I wasn't exactly planning a blog post for this short little trip, but since I have some decent pictures, why not?
I've flown west across Canada to the city of Kelowna, in the Okanagan Valley of south-central British Columbia, for a 3-night stay. November is, quite frankly, not the best time to visit Kelowna -- it's too cold to swim in the lake or lie on the beach, and it's too early for there to be much snow at the ski resorts. But the views are still great -- more on that presently.
Anyway, here I am. Kelowna is situated at the midpoint of Lake Okanagan, a typical mountain lake -- in other words, a long, narrow ribbon of water stretching dozens or even hundreds of kilometres along a valley, but never more than a few kilometres wide. The city and its surrounding metropolitan area have a combined population of about 225,000 people. Here's a panoramic view from Knox Mountain Park, north of the city. It certainly isn't that sunny this first week in November!
By GoToVan from Vancouver, Canada - Knox Mountain Park, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71070883
Kelowna's central city area contains some significant cultural facilities, including two sizable stage theatres, and a diverse range of good restaurants, cafes, brew pubs, and the like.
The city has developed a lovely waterfront access project, including walkways, parks, beaches, restaurants, and other facilities, the whole spanning the width of the city's downtown area. And it's right here, on the waterfront, that you'll find the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort.
I don't usually advertise hotels or restaurants here, but in Kelowna this particular hotel is an exception to the rule. It's the only major chain hotel on the waterfront. The other chain properties here are mostly mid-market hotels, and are ranged along both sides of the highway from the city north to the airport. Of course, it does no harm that (thanks to my Marriott loyalty plan status) the Delta upgraded me at no charge to a beautiful corner room on the top floor, overlooking the lake.
Although it's not the particular reason I'm here, the Okanagan is the home of British Columbia's burgeoning wine industry. Major wineries and small cottage wineries offering tours are scattered all up and down the valley. More recently, it's also become the home of a burgeoning craft beer sector. For many visitors, the chance to visit and sample the products of these producers is a key reason to visit the Okanagan Valley.
The rest of my photo gallery includes pictures taken during a couple of walks around the waterfront parks located behind the hotel. It's just a pity that the weather wasn't kinder. The few sunny breaks were just that -- breaks -- and they always seemed to end just 10 minutes before I was heading outside.
The bridge across the narrows of the lake carries the main highway west to Vancouver, about a 3½ hour drive away.
Although they weren't present in large numbers, there were a few ducks feeding and swimming on Lake Okanagan.
The parkland includes a sizable artificial lake, connected to the natural lake by a small linking canal. On these serene and windless days, the reflections were striking.
A short distance south of the hotel is a sizable marina, and here I got to witness several sailboats being removed from the lake and placed on trailers for winter storage.
This is "barely-scratch-the-surface" post. There's a lot more to discover in and around Kelowna, and I certainly plan to return -- but in warmer, sunnier weather!
To close, here are a pair of maps to show Kelowna's location in British Columbia, and to give a more detailed look at the Okanagan Valley and Lake region.
And finally....
Just to add insult to injury, the view from my room changed to look like this on the morning that I had to leave for the airport to fly home. I would have covered a lot more ground if I'd had two solid days of this kind of sunshine!
