WE GOTTA WAY!

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First of all - Happy Happy Birthday to our brother Dave! Though you celebrate your day on April 1st, you are nobody's fool.

Usually by April we have been camping several times, but this year has been one hectic week after another without a break. After having to forego our Spring Break getaway, I pounced on this opportunity when Miles breathed the the suggestion we might manage a night away locally this weekend. I knew for 'pretty sure' by Wednesday night and Thursday was spent in serious preparation of our van. On that evening our house looked like a disaster area while our 'home on wheels' was pristine and packed to the roof with goodies. We even brought goodies from our new Buy Low Store in town, which had its Grand Opening that day too! The new store could have been plopped down here from the largest of cities - such as it is with a state of the art building and bakery and deli and...well, you get the picture. No more having to drive to Penticton or Kelowna for exotic foods and ingredients.

Friday morning dawned rainy, cloudy, wet. I looked out at the towels dripping on the clothesline and firmed my resolve further. I took care of all the last minute preperations. Miles had a meeting to attend and then we were finally off. We had no problems crossing the border and soon were enjoying the scenery along the road to Palmer Lake, as it winds its way along the Similkameen River. The hills are greening up and the weather began to break as we headed east, past hoodoos and old mine sites. We were pleasantly surprised at Palmer Lake, to find we were the only campers there and the sites had all undergone a sprucing up.

We unpacked our bikes and took a bikeride to the lake's end. We spent some time in the fresh air and Miles cracked that huge rock open. He was a bit tired out after that. (well it is April 1st!) We even indulged in an afternoon nap. Dinner was something our tastebuds had been anticipating for quite some time - fire grilled steak! We sat at the fire till it died down, listening to the quietude of this special place. There are only about 20 houses along the lake, no stores of any kind. Birds foraging, Owls hooting, the water lapping at the pebbled shore...these are the sounds of Palmer Lake.

We did watch King Kong too...(us both, hey Gina? 'cept I don't know how you could have fallen asleep in this movie!!!) and when it was over we were amazed to find it was 2 a.m.

We dropped into an open house for our friend Val today, who passed from cancer - that was difficult.

Hope you all have a good weekend!