Royally far from warm weather! My week in Prince George...

PRINCE GEORGE, BC
KELOWNA, BC

                    We hit the two-laned highway heading for Prince George the next morning and Brent’s road rage allowed us to make great time. We made a much-anticipated stop at Dairy Queen in Lake Williams for a shameless blizzard feast! DQs are everywhere in this country. Point for Canada! Only Brent would know exactly how many there are between Kelowna and Prince George. ..but I would guess no less than 15.
                   The 7 hour road trip came to an end when the signs for Prince George greeted us and I took my first gander at the town everyone had warned me about. Scott Rowan said I was making a huge mistake in leaving Kelowna for ‘PG’. His brother, Chris, said I would be the only person from NYC to ever visit PG. Brent’s friends sarcastically boasted that PG would be better than anything I saw while on my world trip. I had my expectations set low for this surprisingly sizeable town of 80k, which was great because they were immediately surpassed. There were beautiful public parks that were inviting of a picnic, a modern University with warnings of moose crossings and some immaculate soccer fields that gave me quite the adrenaline rush! It wasn’t long after we dumped our bags in his apartment that he was invaded with guests. I got to meet his dad and sister who live in the same apartment complex before we drove 2 miles down the road to see his mom. He was clearly missed over the past few weeks!


Home Sweet Home in PG

I really just went with the flow for the next 6 days in PG, which was great because it meant I didn't have to plan anything. I knew I'd have some heavy planning ahead in Europe so it was nice to just sit shotgun while Brent made all the decisions. Here are some highlights from PG:



Sunset on Lake Culculz

---Brent's cozy cabin on Lake Cluculz! The cold weather was a bust for any water activities but it was really fun to ride the quad through the woods, eat some Angus burgers and sit around the campfire with his parents. Brent's dad showed me how easy it was to burn plastic over the campfire. I was cringing just thinking about the damage to the ozone layer but figured they don't get much sun up here anyways. Haha. He was such a nice guy that I was able to look the other way. Plus he taught me how to eat sunflower seeds and gave me GREAT pointers for street fighting.


--Lunch at his friend Goose's restaurant called The Twisted Cork. Definitely a classy decor if you ever find yourself in need of some fine dining in PG. Nice work, Goose.
--Suffering from terrible pains in my chest due to the supposed poor air quality in PG. The air from the saw and pulp mills usually affect first-time visitors and I was no exception. It seemed like a great excuse for my poor running performance so I’m sticking with it.
-- Dinner with the whole Williams family! Brent's mom made a lovely meal complete with a moose pie dessert that would certainly justify any return trip I would make to PG in the future! When we left for the evening, his mom gave me some woolen mittens she had knitted herself! She was so talented with sewing, knitting...and making moose pies. I was truly touched. She was an absolute sweetheart and made me feel so comfortable. They all did! Oh and his mom, dad and sister all had nicknames too- A-hoy, Mitty, and Woop. Thank you to the entire Williams family for a great time!
--I was able to help Brent’s dad in setting up his new computer and transferring his old files. I turned into a super IT dork pretty quickly but it felt good to be useful! I had been taking it pretty easy so it was good to keep my mind sharp. His dad treated me to some Chinese for lunch. How did he know the perfect form of payment for my services??


Bud Camp with Brent and Stacker

--Lunch with Rambo. I started talking about my job at UBS. They were so intrigued by my daily responsibilities and I was surprised how little I had talked about them since I left my job 6 months ago. It was a completely different world to them….as theirs was to me. I had no idea what the ins and outs were for Brent as an insurance broker or for Rambo as a car dealership owner. They were convinced that I could give them stock tips and make them millions- silly boys.--Impressing PGers with my Boston accent. We met Brent’s friend, Stacker, who’s a rep for Budweiser and was hosting ‘Bud Camp’ at Shooters downtown. The Bud Light Limes were ‘flowing like wine’ and I had a really fun time meeting more of Brent’s friends, all of whom wanted to hear me recite lines from Good Will Hunting.



          We headed back to HOT Kelowna where Brent's friend, Donna, hosted us for a few days. She had an excellent two bedroom apartment in an apartment complex consisting of 6 different buildings surrounded by a pool and beach volleyball court. Here are some highlights from my time there:





Ladies of Kelowna, it's my pleasure to introduce Mr. Chris Rowan

--Drinks with Kelowna’s newest and most eligible bachelor, Chris Rowan. I had met Chris once in NYC when he came to visit his brother (and my good friend), Scott. We had some drinks by the water and enjoyed the hot Kelowna weather. 






Brent hoolahooping in Peachland

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Visiting a nearby town called Peachland. Trust me, it’s as lovely as it sounds! We met up with Stacker who was on vacation with his family and they hosted a wonderful bbq.
--Falling asleep on the nearby beaches of Kelowna. It's tough going to the beach alone though. I had to ask some random mom to watch my purse while I went in the water.
--Organizing a beach volleyball game within Donna's apartment building! I felt like a kid again just walking up to strangers my age and asking, “Will you play with me?” I was disappointed to get shot down by every girl I asked though. I had recruited 7 guys so we had plenty of people but I wanted some girls to play too! Regardless, we had a REALLY fun time! I’m really liking beach volleyball in Canada!