The Lost Glamour of Munson Mountain

If you've ever driven down highway '97, you can't miss Munson Mountain, it's the little mountain next to Okanagan Lake with PENTICTON spelled out in big white letters a la the Hollywood sign. I'm totally ashamed that I've been up only a few times in my life despite having driven past it countless times on my way home. Most tourists cruise past this little jewel as well, with the lure of free wine tasting just around the corner!  Well, one afternoon we stopped and walked the short distance to the top. Under-appreciated Munson mountain needs it's glamour restored!

Penticton from the top. During the summer months, 

teenagers and tourists gather at dusk to watch the sunset.

This humble little mountain has an interesting history. Firstly, the land was donated to the city of Penticton by J.R. Munson, hence the name. Secondly, the mountain is the remains of an ancient volcano. A volcano! In Penticton! Who knew? What's more, it's the remains of not one, but TWO! volcanic cones.

Up until 1974, the view up the valley from this mountain was on the back of the Canadian $100 bill. (Way back in 1974, when hundred dollar bills were actually worth something!) (Interesting side-note: My parents bought a house in Naramata in 1973  for $4,500.)

That $100 dollar view up the lake, looking towards Kelowna. 

Naramata is on the right, Summerland on the left.

I "borrowed" this picture, as I have none of the actual letters....yet! 

(To be replaced at a later date!)

The letters were originally placed up there in 1937 to create a landmark for Penticton. When I was a kid the sign was made of thousands of tiny white silica rocks, but the sign was upgraded to poured concrete letters with embedded silica in 1998. It is, and has always been, maintained by volunteer groups from Penticton, notably the Jaycees, the Rotary Club and the Boy scouts.

View from the top, Munson is surrounded by wineries, vineyards and orchards.

A few deer also live on and around the mountain. The day we visited we saw one doe just under the Penticton sign, and last week I saw three deer grazing on the back slope next to the road - which is why I hope the proposal to build an amphitheater up on top doesn't come to fruition. I like the idea of keeping this mini ancient volcano as pristine as possible.

A recent commercial, which got mass airtime during the Winter Olympics, features Kim Catrall of "Sex ad the City" fame raising a glass of white and smoothly delivering a single word, "Sophisticated", with Munson Mountain in the background. Thanks Kim! Glamour! That's what I'm talking about!

Golden Games!

We did it! Every hope and dream of every Canadian came true on Sunday afternoon! We won the gold medal that everyone wanted more than any other, proving again that hockey is Canada's sport!

Knowing that downtown was going to be crazy, a lot of my friends opted to stay home, but I love crowds and hopped the first bus downtown to join the revelers. 

The party started on the Skytrain, when the excited passengers spontaneously broke into the national anthem and sang it all the way downtown. 

Exiting the station at Granville, the escalators were a constant stream of beaming faces high-five-ing each other on the way up and down. 

"We did it!" 

"Gold baby! GOLD!"

"CA-NA-DA!" 

A group of hockey fans with drums and horns led a mini parade all the way out onto Granville. Tonight was a night to let go and make some noise!

Robson and Granville was awash in red and white! The red hockey jersey was a must and a Canadian flag hanging off of hockey stick was the accessory du jour.  The celebration ran several blocks in every direction. Music! Dancing! Singing! Street hockey! Molson Canadian! 

Meanwhile, police were out in full force, many of them armed with cameras, and high-five-in' the revelers! (For a completely different and party pooper outlook check out this article from Time Magazine.)

This guy was in high demand for pics. 

The whole family out to celebrate!

 I'm loving Vancouver's multi-ethnic profile.

Feeling the Olympic Love. 

(Is that Scott Thirlwell about to kiss that girl?)

Sidney Crosby for Prime minister!

He's not inflatable and he's missing a foot, 

but this beaver has Olympic swagger, and a beer!

More PDA's!

They'll be feeling it tomorrow!

All in all, the downtown core was one big happy family. I was hugged by many and was  kissed on the cheeks by strangers. Police were dumping out cans of beer which appeared to belong to minors, but nothing took place except good fun in my vicinity.

Getting back on the Skytrain I met a Russian reporter wrapping up his coverage of the Olympics and clutching his parting Olympic gift box. "What I really hope is that we can follow Vancouver and unite our country like Canadians have managed to do during these games". 

I hope so too! We'll all be watching Sochi!

Day 29:Olympic Fever!!

Vancouverites are happiest when they're complaining. The weather, taxes, and how much they hate the premier of the province, Gordon Campbell. (Ironically, when I last lived in BC 5 years ago, there was a massive push to recall the election and have him ousted. Five years later, I'm passing posters along the street calling him Gordon "Scambell" and demanding they recall the election and have him ousted.)

The Vancouver Sun published bits and pieces of a 120 page protocol document published by the much reviled VANOC which encouraged people to "wear socks that match your pants, "to "smile gently and with sincerity, (but not too much!)", and to approach foreigners on the street and introduce yourself if you speak their language. 

This lead one guy to twitter, "My socks don't match. Am I still world class?" 

So the Olympics are an easy target, money is going out, and there's no guarantee money will be coming in. The Cowichan sweaters were not made by Cowichan Indians but rather in the USA, and the bouquet the winning athletes receive on the podium will have no flowers grown in BC, but rather Equador, (can you say carbon footprint?). 

But the fact is, the Olympics are here and there's nothing you can do about it now! You might not like it, but you may as well jump in, it's only ever going to happen here once. And that's what most Vancouverites are doing.

So yesterday when we heard the torch relay was going to pass by our school, we wondered if we'd be let out to watch. We were! 

It was grey and drizzly, and I only had my old crappy camera, but this is what I got. 

Easy to see us! We're all in white chef's jackets.

The Korean schoolgirl in front is sporting the coveted 

"red olympic mittens". Is the weather cold enough for mittens? No!

Is it warm enough for schoolgirl miniskirts? No!

Stories about the security for the games are already circulating. 

Tomorrow, spectators for the opening ceremonies must arrive 

at least 5 hours in advance!

The official Olympic Dogs.

Here is the van that carries the torch bearers and the extra flames, 

just in case the Vancouver drizzle puts one out. 

And there she is! (I have no idea who this woman is).

You can see a few of my classmates here, and the flame being 

passed from one torch to another in the center. 

The ladies hugged each other, 

posed for a few photos, and the new one was off with her flame!

The flame then wound its way up to my neighborhood, and passed by Riley Park where Trevor Lindon took over. There was also a rumor that Arnold Schwarzenegger will be running today. 

So the final buzz is all about the lighting of the caldron. Now that Wayne Gretzky has run, many people are disappointed, he was definitely the favorite in the running. 

Nothing about food today. Fish, fish and more fish. Processed two trout and a salmon today. While my filleting skills are improving, I'm so sick of looking at these.