gate Bridge (where we just about froze to death). September 9 we left the San Francisco harbor aboard the beautiful Oceania Regatta. We were happy to have 2 days at sea before our first stop to get rested up and unpack the suitcases. There were 600 guests and probably that many staff so we were pampered for the next 21 days. The food and service were outstanding. We knew it was going to get hotter the further south we went but I'm not sure we realized it was going to be in the 90 degree range with humidity to the point that our glasses fogged up when we went out. We tried to stay hydrated with many cervasas. Our Mexican stops included Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Huatulco and Puerto Chiapas. Then it was on to Puntarenas, Costa Rica. There we boarded a bus and went into the mountains where we got to walk on suspension bridges above the rain forest. It is a beautiful country and we would definitely go back. After another sea day we reached Panama City and the entrance to the Panama Canal at 8:00 in the morning. We were lucky enough to meet a couple who had a suite on the front of the ship and invited us to watch the canal crossing. It was a wonderful experience made even better by a lecture before from a retired coast guard commander and running commentary throughout the day. It was 4:30 pm by the time we got through the 3 sets of locks and Gatun Lake. The next day we arrived in Cartagena, Columbia. We had arranged to take a walking tour of historic Cartagena but the tour had to be cut short because of a torrential rain and thunder storm. Georgetown, Grand Cayman was our last Caribbean stop. Knowing that Georgetown is a financial centre, we thought there would be a bank on every corner and were disappointed to find that is not the case. Our last stop was Charleston, SC. We were lucky enough to spend a week there last year and the Greens have also been there before. It is one of our favorite places and we were glad to have 2 days at this port. We rented a car and organized our own tour. Because we didn't have a chance to see a plantation last time, we visited Middleton Place, a rice plantation once owned by a very prominent Charleston family. Then we spent time in the historic part of Charleston touring the Edmondston Alston House, one of the many historic homes, and revisiting many of the places Pat Conroy mentions in his novels including the Citadel. We always like to see the bookstore when we visit a campus but at the Citadel we noticed some merchandise not usually sold at U of C, anything a student would need to keep his shoes polished to a mirror shine. When it comes to food in Charleston they believe that "if in ain't fried, it ain't cooked" so, of course, we had to have Jestine's chicken and fried green tomatoes with pecan pie to go. At Jestine's I also learned that mac 'n cheese is considered to be a vegetable. Then we headed to our final destination, New York City. I will leave that for the next blog entry. Are you asleep yet?