The view is breath taking

Jeans—you have to love them!!! But yes, that was NOT a typo—an entire bedroom (two of them) to store their clothes, and it looks like a closet with proper double hangs and shelves!!! I'm dying to get home and purge!!! 

Funny where our priorities lie! 

Yesterday was a day of travel by car, and I wasn't in a hurry to leave Penticton. My brother lives on the hill (perhaps I should say mountain), and they have been there for years. It's a fantastic location, and now that my brother is semi-retired, he has started walking/hiking around the area. They live almost on the perimeter of the residential area, so it takes little time to get into the natural hillside. 

My younger brother and I are very much alike, and perhaps that is why we get along. Of course, we don't spend a lot of time together, and his wife is pretty laid-back. 

Oh, my goodness—I just loaded some pictures from my laptop, and they were from a seaplane. WHAT??? Oh, I was here last year at this same time, and I got the incorrect year. 

There are many stairs to get from one street level to the next. My brother and his boys used to do the newspaper route in the area. They got loads of exercise doing that! Let's say you would have excellent cardio living in this area. Yes - this set of stairs takes you from ONE street to the next. That's how steep this area is. 

The stairs from one street to the next

It's incredible to see how some of these houses are built. They are sitting on deep piles into the ground to hold them in place, and quite frankly, I'm not sure I would feel comfortable in them. These houses look like small single-story houses from the street side, but on the other side, three floors of glass windows are looking over the valley. My brother's home isn't quite that spectacular, but it still has a fantastic view. Sitting on the huge deck off the kitchen, you don't see the houses below. I took this picture standing up so you can see the rooftops. 

The view from my brother's house

He has to keep that cedar hedge trimmed to maintain the view, and it's a very high hedge. Like my dad and our other brother, he's a tinkerer, so he does it himself. He could (and does) repair pretty much anything and often buys or acquires "junk" from someone who doesn't want it. He fixes it and sells it for lots of cash! He is a true wheeler/dealer, but he loves it!

One thing that I would NOT like in this area, or any location with hills (mountains), is the steep incline for the driveway on one side of the street. Can you imagine what this driveway would be like to shovel in the winter? What if there is snow or ice? They do get snow in Penticton. Glen said many of them have heated driveways, but at what cost? And how does your kid learn to ride a bike in this area? Or how do you wash your car? Oh yes, it was a beautiful view, but not for me. I'd pick the side of the street that my brother is on where you may have a slightly lower view (OK -- a lot lower), but you get a flat driveway. We saw driveways like this in West and North Vancouver when I was here two weeks ago. 

That's a crazy driveway

Once we got away from the houses, we walked in the grassland, which is just beautiful but very hilly. I felt like I was back on the Camino!!! But this is the view over the valley towards Pentiction. House prices are relatively reasonable compared to Toronto. Hmmm --- do I want to live here? The one thing about Penticton is the location. Look at the map -- to get here, you have to drive up north or down south to get to it. So it's about 4 1/2 hours from Vancouver, but if you could drive straight - it's like 2 hours. This photo does NOT do justice to the view. 

The view over the valley

I had to leave right after lunch to get to the next store before they closed. I went back to Black Rabbit and purchased something I am unfamiliar with. I didn't take a photo, so I can't share it yet, but I'm super excited to get home and try it. 

Then, I was on my way to Chilliwack. I decided to take the other route and drive the Cocahalla Highway. Now, this is the strangest thing in the world. The speed limit on that highway is 120! Yes, through the mountains, and yet on some of the straightest roads in our country, the limit is 100. Can you tell me why? 

That highway is very decent, although there are lots of signs that snow tires are required from October 1 to the end of March. It's a high mountain road—anything can happen. Chain-up and brake check areas are frequent, as are the runaway lanes. Traffic was decent, and I made good time, although I stopped twice to take a quick break.

As I was driving towards Vancouver, I had many thoughts of the times I rode my bicycle through here, and I can't believe I did that. It's miles and miles of LONG and, in some cases, steep (but not too steep, as it's graded for transport trucks), but holy—I'm impressed. I've ridden my bicycle through these mountains three times!!!! 

I arrived at Country Folk Fabric (Tom's Sewing Center) in Chilliwack with an hour to spare. I have most of my stuff set up for this morning and then I popped over to the hotel. I had some work to do and this is my portable office. It doesn't take long for me to spread myself out!!!

Working from the hotel

I thought it might be a bit noisy as I'm right beside the highway, but I was tired and heard NOTHING all night. 

I need to book a room for tonight as I'm at a different spot for the next two nights. It's not my favorite thing, but that's the schedule. I HATE when you go to reserve a room and get taken to a third-party booking site. Why is that?? I want to book directly with the hotel. The problem is that you have ZERO recourse with the hotel if there is an issue. You must go to the booking company. I don't think they give you points, either. I want to book direct!!!! Holiday Inn -- are you listening? 

Thank goodness we walked yesterday. My Fitbit is going into shock at the lack of use over the last couple of weeks. I'm a slug. I hope to get out this morning - I don't think it's raining. When I arrived in BC, it was beautiful and hot. Now it's cold and rainy, but that is BC weather. 

I must get myself organized as I have more work to accomplish this morning before heading to the store. 

Have a super day11

Ciao!!!