Day 17: Kelowna

We took a drive to Kelowna today - along the biggest lake we have seen since we got here. We expected to find a small town, bordered by wineries, but what we actually found was a modern metropolis which is obviously an affluent location.

We parked at the bottom of what they call Knox Mountain, but we would call a small fell and walked into the town. We walked along the waterfront, past this lovely sculpture.

but what was even more impressive were the speedboats parked outside the condos!

We strolled along the boardwalk

and found a place for lunch. We asked for 2 cokes but the bartender just looked at us as if he did not understand and gave us something that vaguely resembled cola... (what3words: arriving.frocks.bonkers)

After that we dropped in at the Kelowna Art Gallery as they were having a Warhol to Banksy exhibition which was actually pretty good (what3words: plot.relay.loafer)

We walked off lunch by visiting a fabulous thrift store where Emily got some absolute bargains: a cute tennis skirt, a lovely black and red sarong and a fabulous leather tote bag.

We ended up at the top of lookout point looking over the bay and I overheard one lady telling her friends that developers were wanting to build all the way up the mountain - that would be a shame, but it is clearly a popular area to live. (what.3words: guardian.giggle.bands)

After that we drove back up the road to Vernon.

Tonight we found out what the tables and chairs in the main street in Vernon were for

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/ccc3e4_ac3d26ce5cc34fe09fca0b93846068d3/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

The band were great and had the crowd rocking, there was such a great atmosphere we were reluctant to leave, but we had tickets for the movies at the lovely theatre, The Towne.(what3words: plotter.dings.imparted)

We saw Everything Everywhere all at once. It is a completely bonkers movie with the underlying message that even if you think life is not what you think it should have been, it is not too late. We thoroughly enjoyed it, but I heard some people in the theatre saying 'what on earth was that all about?'

Tomorrow we move to the last leg of our trip and we are heading for Vancouver. We have had a teensy slip up with our accommodation - we booked to stay 2 nights on Vancouver Island, but because of all the staff shortages, every one of the ferries are booked up and we cannot get there! We could have just turned up and took a chance, but we really do not want to sleep in the car - even if there are fewer bears in Vancouver.....We will have to take the hit on the cancellation charge, but have booked another hotel on the mainland.

It is sad that our trip is drawing to a close - but we have 4 nights after this one and we are going to make the most of them! Bring on tomorrow.....