Life the Okanagan Way

Having friends from Ontario visiting this week has given me a new appreciation for the great place I'm lucky enough to live in.   Seventeen years ago we were living about 90 minute drive from Toronto, in a small city of about 65,000 people.  We decided to head out to Vancouver Island to live closer to my husband's family in Sidney B.C.  My husband applied for a job in Kelowna and when he told me about it I was quite distraught.  In fact I burst into tears.   I thought we were leaving our home to be close to his family.  Kelowna was a 4 hour drive plus a ferry ride away.  That wasn't my definition of close.   

My husband put his arms around me and assured me he wouldn't take the job if they offered it to him.  He never heard back from the company and a few months later we were living in Sidney with my in-laws, looking for work.  The economy wasn't really thriving in 1995 and my very experienced civil engineer knocked on many doors over a six week period, without any success.  Finally one company said "We have a position in our Kelowna office if you're interested."  Turns out it was the same position he had applied for from Ontario.  I discovered that being without a job for six weeks and living in a home that's not your own (though it was a lovely home and my in-laws are very lovely people), gives you a different perspective.  I guess it was meant to be.  Here we are in Kelowna having a great time.

I think Ann and Sharon have been having a great time as well, golfing, hiking, biking the trestles, golfing, discovering Canados and Tree Brewing's Raspberry Porter, and did I mention golfing?  And the weather has been very cooperative.  Even though they stayed with another couple, we saw a great deal of them and really enjoyed their friends.  This morning I pulled out all the stops and lent them our kayaks as my final attempt to entice them to move out here...I think it might just work.