Seems like yesterday that we touched down here in Kelowna, and yet, here we are already preparing to blast off back to Australia. In reality we’ve been back almost 7 weeks – longer than we had anticipated but there were a few, er, shall we say, unexpected “curve balls” put in our path. Expecting simply to come back and have a relaxing month with our children, friends, and of course our adorable new granddaughter, things didn’t go quite exactly as planned.
Two days after arriving I came down with Covid ( a mild dose ) and two days after that Lois got it from me ( she unfortunately being sicker, for longer ). Needless to say that eliminated any further immediate one on one time with our new baby – with isolation, followed by masking (after the RAT tests showed negative ) we lost about 2 weeks all told. Fine, we thought – having successfully dodged it for 3 years while half the world had gotten it we knew it would come our way sooner or later and at least we had it in the comfort of our own home. Well, almost all of it while at home. Lois was still in the final days of testing negative when another calamity struck – we were caught up in the Kelowna fires and evacuated from our house for a week ! Did someone break a mirror ? Fortunately our home ( and most others in Kelowna ) survived the fire scare but it was a frightening disruption we certainly did not need. Our thoughts were very much with those that lost homes and of course, our eternal thanks to our amazing firefighters ! A special shoutout to the friends and family that took us in for the evacuation days ( Sue, Mark, and Jackie – thank you ! ) – thankfully we emerged unscathed. Nothing like an evacuation order at 10.30 pm to throw your erstwhile tranquil life into complete chaos !
With our precious baby time cut short we made the obvious decision to extend our stay and have enjoyed every minute. Freed of the shackles of Covid infections, not only could we enjoy every minute of grandparent time but we were also free to join family and old friends/colleagues and enjoy our Okanagan summer – even if it was rather smokey from the residual effects of the fires. We’ll miss our little Hadley greatly but have sworn that future trips home will be more frequent, even if a bit shorter in duration.
There’s been no travel here in Canada to speak of but we are truly excited to be getting back in our rig and to exploring the remaining parts of Australia which we expect will take us well into 2024. Western Queensland, the NSW coast, some detours into western NSW and on to the many parts of Victoria we’ve not yet seen, before travelling to Tasmania in the New Year should fill out our itinerary nicely.
Till next week…..
I was thinking of you guys during the fires on our side of the lake. So glad to hear that your house is okay. So sorry to hear that you guys got COVID! What a welcome home that was. I adore your beautiful little grandbaby
Safe travels and I look forward to your blogs as you travel into the area that my son, daughter-in-law and grandsons live now. They are in Carrara, Queensland. We haven’t been to visit them yet but are planning for 2025.
Hi Maureen ( Lois here ! ),
So nice to hear from you and thank you for the kind words. We just looked on a map to see where Carrara is and notice it is in the Gold Coast hinterland. Nowhere near us now but we will likely pass through that area in a month or so. Are you coming out to visit?
Cheers,
Lois
We’re happy to hear you had a safe trip back to Oz. Enjoy your travels in the Homeland. We will look forward to your weekly updates. Still waiting to hear when I’ll get my knee surgery.
Thanks Charlie- great to chat with you guys while back. I hope your knee surgery happens soon ! Fingers crossed !
Jeff, it was wonderful to see you both. Thank you for the wonderful dinner!
Safe travels!
Scott & Kim
And great to connect with both of you, too. Look forward to hearing all about the wedding !
No one does adventuring like you!
Lol ! Actually, there are many who are much more adventurous than us !!!!
Hi! We saw you Sunday morning in Miles NSW. Enjoy your travels. Also, we have a Hadley too but she’s 8 next month.
Hi Amy,
Thanks for the note, but I’m guessing you mean Miles in Queensland ? We have not been back into NSW since we returned. We are certainly enjoying being back !!!
Haha, yes QLD sorry. It was our first night stop over on our way up to Airlie Beach. I took a photo of your van to check out the plate (curious as to where you were from with the left hand drive) as we were behind you and stumbled upon your blog. Enjoy your travels!
Ah, I figured as much, it’s often how folks find us 😊😊😊. Safe travels as well and keep in touch!