Since I've been here two days now, I feel compelled to write a bit about Kelowna. How would I best describe it? I've given my own opinions on the matter way too much. Let me quote a few others, regarding K-town:

"You won't like it much. It's just like here.." (a family friend from Vermont)

"It's beautiful!." (a collegiate friend)

"Yeah, It reminds me of Fort Louderdale..." (intercepted sidewalk cell-phone conversation on Water St. with Canadian pronunciation emphasized)

So there you have it, then. Three points that patch the pastiche. I need speak no more. But I will anyway, since college professors always docked me points for not elaborating.

At 100,000 folks, the town of Kelowna positively dwarfs the town of Plattsburgh, NY, of which I grew up nearby. Kelowna's experiencing something of a population explosion, having more than doublled in the last 30 years. It is also a textbook example of sprawl. Amazingly, anything you could potentially find interesting about the town has filtered towards the waterfront, leaving grid structured strip malls and car dealerships in an almost endless chain to the west. To say this area is conservative is a bit of an understatement. But at least it's not a wild-west conservative.

There are, nonetheless, familiar similarities. In comparison to Plattsburgh, both place their cobblestones in appropriate places and like to throw waterfront festivals upon them. Both attract a sizable retirement population. Perhaps the only major difference is the climate. Jackie, the local in the previous entry, informed me that K-town has it's fair share of what are regionally called "snowbirds", those residents that spend their summers here in dry hot Kelowna and spend the winters south in Arizona. I cannot imagine such a lifestyle. I would think that you'd get up one morning and regard the sun the way you regard that incessant pop sensation that just won't go away.

One highly unusual trend, from at least a half-dozen residents I've seen, is wearing clothing that says "Miami" on it. Perhaps this is why the cell-phone guy thought he was in Fort Louderdale, for I can see very little resemblance otherwise. Then again, I imagine that some in Kelowna would not mind the attention such a moniker would bring. I get the impression that tourism is a long-standing way of life here, with Ogopogo just one of many pickles in the barrel. Indeed, the summer temperatures often resemble those of Miami, and I daresay this town, despite being way out in the desert mountains, is somehow more cosmopolitan than Southern Florida.

I'm going to shorten this a bit, to get a start on the day, however I must admit now I have another reason to dislike Alan Jackson, country star extraordinaire. His popularity in the region so swamped the accomodations that even the hostel I was in the night previous was full, along with all of Kelowna. Hit with frustration, I began to hang out with some roadies who'd hitchiked from Montreal, and enjoyed some half-english, half-french conversation at the beach, before we were told that the park was closed. I had to stealthily grab the hostel couch for the evening. Tried not to be upset at the sound of American males trying to out-male each other in the lobby, through various gestures of yells and movie-inspired insults. Damn you, Alan Jackson. Damn you to a special hell where everyone who wore cowboy boots in life must wear pink bunny slippers for eternity. Bastard..

This might be a good time to mention that I'm already enjoying some of the finer appreciations of travel - those seemingly unconscious meditations like being able to know just what your stomach needs, being able to rest heavy or light depending on what you need, being able to develop new social personalities. This is great, and I can tell it's going to get even better.

P.S. - After some reading in the Kelowna Library, I'm struck with the realization that there is a Watson in the annals of lake-monster history. Apparently, Major J. Curtis Watson of Victoria attempted to rid the sea of "Caddy", the menacing creature by setting lines in a bid to trap it. Unsuccessful of course. I knew it! I knew there was a reason the Watson folk sent me on this mission!

P.P.S - Sorry for the delay in posts. Kelowna downtown doesn't have many iCafe's and in addition, internet access was out citywide for 2 days due to the rampaging wildfires north of here. BC needs some rain! Do some dances!