The Family

I 'm always talking about my family so, here are some pictures! Our four daughters are: Barbara, 47; Catherine, 46; Karen, 44 & Michelle, 31. Barb & Keith and Karen & Russ have three & two boys respectively and live in Calgary, AB, Catherine & Bill have three girls and live in Thornhill, ON & Michelle lives in Vancouver, BC. Counting Alan & I, that's 17 of us altogether!

We don't get together as often as we would like but we try to make it happen.

The four girls spent last weekend together in Vancouver but this picture was taken last fall. (Barb, Karen, Michelle & Cath). The latest, taken last weekend, is on my Facebook page...couldn't download it here. The two pictures of the grandchildren were taken last year and they have changed/grown up somewhat since then. The girls: Jeanne, Annie & Leslie and their parents are at Annie's Gr. 9 graduation. The boys: Donny, Jack, Fraser, Sam & Tom are delivering flyers.

We are very proud of all of them!

A picture is worth a thousand words, they say!

Here's a selection of some of the thousand pictures I've taken on the the trip...I exaggerate!!

The Dominion Observatory near Oliver, Soaring Eagle winery, Naramata and George & Alan going for a beautiful morning of golfing. More pictures on the sidebar.

Kingsley back in Home Port!

I have fallen behind with blog reports!

It has been a week since we left Summerland. Thursday, we traveled as far as Oyama (short trip) because one of the tires was heating up red hot. We had them checked at Kal Tire in Vernon the next day. Brakes needed adjusting but the bearings were in good shape. One hour up in the hoist, two tires off, brakes & bearings checked. No charge!! Gotta love that Kal Tire! That was our 49th anniversary present!

Friday night we stayed at a wooded camp by the road at Malakwa, BC. We followed a trail through the woods to the Eagle River the next morning. Everything is pretty deserted by now but it must be full of campers & hikers in the summer. Good steelhead fishing in the river.

Saturday, it was Golden, BC by the river and the CPR line. Lots of trains going by night & day. I love the sound of the trains. After Golden, Sunday morning we drove through to Lake Louise with a stop at Emerald Lake and on to Calgary.

We had a great trip home after seeing the family Sunday in Calgary. Everytime we see the five grandsons, they've grown another inch or two (Donny & Jack especially). The girls (Barb & Karen) arrived about suppertime from Vancouver and their weekend together with Catherine & Michelle, so we heard all their news. They packed a host of activities into a short couple of days. By Monday we were ready to head on home. We dropped in on our GMCer friends Carol Gray in Calgary and the Engmans in Olds on our way north. There were lots of big tandem trucks and pipe-carrying ones on the highway to Edmonton . The economy on the corrider is booming and Red Deer is expanding like crazy. Arrived in Edmonton about 4PM and the roads were all torn up with construction. The traffic was insane but we made it home and we're happy to be here. We will stay put for Thanksgiving in Edmonton. The coach drove like a dream!
We didn't move Kingsley around to the back 'til yesterday and Alan did all the unpacking. This afternoon he has drained the water system and blown out the pipes with his new compressor. What a guy! Today is Wednesday and he's back working at Rona! He just can't stay away.

Still lots of veggies and herbs in the garden waiting to be harvested but, our weather is changing. Winds and colder weather are coming.

Thanks for letting me share our travels with you and thanks for your comments! We hope to hit the road again in a couple of months and head waaay south to the warmth of Arizona & California. We just have to watch for a break in the weather and we will make our getaway with Kingsley!

Autumn in Summerland, BC

After a couple of lovely days in Penticton, we are camped out at the Nagle's in sunny Summerland. We were sorry to say good bye to the Parkers and our parking spot under the willow trees at the Park Royal in Penticton but it was just a very short drive north to our present spot.
Mary & I spent a couple of hours soaking up the warm rays of the sun and revelling in the fabulous view from their lawn while Alan & George went to hit a bucket of balls at the driving range. George put together his trademark 'deli chicken and kitchen sink salad' supper. Delicious! A little political forum on the CBC and we were ready for an early night. Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be just as nice as today's. We're still having fun!!

The Sunny Okanagan doesn't disappoint.

It's Sunday night and we have had a great few days enjoying autumn here in wine country. We were in Osoyoos at the N'kmip Resort Thursday & Friday nights. The last time we stayed there was exactly five years ago, shortly after we bought Kingsley and we were real greenhorns! Actually, we were quite terrified about the prospect of owning this antique coach and getting it to operate safely.At that first rally, our fellow GMCers helped us with parts and expertise and many of them have become our good friends.
We were parked next to the water and it was a perfect spot.
Friday we rode the bikes into town and on to several resorts. Many changes in the last five years.
Saturday, we toured the N'kmip winery and the adjacent condos. They have done a wonderful job designing and decorating them. Later on we headed north to Penticton and the Park Royal RV park where we have stayed before. It's a lovely spot right near the beachfront.
Sunday, a very long bike ride and then Caryl(Alan's sister) & Warwick drove us to Naramata for some wine tasting and wine buying! They joined us for dinner in the coach, our first dinner guests since the renovation. It has been a wonderful day, weather-wise, warm and sunny.
More tomorrow and pictures too!

The Bloomsday sculptures at Riverside Park, Spokane, WA

Here are the pictures of the art installation. Very inspiring!!!

From Idaho to Washington and north to BC!

Tuesday
I met a nice fellow named Mark in the hot tub last night. He lives in Phoenix but spends most of the summer in Post Falls at this place. He loves the RV park ($375.00/month)and says it is the best kept secret around! He is an independent contractor and is doing heavy duty aircraft maintenance on UPS planes nearby. His wife is an airline mechanic in Phoenix.. He came over after supper and had many interesting stories to tell. He has promised to send us some special oyster shooters??
Alan took the bike for a long ride today and we tested our walkie-talkies for range. They’re pretty good!

Wednesday
Left Post Falls around 11:00am headed towards Spokane. We wanted to see Riverside Park which we hear about all the time on PBS (Friends of Seven). There was no place for a motorhome to park anywhere nearby so I asked a fellow on a riding lawnmower for directions. He said “follow me” and led us down a side road to the Gonzaga University Parking Authority where we purchased an all day pass for $2.17! Our new friend, Brian, then led us to the perfect parking spot fifty feet from the Centennial Trail in the park. We rode our bikes right into the centre of Spokane. The trail passes through beautiful gardens, sculptures and major attractions such as a carousel and gondola over the Spokane river falls . This is also the site of the Annual Bloomsday Race. Spokane turns out in huge numbers for this event.
We went shopping at River Park Square and stopped for coffee and fabulous fries with blue cheese dressing at the Sawback Grill. We spent about five hours looking around before we returned to Kingsley and set out again. We drove 45 miles north to Deer Park and the Spokane RV Resort http://www.spokanervresort.com/
Thursday
This is a wonderful spot on the edge of a golf course. The air is so fresh! Alan hit a bucket of balls and we checked out some good real estate opportunities in the area. On the road again and we headed north on #395 and west on WA #20 to #97 to the border and Osoyoos, BC. So, tonight we are at Nk'nip RV Resort where we were last here five years ago with our newly acquired Kingsley. A tiring day for Alan on the windy road rising to 5500 miles above sea level....lots of up and downs and turns on the road to the border.