Aug 18, 2016
The two O’s
Colin continues to have free time so we continue to have fun together. I consider this training for our retirement in two years. I do dread how busy he is going to any week now right until we leave here the end of October. We already have a client wanting us to delay our trip till early November. In their particular case the building is not completed yet but why can’t they wait until the end of April or early May?
I grew up on a diet of classical music including attending every symphonic production at the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton. Saturday afternoons at our home were dedicated to listening to the radio broadcast of an opera performed live from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York city. We knew what was being performed the next week so we read the libretto to understand the story. As the four of us kids got older Mom eventually joined the Edmonton Opera Society and sang in the chorus. Needless to say we all attended each performance.
So when I found out that Opera Kelowna was performing a full performance of the Magic Flute there was no question of us attending which we did last Saturday. I knew before hand that this wasn’t the Met and to not expect much but in fact it was much more than I expected. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The music to this opera was written by Mozart and the libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It was sung in German with English subtitles. Personally I find them distracting but if it helps others enjoy the opera more, so be it.
These were professional singers and they were outstanding for a Kelowna performance. There were three performances and they were all sold out.
We never got any photos of Papageno and Papagena but it was difficult taking photos in the theater and we did not want to disturb anyone. I was excited to read in the program that they were performing La Boheme next August, as I have photos of my mother in her ballgown when she was in the chorus of this opera years ago.
A late evening followed by an early morning. Once the girls were fed, walked and the car made up for the them ( we put the back seats down and put down many pillows and make a comfortable area for them to lay between our seats ) we were on the road by 10AM Sunday morning. Look at those vineyards along the lake.
We were on our way South to Osoyoos to visit our friends Janet & Grant and their dog Boo. Caeli seems to have found a good pillow on Carmeh’s back. Carmeh appears to have her head next to Colin’s armpit.
At this point we decided to try the GPS 👿 👿 👿 I pretty much missed the next 60 – 90 minutes of the drive just trying to shut that stupid lady off. First off the address did not exist and she kept trying to send us back to Kelowna. We usually keep the GPS off but thought we should give it a try. Never ever again. We found the address with my Google print out map that I had printed out before we left home. It was an almost 3 hour drive and especially so on a Sunday during the height of tourist season. All those RV’s 🙄 We patiently put on our brakes so the odd one could cut in before heading off in wrong direction. Guess they don’t read signs much 😯
Janet & Grant moved here a year ago and we have to say that they found a lovely area to settle in. Their home is just perfect and if we could move it here to our site on the lake we would be in heaven. We love our home but another 700 sq ft would be grand. They have a lovely pond that they look out on and many trails to walk Boo on. A side note here, the girls and Boo recognized each other and not a bark was heard. They shared the house in peace. The only problem was that Carmeh thought that she should be able to jump up and off the sofa at will as Boo did. We soon had that barricaded……after her first jump up.
Our girls just had to check out one of the three putting greens to do their business on. Look at that huge and most lovely Weeping Willow tree at the back, in the middle of the shot. It is massive.
Our four hours together went by much too quickly. Janet is a long time blog reader and this will be their third winter in Mazatlan and their second on the Isla. We look forward to spending much more time together this coming winter. Thanks again for the wonderful lunch folks. Long time readers will remember photos of Janet, Grant and Boo on the beach on the Isla.
The highway between Osoyoos and Kelowna is considered a major wine route and every mile seems to be a turn off to another winery or two or three. Sadly we did not have the time to stop and do any tastings.
There are also many orchards and gardens along this road and that means many fruit & veggie stands.
The highway follows Okanagan Lake for close to 90 miles visually, very scenic. We actually cross over the lake coming into Kelowna and it remains on our left all the way to Vernon. We can’t see it once we cross the bridge into town but even here at our home on our lake midway to Vernon, we are only 10 minutes away. We can’t see it but it is just over the hill to the West.
It was a very long day. We never got home till 7PM and as you can see Carmeh was struggling to stay awake. She was restless and trying out a variety of new positions.
I am fairly certain that we did something last Friday also but I can’t remember. So here we are having a marvelous time in the middle of summer, a first for us, mostly due to business which at the moment means no work versus always working. However now I have to try and fit in the work I need to do for our company as well as find time to post here on the blog not to mention even find an hour to read my book. New things to learn, balance and just enjoy life. And that ain’t all…….I am starting something new and as a couple we are starting something new. No wonder I am too busy to post. Don’t worry I will continue to post as it is a great diary of what we are doing. I just have no idea as to the when.
Rae or anyone, why are my emoticons just gray boxes???
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Your emoticons look fine at my end! You might need to update your browser.
Thanks Rae.
Spending time together and not having to worry about work will take a bit of adjustment and is a lifestyle to really enjoy, the freedom is amazing !
We get the spending time together part just fine but I do believe that it will take a while to adjust to not having to work. Colin is working the next 4 days which we need to do but it sure was nice have that freedom for a month.
Your emoticons are in color & fine here, too!
We love & enjoy retirement! When someone says they are so bored being retired, I just shake my head. There are SO many things to do OR not do. It is what you make it!!!!
It is what you make it and I can for see that we will be busy and loving it. Much better than this work stuff 🙂
We aren’t opera lovers but I am glad that you enjoyed the show.
I’m with Connie and Barry, there should be absolutely no reason to be bored. There is always something that can be done or seen. Nice to know you aren’t having this problem. 🙂
Ruth
The opera brought back some special memories for me. We are so looking forward to the freedom of not having to work. Two years may seem long to some folks we do get 6 months off each winter so we actually only have 11 months left of actual working time. During the six months that we work each year we need to make an income for twelve months of living. By July of 2018 we won’t need to worry as that is when our financial investments will start to kick in.
We are the same. We work hard for the 5 months here at the campground in order to make money for the full 12 months. Unfortunately we won’t be retiring in two years but this works for us. We all do what we have to do. I am sure you must be looking forward to retirement.
Ruth
Ruth, you are both still young and yet you are doing mega traveling which is wonderful. Many would say that you have the perfect life. We are so looking forward to traveling the world but have to wait until the girls are no longer with us.
Those honkin’ big “subtitles” would indeed be distracting. Whenever we went to the “Staatoper” in Vienna, there were subtitles, but it was a small device attached to the seat in front, with three different languages to choose from. So, if you got a little lost, you could always glance down and sort of get caught up. Much more discrete.
Haven’t been to the opera since coming home. Kind of hard to top some of the experiences we had in Vienna and Verona, Italy. And I’m not even a huge opera fan, but when in Vienna….
Oh to be enjoying an opera in Vienna and Verona, those are on my to do list. Even at the Met in NYC the subtitles were on the seat backs in front of us. Way back then in Edmonton there were no subtitles.
While Highway 97 does have scenic views of Okanagan Lake and even runs alongside it at times, the second to last photo you show here is of Skaha Lake, south of Penticton, not Okanagan Lake. You took a beautiful photo as usual, but just wanted to clarify that it is of Skaha Lake. Glad you had a nice trip to Osoyoos. It is always a scenic route to drive, even with tourist traffic.
Thanks for reading my blog and welcome to the comment section. So nice to have you here. I do have to disagree with you re where that particular photo was taken. It was well North of Penticton and closer to Peachland. We were very close to coming into Kelowna when we started to discuss how far we followed Okanagan Lake. I’m certain that the shore line looks similar in many areas. In fact we had just passed Naramata and were discussing some photography jobs that Colin had done there.
Thank you very much for the welcome. I hope I didn’t offend you by my comment about your photo. My only intention was to help you retain accuracy on your blog as many blogs have inaccurate information that reduces their credibility. When I was young, I spent many hours horseback riding on Campbell Mountain in Penticton, so I immediately recognized it and the Okanagan Highland Mountains in your photo (all on the east side of Penticton). A few buildings in the Penticton area are also visible in your photo. Perhaps during your trip back from Osoyoos you took photos both near Peachland and on the south side of Penticton? If you are interested to know for sure, you could check it on Google Street View and place yourself on the highway approximately halfway between Kaledan and Penticton. By looking northeast across Skaha Lake towards the east side of Penticton (and zoom in), you will clearly see an exact replica of your photo. Your comment about the shoreline looking similar in many areas was interesting. I find that there are many differences in the sections along both Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake. For example, in the section of lake that you referred to north of Naramata and across from Peachland, the mountain range is very stark after the 2003 wildfire that burnt most of the trees. As that same area is part of Okanagan Mountain Park, there are no buildings or structures seen between Naramata and the Chute Lake area, unlike most other sections of both lakes. Also, there is an island (Rattlesnake Island) on the east side of the lake where Okanagan Lake curves towards Kelowna (directly across from Peachland), making this section more unusual than other sections. Anyway, no matter what you take photos of, they always look great.