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shannon_aUp at 7 this morning, which is more what I intended for my wake-up. I've been sleeping very restlessly since I got to Kelowna. I had thought the lack of two cats contending for my bed space (and somewhat less contentiousL one wife) would mean better sleep, but not so far. Apparently the different bed, the different acoustics, and who knows what else are disturbing me.
This morning I'd planned to walk Mill Creek, as much as I was able. Google Maps shows it as a long greenway from Okanagan Lake to the Parkinson Recreation Park, but the local maps show it not at all.
The truth was somewhere in between. The first four or so blocks up from the Lake indeed had dirt and/or brick trails, but then it started disappearing into backyards and occasionally even going underground. I had a fun time playing find-the-creek for a few blocks more, but then finally turned back, cutting through downtown to the lakeside on the opposite side of our hotel, then walking back. It was around 3 miles all said and done: a good start to the day.
Though the landscape — with the brown and green hills surrounding a basin — reminds me of California, the neighborhoods reminded me more of Missouri. Very quiet streets, often with no sidewalks on sidewalk only on one side. Quaint old houses, but in remarkably good repair. (Three of them even had historic signs out front, talking about their construction in the 1930s, between the wars, and at least two of them were typical examples of the imaginatively named "cottage" architecture.)
You got closer to the main drag, and there were big apartment buildings, one after another, and looking like the apartments were very small. These were less quaint.
And there's a remarkable amount of construction going on in Kelowna. I think I saw four major construction projects while I was out this morning.
I'd said that the homeless problem in Kelowna didn't compare to Berkeley, and I now take that back. It's endemic. I thought a socialist state was supposed to not have these problems, but I saw dozens of homeless people out this morning while hiking around — sleeping across some of the Mill Creek paths and a bit later congregating under trees in various parks.
Most of them didn't have the predatory look of the couple in the park yesterday. But some do also look like drug users. The "needle disposal" at the exit to a park where I had to step around a homeless sleeper seems to underline the problem.
The difference between Kelowna and Berkeley is that the homeless aren't active panhandlers. I wonder if there are some laws that cause that difference.
The day itself was very busy. Lots more serious talk today, including some work I can actually help with (yay!). Afterward, I hung out for a few hours at a restaurant chatting with some developers who I'll be writing for. All around good, because it felt like getting stuff done, or at least moving toward the same.
But I was around people from about 9.30 this morning to 9 this evening, which is quite a bit for me.
Tomorrow should be a bit of relaxation; I hear there's a scavenger hunt in the afternoon.
This morning I'd planned to walk Mill Creek, as much as I was able. Google Maps shows it as a long greenway from Okanagan Lake to the Parkinson Recreation Park, but the local maps show it not at all.
The truth was somewhere in between. The first four or so blocks up from the Lake indeed had dirt and/or brick trails, but then it started disappearing into backyards and occasionally even going underground. I had a fun time playing find-the-creek for a few blocks more, but then finally turned back, cutting through downtown to the lakeside on the opposite side of our hotel, then walking back. It was around 3 miles all said and done: a good start to the day.
Though the landscape — with the brown and green hills surrounding a basin — reminds me of California, the neighborhoods reminded me more of Missouri. Very quiet streets, often with no sidewalks on sidewalk only on one side. Quaint old houses, but in remarkably good repair. (Three of them even had historic signs out front, talking about their construction in the 1930s, between the wars, and at least two of them were typical examples of the imaginatively named "cottage" architecture.)
You got closer to the main drag, and there were big apartment buildings, one after another, and looking like the apartments were very small. These were less quaint.
And there's a remarkable amount of construction going on in Kelowna. I think I saw four major construction projects while I was out this morning.
I'd said that the homeless problem in Kelowna didn't compare to Berkeley, and I now take that back. It's endemic. I thought a socialist state was supposed to not have these problems, but I saw dozens of homeless people out this morning while hiking around — sleeping across some of the Mill Creek paths and a bit later congregating under trees in various parks.
Most of them didn't have the predatory look of the couple in the park yesterday. But some do also look like drug users. The "needle disposal" at the exit to a park where I had to step around a homeless sleeper seems to underline the problem.
The difference between Kelowna and Berkeley is that the homeless aren't active panhandlers. I wonder if there are some laws that cause that difference.
The day itself was very busy. Lots more serious talk today, including some work I can actually help with (yay!). Afterward, I hung out for a few hours at a restaurant chatting with some developers who I'll be writing for. All around good, because it felt like getting stuff done, or at least moving toward the same.
But I was around people from about 9.30 this morning to 9 this evening, which is quite a bit for me.
Tomorrow should be a bit of relaxation; I hear there's a scavenger hunt in the afternoon.