July 24th 2006:
My father and I on a nice picture taken by my sister.
The orchard's owners.
Well, after 10 days spent picking cherries, I'm once again workless. If
I was alone, I'd probably be heading south right away, but my family
still wants to stay in British Columbia to work a little more. So we
are faced with a very difficult choice. Do we stay in Oliver to pick up
more cherries in another orchard or do we head north to Kelowna and
work from orchard to orchard OR try to do the highest road in all
Canada and go to Creston to pick up yet more cherries. What choice did
you think I made? You'll see if I managed to convince the rest of my
family to try to beat the highest road in all Canada.
Young prune, peach, cherry and pear orchards.
Me picking out cherries.
Aside from my future plans, picking cherries here was a pleasant
experience. We worked in two orchards: Jornal and Thorps. For a while
we thought we actually were in Quebec, fifty years ago. Everyone speaks
french until one of the owner comes into the orchard and everyone
instantly shifts to english. What's more, we're actually under-paid!!!
However, as fun as this experience can be, I can't help but feel the
road call to me once again. My departure's already been delayed by a
month. Of course, since I'll be rolling alone for the first month, I'll
be able to catch up on my schedule, but to see my bike every morning
and being forced to leave it there as I pick cherries up is tough on me.
My sister, hiding amongst the cherry trees.
Nice harvest wouldn't you think?
Already 1036 km. Not bad for someone who's supposed to be resting. Well
then, see you next time, in Creston I hope, otherwise it'll be Kelowna.
