Kelowna

Kelowna is by all accounts a pretty sleepy city of about 120,000 residents in the middle of the Okanagan Valley in Southern Central BC. It is situated on the banks of Lake Okanagan and is joined to the city of Westbank on the opposite side by a floating bridge. It is fast growing as a retirement destination as it has a generally warmer drier climate for three seasons than the coast, although the winters are colder. Familes are also moving this way from Vancouver for the slower pace of life and considerably more affordable real estate.

RE/MAX hosted a training course at the Grand Okanagan Resort Hotel which is situated right on the waterfront of Lake Okanagan, on the edge of downtown Kelowna. RE/MAX Western Canada's headquarters are based in Kelowna hence the training is held in this city too.

This is the Grand Okanagan Resort Hotel

Below is a view of Waterfront Park, which runs between the 'downtown' area (use the term loosly) and the lake.

The photo above shows the sandy beach at Waterfront Park, with the floating bridge in the background. The image below shows a closer view of the bridge.
Below is the 'downtown' area of Kelowna. It's a sleepy little town which appears to pretty much close at about 6pm ! However, parking is free and you can take a pick of the spaces !

The photo above shows the marina, with the Grand Okanagan Hotel in the background. Below is another view of the marina.
Another view of the Grand Okanagan Hotel from across the lake.
More views of the lake and surrounding countryside.

Driving to Kelowna

A somewhat belated post....... In April I has required to attend a training course at the RE/MAX Western Canada headquarters in Kelowna. Although it's about a 5 hour drive from Vancouver it was more accessible for me than other members of the course as the Kelowna division covers as far afield as Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The next post will show a few pics from Kelowna itself, but this is just a few snaps of the scenic drive. The drive is also helped by big good quality roads and hardly any traffic !