Completing the circle, and living the easy life

Penticton life is turning out to be pretty easy … too easy perhaps. Our new temporary home is quite possibly the most comfortable and luxurious place we’ve ever lived (outside of certain short-term stays in Calgary/Beauvais). We eat, we sleep. We take short walks to various stores and around the hills. We watch movies or TV on one of two flat screens.

Internet access is fast. The kitchen is great. And we’re learning to love the hot tub. Oh man, it’s going to be hard to leave 😉

Maxi the Cat, who’s the real boss around here, seems to have fully adopted us as his new staff. And he’s not shy in telling us exactly what he wants, when he wants it. Mornings involve him walking into our bedroom, meowing loudly, pouncing on top of us, swatting at hands or face, and generally making it known it is time for feeding. Throughout the day it’s in-and-out, in-and-out, as he insists. But he’s awfully cute though, so that makes up for it all.

So, in short, we’re enjoying life here in Penticton. And we’re beginning to explore our surroundings. The house is situated near the edge of town, so has a semi-rural feel. We took a walk up the road that goes passed our place. It winds it’s way up the side of the hill/mountain that we’re nestled into, giving us a great view of the whole city with Skaha Lake to the south and Okanagan Lake to the north.

There are vineyards and wineries all over the place here in the Okanagan. On our walk we past by apple orchards, and what looks like a vineyard that produces ice wine. The grape vines were thick with fruit, awaiting that first freeze…

… awaiting a freeze that might never come! It’s mid November now, and I don’t think it’s dipped below zero, even overnight. Temperatures have often been hitting mid/high teens. I was worried about not having enough warm winter clothes. Now I’m wishing I’d brought my shorts.

What I’m trying to say is, the weather has been mostly pretty darn nice so far.

P.S. I forgot to include this earlier, but starting in Calgary we finally closed the loop on our inReach travel map. Ann’s been marking our journey via our inReach satellite tracker, but despite my pleading, she refused to start it till after we departed Calgary last year. This left the whole drive across Canada looking incomplete.

Well, thanks to my wise counsel, she recorded our drive across Canada this year. So finally, the map of our journeys that began with our sail through the Great Lakes, and then our motorcycle trip across Canada and around the USA, is complete!