Bed and Breakfast a Great Way to Go

Hi: 

Well, the Okanagan is certainly busy this summer.  We had quite an experience a couple of years ago arriving in Kelowna just hoping to find a hotel or motel.  No such luck, and we ended up a dirt road in a cabin with no electricity and depending on a bachelor stag party to feed us as we had no food. That is another story, but I booked before we went this time, going online and calling.  Almost every place was full, but we did find a small bed and breakfast, and what a find it was.

Run by a French couple who live part of the year in Osooyoos, part in Arizona and part of the time in Paris, the greatest enjoyment of B&Bing is the people you meet. It was our French weekend, because, accidentally, we met other friends with their French friend at a Peachland coffee shop. The B & B also had two French couples staying with them, understandably because they were listed in a travel guide. The French speak much better English than the other way around. As well a retired professor from UBC, and his wife, shared their stories.

What was so great?  Besides the excellent food, it was the sharing of stories, of life, over our long-by-choice breakfasts.  When would we ever get to talk to an Irish literature expert, author of 13 books, or a French airline pilot, an electrical engineer from Quebec, a drug and alchohol program coordinator and a French fabric expert.  We learned of their excellent Canadian adventures and the next steps of their journeys, what they do for a living and for fun and how and where they plan to retire.

Of course we talked about their retirement decisions. The B&B owners have designed a great life for themselves, working around six months at their home in Osoyoos and then taking off for five months in Paris this year; other years they spend much of the winter in Arizona.  The French couple are considering retirement in the south of France or Morocco and the Irish couple have a home in Ireland as well. 

The theme for retirement for these folks was more than one home, and moderate travel.  Certainly B&B's have some drawbacks, but what I really remember is the human connections.  It made for a fun weekend, and gave us yet more ideas.

 M.