The Hills Are Alive in Kelowna

It had already been a wonderful morning of flying, but we had more in store for the day.

After quickly getting fuel in Bremerton, we continued on our way to Kelowna, British Columbia with two passengers in back. Luckily, because Gladys is beautiful and fast, we made it there in just forty-five minutes.

But first, I enjoyed some eye candy on the ramp in Bremerton.

Funny story about this giant Falcon. They came up from San Diego for the week with some people and dogs on board. When they landed, someone realized that two dogs were missing. The pups had been left at home on accident.

So this giant, expensive-to-operate airplane turned back around and flew to San Diego.

To pick up two dogs.

We got out of there, but no dogs were involved. Here we are taxiing to Runway 19 for takeoff towards the northeast.

Of course, with the incredible lack of clouds, we were able to see downtown Seattle from miles away. This is one of my favorite cities in the world.

I heart Seattle.

We crossed some Rocky Mountains on our way to the great country of Canada. Look at all that snow on the tops of the mounts? That stuff never melts! It looks so pretty from the air, but I’m pretty sure I would freeze to death down there. Even in July.

As we got closer to our destination, I couldn’t help thinking of the Sound of Music song, “The Hills Are Alive.” Look at this place! Don’t you just want to sing after looking at it?!

We flew right past downtown Kelowna on our way to the airport just north of town. This is where all the magic was happening this weekend, as our passengers were here to enjoy some cultural festivities. The town sits next to Okanagan Lake, which is beautiful.

We were vectored farther from the airport than normal to make room for an Air Canada Dash-8 on final approach. Once he was abeam our wing, we started our right turn to base, then another right turn to final for landing.

The airport is just past that tiny lake, to the left of that little mountain. Can you see it?

The Hills Are Alive!!!!

So pretty and green. Sorry. I couldn’t resist.

Once on the ground, we taxied all the way to the north side of the airport to park at the Shell Aerocentre. Because of the French influence, all of Canada spells things differently than us.

Hi, WestJet! This was a busy little airport with several different airlines frequenting the beauty in the mountains.

Amazingly enough, we are only about 1,400 feet above sea level.

This is my favorite picture of the day…a perfect capture of a C-130 taking off!

Hi, Kelowna Tower! Thanks for pointing us in the right direction! You’re so nice.

OK, Gladys. You be a good girl. I will see you in about twenty hours. Just a short, one-night stay here in Kelowna. You’ve done great today, flying from Phoenix to Bremerton to Kelowna. You deserve a night of rest.

This was a view from inside the lobby, where we grabbed a rental car for our night’s stay. I was surprised that there weren’t more corporate airplanes visiting, since the festival going on in town draws lots of attendance.

The folks at the Shell Aerocentre took great care of us and had lovely senses of humor. I love when people laugh at my feeble attempts at jokes.

I hadn’t eaten since breakfast nine hours before, so lunch was a real treat. We even found an Old Spaghetti Factory in town and knew that was where we were meant to be.

Obviously, I hardly enjoyed my salad with homemade parmesan ranch dressing. I almost licked the plate but thought against it. I must represent Americans in good light, and I didn’t think that would shed pleasant light on my country.

We had a really good server who kept on top of our table. I drank about six gallons of water, but he was always right there with the pitcher to refill me. I always try to avoid drinking too much water before long flights, so I then have to make up for it afterwards!

My goodness. Was I really so hungry that I couldn’t take a picture of the lunch-sized lasagna for you before I dug in? That’s pretty selfish, if you ask me.

Next, we were off to the hotel. The main road was surrounded on both sides with beautiful mountains. On top of those mountains were beautiful homes! I wonder if they would let me in a few for a tour?

I didn’t want to creep anyone out or anything, so I decided against knocking on their doors.

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott. My new goal is to stay on Marriott properties as much as possible so I can attain lots of points in one chain. I have lots of points in every hotel chain, thanks to my busy traveling career. But I would love to focus more on just one to really get something accomplished!

And who wouldn’t want to stay somewhere with a cool outdoor slide to the pool? Somehow, they were bragging that this slide was open year-round. But I don’t see how that is physically possible in Canada, especially since they don’t heat this pool!

And perhaps the best part of my entire trip was the location of a Wal-Mart right next door. Since my room wasn’t available yet, I walked over to see if they carried my favorite candy in the whole wide world.

They did. And I bought some.

And then, in a monumental feat of self-control, I placed them in the refrigerator in the hotel room before eating them. These guys are so much better when they are cold.

Why, oh why, did they stop making these for the United States? Oh well. I will just have to enjoy them in person when I’m in Canada instead! I hate to admit that this is one of my main incentives to come here!

It was a nice day, but I was pretty tuckered out by that late afternoon when I finally checked in. And I had some candy to eat, so the evening was perfect.