So here I am on a long weekend. It would be nice if I could spend this time relaxing, or perhaps doing something sporting. As it is, I'm attending a discussion group in inorganic chemistry (by professorial edict) among the universities of Alberta and British Columbia at the University of British Columbia - Okanagan in Kelowna, BC. It's nice to be out and about, though having to drive nearly 400 miles means today has been a long one. Please excuse any spelling mistakes you may find to the bottles of Alexander Keith I am currently consuming.
The scenery on the way here has been stunning. Calgary-Canmore-Banff-Lake Louise on the Trans Canada highway is scenic enough, but that's barely 2 hours drive. Adding another five more hours of the same sort of thing makes for enough of a distraction to ignore the really sore back you get for sitting rigidly upright for that length of time. It was never a dull trip. A dark blue SUV (no saving the planet on our watch) with five people in means we can pass the time in good humour, and observe several mentalist drivers engaging in crazy overtaking acts on mountain passes. We even listened to a whole Coldplay album without committing mass hara-kiri.
Accommodations are splendid (photos to follow when I have my camera-to-computer cable to hand back in Cowtown), $45 per person per night puts to shame several other conference accommodations I have slept in (yes, University of York, with your scalding showers and bathrooms opening into kitchens, I looking at you) and the campus is also pretty nice. We've had a brief trip into Kelowna itself to do some food shopping (and a visit to Liquor Depot....) and it seems a pretty nice place. It's one of the most expensive places to live in all of Canada. The Okanagan valley takes its name from the eponymous lake, and is green and fertile. Driving through the northern part in particular reminded me very much of the English countryside. lots of livestock farming. The southern parts of the valley are renowned for their vineyards and wineries due to the temperate (by Canadian standards) climate. Is there any coincidence this is where 100+ chemists are gathered? I think you know the answer to that.....
The scenery on the way here has been stunning. Calgary-Canmore-Banff-Lake Louise on the Trans Canada highway is scenic enough, but that's barely 2 hours drive. Adding another five more hours of the same sort of thing makes for enough of a distraction to ignore the really sore back you get for sitting rigidly upright for that length of time. It was never a dull trip. A dark blue SUV (no saving the planet on our watch) with five people in means we can pass the time in good humour, and observe several mentalist drivers engaging in crazy overtaking acts on mountain passes. We even listened to a whole Coldplay album without committing mass hara-kiri.
Accommodations are splendid (photos to follow when I have my camera-to-computer cable to hand back in Cowtown), $45 per person per night puts to shame several other conference accommodations I have slept in (yes, University of York, with your scalding showers and bathrooms opening into kitchens, I looking at you) and the campus is also pretty nice. We've had a brief trip into Kelowna itself to do some food shopping (and a visit to Liquor Depot....) and it seems a pretty nice place. It's one of the most expensive places to live in all of Canada. The Okanagan valley takes its name from the eponymous lake, and is green and fertile. Driving through the northern part in particular reminded me very much of the English countryside. lots of livestock farming. The southern parts of the valley are renowned for their vineyards and wineries due to the temperate (by Canadian standards) climate. Is there any coincidence this is where 100+ chemists are gathered? I think you know the answer to that.....
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