Penticton, BC
Penticton, British Columbia, was a real surprise.
Now, I was aware that this town was home to a number of world-class events—including Ironman Canada that Lisa swam 2.4 miles in—but other than that I knew nothing about this town. So just looking around after arriving here was an eye-opening experience. For one thing, the stereotype of Canada being one cold, unpopulated piece of tundra did not apply here.
Here is a list of things that surprised me:
- There are beaches! The ones in Penticton are by two large lakes—Lake Okanagan and Lake Skaha.
- It can get very warm in the summer. Temperatures routinely hit 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius).
- This place gets even less rain than my hometown of Fort Collins: only 12 inches (305 millimeters). Unfortunately it shows—the hills are rather dry and brown.
- There are wineries here (supposedly, even world-class ones)! In fact, there are 88 within a one-hour drive. One of the locals claimed there are more wineries here than Napa Valley.
- Downtown is cute, clean, and walkable with a good mix of restaurants.
Lisa and I had a decent Indian lunch here, and the next day ran/walked part of the Ironman run course (about seven miles) including a good stretch on Main Street.
Unfortunately, we could not stay here during the nights due to Penticton’s woefully inadequate supply of lodging, but what can you expect from a small town of 32,000 people?
Apparently, a lot!
![Penticton is a town in south-central British Columbia with a cute downtown.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/p/penticton0807.jpg)
![Of course, Lisa came to participate in Ironman Canada!](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/p/penticton0807-1.jpg)
![The day before the race we went for a swim in Lake Okanagan. The water was a comfortable temperature to swim in without a wetsuit (at least for half an hour).](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/p/penticton0807-2.jpg)
![Another shot of downtown.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/p/penticton0807-3.jpg)
![We went running, and came across this sign. Since I am more brain-injured than Lisa, I was the one to pose with it for this photo.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/p/penticton0807-4.jpg)
![Another funny sign!](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/p/penticton0807-5.jpg)
![This is Skaha Lake, which the run (and the bike) of Ironman Canada goes by.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/p/penticton0807-6.jpg)
![Skaha Lake again.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/images/p/penticton0807-7.jpg)
![I guess Mighty Mouse was doing Ironman Canada too.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/p/penticton0807-8.jpg)
![Lisa after checking out the expo.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/p/penticton0807-9.jpg)