Okanagan Woman Magazine

Saturday, January 3, 2015

A Christmas Runner


You may recall that last winter this editor did a runner -- to the island of Maui for 60 days of tropical sunshine and ocean bliss.

This winter I’m on the run again.  My husband/ driver and I plan to wander semi-aimlessly, via the Oregon Coast, Southern California, Northern Baja, Arizona, Nevada, and home again. 

I admire those who can stick out a Canadian winter without complaint, who look forward to opening day at the ski hill.  And, truthfully, I do love that first blanket of snow, the glistening of sunlight on snowflakes.  It is magical. 

But I have a yearning to revisit San Diego and kayak in La Jolla Bay. I want to snorkel in the Northern Baja. I want to see the Grand Canyon for myself.  When I visit Joshua Tree National Park in California, I will finally understand what U2 meant in their song of the same name. My husband wants to spend a day at the Barrett Jackson Collector Car auction in Scottsdale – just because he’s a guy and they like that kind of stuff.

Last year, I blogged about our winter adventure and this year, I will do the same; you can follow along on Okanagan Woman’s website, under TRAVEL BLOG on the top right of the page. 

In this issue, freelancer, Dona Sturmanis, brings us the story of some outstanding elite women athletes. We wanted to tell you about even more women athletes, so when we ran out of space in the print magazine, we thanked our lucky stars for modern technology and unlimited space online.  Check out our website to read about more of the Okanagan’s inspiring winter athletes. 

This Winter issue takes us right through the New Year and Valentine’s Day, which is why regular contributor, Shannon Linden, went on a search for stories about love reunited.  She found two couples who had rediscovered love after years apart!   

World traveller, Patti Shales Lefkos, submitted a story of her own incredible journey of caring and community spirit– to Kathmandu.  It’s a story written by an Okanagan woman about an Okanagan woman who had help from an Okanagan teacher and her students, who raised funds for a school in Nepal.  Whew, that was a long sentence – and it’s a great story!

We have included our Health and Wellness Guide to the back of this Winter issue. It begins on page 41 and there you will find listings of area services and other useful information.  I encourage you to keep this issue handy issue for future reference.

Well, my friends, I bid you adieu, as I am off to pack for our winter travels.  Ah, semi-retirement, that’s where it’s at for this Okanagan Woman! 

Did I mention that late next spring we are driving across Canada? It has occurred to us that succession planning may be in order.  How else can we find time for all our road trips?