Oliver KVR

Today we tried a paved part of the old Kettle Valley Railway Trail from the North end of Oliver to the South, all along the river. It was much easier than cycling on gravel ! The sun came out, along with more blossoms, flowers, and leaves, and the aromas along our ride were delicious, accompanied by fresh country sounds: the gently murmuring stream, birdsong from newly-arrived White-Crowned Sparrows, as well as "Chicagos" from the California Quails, and squeaks from the Ospreys and Brewer's Blackbirds.We made it back for lunch this time, and Paris came along with us again.
We had Chili con Carne with a bun...

Paris and Michael at the end of our trail

Paris and Hanne

Paris's Ellen returns next month. Prince William has to go back to work next week, so no honeymoon for a while! Poor lad!....

Our road home seen through the car window.

Married

The Newly Married Couple

And the Queen wore Yellow

Balsam Root with Blue Sky

Cherry Blossom

Finally. They tied the knot. Duke and Duchess of my old University indeed. That's that. On with the motley. Pick up all the squashed hats, dropped cardboard periscopes, banana skins, and sweep up the crumbs from the red carpet, and let's get on with life. I must say though, we enjoyed some of the most spectacular videography, especially in the Abbey; heard some riveting choral music, and experienced a wonderful sermon on marriage.

Boy, they make a lot of noise! Why can't they kiss quietly!  (Photo Credit Darren Staples- Reuters)

To honour the occasion, a photo of the newly married couple, and some scenes from home.

Royal Free Post

I hear some people are selling Royal-Free TV sets. Anyway, here is a Royal-Free Post!

Okanagan Lake at Penticton.

Lazi Lady

On a Slow Ride

Yesterday's excursion was to the Marina here on Okanagan Lake, to see how things are progressing towards sailing season. In Winter this place is completely devoid of boats and covered in ice. Things are looking up. We only found one other human. One chap was out raising a foresail. We found a boat called Lazi Lady for Hanne to be photographed by.( We don't sail ourselves ). There were some interesting clouds about, threatening rain. We awoke at two-thirty this morning with heavy rain on our windows, and early this morning found a skiff of snow one third the way down the mountains. It had all melted by eight a.m. Today they say it will go up to 15 degrees Celsius. Yes, we did get lunch yesterday. Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches....

Paris took us Biking

Paris

The Remains of the Bridge at Trail's End

Hanne phoning for Lunch under the Big Willow

Driving in Canada on the left!

Yesterday we made 14Km of rough bike-riding and today we are aching a bit. Our friend Paris took us in his magnificent Volvo with its four-bike transporter behind. Paris is indeed Greek and is indeed married to his Helen of Troy ( almost- she is Danish and called Ellen, a corruption of Helen). Ellen could not join us as she was away on family business in Calgary. We finally made it to the end of our trail: the old bridge over the river had long ago disintegrated, and there was no ferry, so we had to return the same way, but halfway we discovered a stile and a track back to the river so returned a different way, over a swamp, balancing our bikes on wobbly wooden boards, then past this magnificent willow in full flower. Hanne had to make a phone call here to order lunch to be saved as we were hopelessly late. Then it became later still as they were paving our road and caused a fifteen minute delay, after which we followed a pilot car and drove on the left side of the road, which was fun.

River Road

River Road Oliver

New Willow Leaves

Ponderosa Pine Grassland Slope with Arrow-Leaved Balsam Root Flowers ( and foreground Mahonia bush)

Bank Holiday Monday we explored a new road in Oliver, winding around Seacrest mountain, by Okanagan River, just like a little English country lane. The yellows of the fresh new Willow leaves and catkins, and the massed Balsam Root flowers, dominated the landscape of Ponderosa Pine Grassland. Funny name for a mountain, I suppose it looks like a cresting wave, but there is no sea for five hundred kilometers....
Oh by the way, the boys threw buckets of water over the girls yesterday in Slovakia too...

Easter Almost Over

"Keeping an eye on the Children"  Easter Day, Okanagan Lake Beach

The First Tulip of Easter, Penticton, BC

Easter Magnolia, Penticton BC

Mostly over, nearly all the eggs eaten, and photos taken, now we can really get on with the Wedding. I discovered Canadian TV has a program entitled "Royal Wedding" lasting a mere eight hours.... Much more interesting, I discovered an Easter tradition in Hungary in the town of Mezokovesd that peaked my interest. The girls and boys get all decked out in elaborate Hungarian folk-costume. They go outside in the sunshine, and the boys proceed to throw buckets of water over the girls. In the news photos from yesterday, the girls were all smiles just as the water cascaded over them...I suspect they won't be all smiles afterwards when they realize how sopping wet they really are. 

Easter Bunnies to you too!

Wait for me Hanne!

Yesterday was bike ride day. The weather was perfect. Fifteen Celsius. We only did ten kilometers so our bums aren't too sore, unlike Hanne's daughter Elise and her Adam, who also went biking in Vancouver, but now are a bit tender in the nether regions. The roads here were full of bikes as there was a marathon in progress. Enjoy your Resurrection Time/ Chocolate Easter Eggs. Love from us two. (We wish our grand-daughter Jenessa all the best for her Soccer Tournament at the Coast.)