June 27 & July 6 - Penticton & Golden, BC

Our day in Penticton was one of contrasts. The walk was on a relatively smooth path around the lakeshore, and although my cane glided easily across the pavement, the wind made the walking itself not so easy going. I always find that noise is a distraction to my concentration. On June 27, the sounds of summer at the lake were in full swing and the gusty wind both muffled and increased the cacophony of sound. It wasn’t a very relaxing walk.

Lyle and I celebrated Canada Day in Osoyoos with our daughter and son-in-law. It was a lovely week, and I was sorry to see it end.  However, end it did and we moved on to Golden for my last walk in British Columbia.

Truthfully, I hadn’t expected anyone else to join us for this walk, so I was surprised and immensely pleased when Dale and Sharon pulled up into the parking lot beside us. Sharon had heard about the walks through a cnib contact from Kamloops and so, there they were!

Instead of the short walk that I had thought of originally, Dale and Sharon led us on the most perfect guided walking tour of Golden. They had both lived their entire lives in town and so were wonderful and informative tour guides. They pointed out many of the regular tourist attractions, especially the Big 7 Mountain, as well as some of the challenges that Sharon encountered on her independent white cane walks in the downtown area. We also stopped in at the Golden Star, the local newspaper. Our tour complete, Dale treated us all to lunch at a local restaurant.

Thanks to Dale and Sharon for a great morning and a marvellous wrap up to the BC portion of the White Cane Connections Walks.

The picture below shows Sharon and myself in the spirit Square in Golden where we had stopped to “smell the roses” along the way.