We slept in the car – slept well too. It was a good spot to camp up, even tho’ we’d come upon it quite by chance. It was right next to Lake Okanagan, at a public beach area, so we were even able to eat our breakfast at a picnic table. After that, we drove back to the main town, + found a supermarket. Next stop was the library, and by consulting the local paper we were able to get 3 phone nos. of people requiring pickers, tho’ 2 of them said call evenings – 1 wasn’t in. Nonetheless, our hopes were fairly high, tho’ we were making a conscious effort not to be too optimistic + make plans for the immediate future which would only come crashing down. We had some coffee, + then drove out to a tourist centre just west of the city to get some information – however, it was closed for the weekend. We strolled over to a nearby marina, + sat there for a while, vaguely hoping that someone might offer to take us out on the lake – it was really hot – but nothing came of that, so we drove back to the beach where we’d camped + spent the afternoon there.
It was very pleasant – we lay in the sun, frying lightly in Nivea, ate lunch, read. Val even went out for a swim – the water really wasn’t very cold, but it wasn’t my sort of water (nothing to do) so I didn’t bother to get my shorts wet. At about 4, we drove to a local shopping centre, where I bought 4 beers + was delighted to be able to watch Borg thrash Connors in the semi of the US Open. Then decided to call the nos. again + came up trumps on the first one – the woman wanted us out there. So we tidied up + drove out there.
The farmer + his wife were a funny couple, both talking 19 to the dozen + saying nothing, but we were hired, + their young son showed us where to camp. A beautiful spot, overlooking the lake. We pitched the tent, introduced ourselves to our neighbours, built a fireplace, made a fire, cooked hot dogs – delicious. Tony, our Aussie/Canadian neighbour came over. We drank beer (his) + chatted.
And so we are back to regular work again, and a base for a time, albeit a tent. I don’t think there is any reference to it here, but I am sure the reason we looked in the local paper was advice from our hitch-hikers the day before; this was one of the centres of apple-growing, with plenty of opportunities for work as a picker.
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