Westbank/Kelowna

I've lucked out with some pretty good weather during my travels so far - it's been just on the warmer side of lovely fall weather. Although I've only seen a small portion of British Columbia, I have to say that my favorite place here is, surprisingly, my aunt and uncle's back deck. I love to go out there, especially in the mornings. The air is still comfortable enough in the shade, yet just cool enough that the sun slanting in feels so good. The air smells clean and fresh. A nearby neighbour's water feature inserts the sound of trickling, flowing water. Mountains to the right. Mountains to the left. A thick, lush carpet of green lawn below. Brightly colored blooms of huge begonias. Trees beyond. It's lovely. So calming and peaceful. The stresses in my body just melt away out there.

I've also loved seeing all the orchards. I'd love to have easy access to orchards at home! We felt like getting some fresh apples the other day, so off we went, to an orchard of someone they knew to get them fresh from the trees. Apples, peaches, pears, cherries, grapes. The grape vineyards have really taken over here from the soft fruit ones. And everytime we went by yet another wine vineyard, I could picture Misty and Carl in Tuscany, Italy doing the same thing...I wonder just how different the two landscapes are outside of the grapevines.

Anyone hear about the earthquake that hit New Zealand on Monday? 7.3 magnitude! It struck near remote and largely uninhabited islands northeast of the North Island. No tsunami warnings were issues.

I received another email from SWAP, with information to help me when I arrive at the land of the long white cloud. Among the helpful tidbits, it also mentions Motutapu Island- one of the earliest Maori settlement sites located about 60 minutes by ferry from downtown Auckland. Tree planting and restoration work takes place two Sundays a month - great way for me to do both a little volunteer conservation work AND spend a day on a beautiful island!

Before I sign off, I wanted to make sure everyone knew about the Comments feature of my blog site. At the end of every post there is an underlined link showing how many comments were added (0 and up). If you want to post a comment about my blog entry, just click on the link and it will take you to another screen. On the left you will see comments left by others; on the right is a text box where you can type your comment. When you're done typing (make sure you typed your name), scroll down to the bottom, select Anonymous and then post your entry. Thanks to Jo, Elaine, Cathy, and Mom for already sending me their comments! I love to read these. They'll be especially valuable when I start to get homesick!!

I'm heading to Fiji tomorrow. Not sure if they'll have internet access so you may not hear from me until I arrive in Auckland on Tuesday. Although I'm staying put at the hotel in Nadi, I hope I get some great pictures there!