Lost in East Kelowna

After one of our softball games we all went to Ron Robinson’s place for a buffet and a wee bit of a party.  I didn’t have anything to drink because I was driving so settled for coke.  It was a great party and around 1 in the morning I decided it was time to head home.

Ron told me that there was a shortcut so I didn’t have to backtrack all the way through town and then out to Rutland.  Ron and Wendy lived in the Mission area, just a short distance from Benvoulin Road.

He gave me directions and in the dark of night I took off and followed his directions to the bridge and turned right instead of left.  For the next few hours I wandered from one road to the other but could not find my way out of East Kelowna.

The area is an agricultural area with lots of farms and a myriad of little roads that seemed to go nowhere.  Finally I pulled over near a house and turned the car off.  I locked all the doors and fell asleep for a little while.

When I woke up it was only five am and I didn’t dare knock on anyone’s door so with the early light of dawn I took off and went up to the next intersection and turned right towards what I hoped would lead me to Rutland.

I just kept driving on this path and finally came to Hollywood Road.  I could have shouted for joy if I weren’t so damned tired!  I got on Hollywood and just stayed on it until I came to Springfield…not lost anymore!!!  I turned right and up the hill to Hwy 33 and right again until I came to Loseth Road and then Lynrick…finally I was home.

When I quietly opened the door Frank was just putting his boots on.  He gave a huge sigh and asked me where I had been all this time.  He had phoned Ron about 3 am because I had not come home and Ron said he sent me home via a shortcut but he would get dressed and go look for me too.  They both figured that I probably took the wrong turn and was lost!!

Frank gave me a hug and said he was going back to bed and I should too! But we should phone Ron’s house first.  I phoned and told Wendy what happened.  She was just going to hang up when she saw Ron coming down the road back home.

The next afternoon at softball practice I got a real teasing from everyone for getting lost! Ron made me go over the route he told me and realized that I had turned the wrong way at the bridge.  He chuckled and said I was really lucky because getting lost in East Kelowna was like getting lost in the Ozarks!

I never again took that road and chose to drive home the long way.  When I was at Sandy and Frank’s a couple of weeks ago, we went out to buy some corn in East Kelowna. To be honest, it was daylight that day and I was lost from the minute he turned and started up East Kelowna. When we came down onto KLO I finally got my bearings…what a scary night that was!