Observatory B & B

It has been a while since I have posted about nice people, not because I've not met any but because I've been giving the cards to very similar people.  There are people I've chatted with on the Ferry trips, friendly waitresses, people who hold open doors for others and pick up dropped items for strangers etc.  Lots of little things that strangers do have made me feel good and remember what a nice world we live in.

In a few days I will be giving a card to some special people, Jack and Alice Newton in Osoyoos B.C.  They share their home as a B & B, located high above the Okanagan Valley.  The highlight of staying there is Jack's observatory at the top of the building.  Every evening all the guests are invited to visit the observatory to look at the stars.  In the morning they look at the sun.  Jack and Alice are funny, charming, friendly people who happily share their love of the stars.

Several Years ago the Greater Victoria Police Chorus gave me a weekend at the B & B.  I arrived with my daughter in the late afternoon and we were met by Jack and Alice.  Their greeting was so warm and sincere it almost felt like coming  home. Our room was perfect and the view of the valley below, spectacular!  We headed back into the town below for dinner and arrived back at the B & B in plenty of time to sit on our patio and enjoy the sunset.  When it began to get dark, which was fairly late as we were there on the longest day of the year,  we were invited upstairs to the telescope.  We had paid a bit extra for a more comprehensive tour and an opportunity to actually operate the telescope after the other guests joined us.  We were also given a CD of the star and galaxy photos that were taken during the evening. 
The next morning we had lovely breakfast and interesting conversations with all the other guests in the dining room.  Because we were staying for two nights we spent the day exploring the area and just relaxing on our patio.  That night we again had the opportunity to look at the stars.  Travel time concerns meant we had to leave before breakfast the next morning but Alice kindly packed a breakfast for us to take with us.  I've not managed to stay there since but  several years later my daughter did and said it was still a wonderful place to be.

I wanted to include a picture of the Observatory B & B but have not found them  I'll keep trying!  Managed to find a picture of the sunrise view from our B & B patio. 

Wow , it has been a long time since I've posted stories of my travels and the cards I give to nice people.

I've continued to give  the cards it is just that I've been too busy to write in the Blog.  I've done many more road trips and cruises and met many more wonderful people.  Some , like the lady from Florida who  I met on a cruise, I've become long distance friends with.

Some of the highlights of the past few years have been:

My wonderful daughter moving back to Victoria with her fiancee and buying a house only 7 minutes away from us, the birth of my funny, charming wonderful grandson and my daughters wedding.  Other family members have had babies too so the family  is growing rapidly.  My best friend has also become a grandmother to a lovely baby girl and her other daughter is expecting a girl within a month.  I consider them family.

More road trips that I will mention in more detail later.

For a week I traveled ( and worked) with the Greater Victoria Police Chorus through the Okanagan Valley.  We performed six concerts and raised thousands of dollars for churches and charities.  I was an incredibly fun experience.

I'm having a great time making my eggshell decorations and am meeting many wonderful people.  Perhaps, if I can figure out how, I will post some of the pictures of the eggshells.

For now I will just post some random pictures of the past few years.  Ooops...no I won't, at least not until I can figure out how to post them from Iphoto .