East of the Sun

This was the year of the heavy forest fires across the lake when 200 homes were destroyed. For days on end smoke stayed in the valley and I took this picture of my son and daughter leaving the dock with the sun almost blocked out as it was setting in the west. The picture above shows how calm it can be at times on the lake and you can see the ink blot effect of the reflection of the mountains on the water. The winter scene is a favorite but I don,t use the cabin in the winter as it is winterized and boarded up to protect the door from the weather. The huge maple tree directly in front of the cabin provides wonderful shade in the hot days of summer and an amazing scene when the leaves turn to Red.

If you are interested after going to this site please contact the sellers as follows.  Telephone number.  250 769 0595 or Fax 250 769 0507. Directions to the house can easily be found on West Kelowna maps or Google Earth. 1219 Sunnybrae Rd. is very near Quails Gate Winery and is adjacent to the Vineyard.
Asking $ 1,739,000.00
Thanks and have a good day.................Wally Day

It,s about the house

The property at 1219 Sunnybrae Rd. is a 1/2 acre lot with a flat top that slopes down to the lake. The vertical rise is 46 ft. I measured this with " Google " but I did not believe it thinking it was more like 75 ft. I asked a B.C.L.S. friend and he said measure it with a stick and level I did and it came out at 46 ft. The 20X40 swimming pool is a nice alternative to going down to the lake for a swim. The house itself is a 3000 square foot walk out basement rancher. It has 4 bedrooms, four bathrooms and all the rooms are large and airy. The old brick used on the front of the house was taken from the old C.P.R. Roundhouse at Revelstoke when it was demolished in the 60,s. This brick was also used in both fireplaces and the feature wall in the living room. Both fireplaces are natural gas. The one in the media room downstairs is a log set. .Heating is forced air provided by a new " Carrier " natural gas furnace with air conditioning. A new 30 year fiberglass ashfault shingle roof was installed in 2002. The house faces due south which for the Okanagan is the best exposure. On the west end of the house there is a 12' x 12' covered deck facing the bay.that provides wonderful views of the lake and Green Bay. The 20x40 swimming pool had a new liner installed in 2009. The steel and concrete structure of the pool is in excellent condition because it was installed in a vein of pure sand that ran through the property. The road to the beach descends about 46 feet and is wide enough for a four wheel drive vehicle. The beach area features a 12'x16' beach cabin. This cabin features power, running water with a fridge with ice maker. There is a hide-a-bed and kitchen table and chairs to go along with one easy chair. The sink and counter is equipped. with drawers and cupboards under. Cutlery and dishes and everything one needs to serve meals cooked outside on a barbecue.  The beach and lawn area is divided by a post and timber wall. A three zone automatic irrigation system provides watering for the lawn and junipers. The lakeside lawns at the main house also is irrigated by a three zone automatic system. For more information refer to other stories on this site................Wally Day

For more information

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
  2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
  3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
  4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your
      friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
  5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
  6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
  7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
  8. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
  9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
10. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

The second picture down  was taken of my first boat that I used on Okanagan Lake in 1965. We were on our way up the lake from Penticton B.C.to Commando Bay which was one of our favorite places to picnic.

Commando Bay has Quite a story about being a training site at the start of W.W. 2 for Chinese commandos. A long dock about 200 ft. long was built at the time and was still in usable condition in the 60,s. Getting back to the boat. It was 17 ft. in length and had a Chevrolet 265 V8 for power. A Borg Warner reverse gear made the power system very smooth. I bought the boat from an old friend in Summerland and with the use of his shop and garage made some extensive changes. The main problem was the motor was installed too far back which placed the rudder too close to the prop and bad cavitation was the result. I bored a new shaft hole and moved the engine a full 8 inches forward which allowed the proper clearance for the propeller between the rudder and the hull. this solved the cavitation problem and the boat performed very nicely. Myself and family used the boat for two summers and sold it in 1967. One problem with cedar lapstrake boats is it is difficult to stop them from leaking in the dry Interior climate. The top pcture is my second boat which is a Grew plywood lapstrake that I bought from Woodwards Marine division in Vancouver. It was 19 ft. and built for an outboard. They were going out of business and asked me to make an offer. I offered $ 1800.00 delivered to my house in Penticton and it arrived on a dolly two days later. I  had  always wanted to build a " V drive " engine set up so this was my project. I wrote a letter to the Grew factory in Ontario for plans on installing the engine as a " V grive " and they wrote back and said they had never done a " V drive " in any of their boats and lots of luck.
 At this time Cal Van was a major supplier of marine conversion kits so through them I contacted a man in California. He was the designer and builder of a small drag boat called the Glen L Missile.which you could buy and build as a kit. He  was kind enough to send me back drawings and instruction on what to do The main thing was to build a full size elevation of the boat from plywood so you could measure things full size. This worked well but drilling the 1" shaft hole through that oak keel at 11 degrees was very difficult. The oak keel was 1 3/4 " thick and 6 ".deep.  I had a special bit made out of 1" steel pipe 4 feet long long with case hardened teeth on the cutting end and made to thread on to a 3/4 "drill. This workrd well once we figured out how to get enough pressure on the drill bit. The drill was held in place and on line by 3/4 " plywood props that would not let the drill go off line. It  worked perfectly and the whole was off less than 1/16 th of an inch. I installed 2x 8 clear fir engine stringers 10 ft. from the transom screwed to the oak ribs to facilitate installing the engine and V drive unit. The engine was installed about a ft. from the transom. Because of this arrangement the drive shaft was about 20 " long which really reduces vibration. A beautifull Borg Warner Velvet drive reverse gear completed the drive train. The propeller and rudder clearances were right on so the boat performed perfectly. You could take your hands off the wheel at 45 M.P.H. and the boat went straight as a  die with no torque pull.   

1. The house and property face due south. You see the sunrise and the sunset.
2. You can see a 180 degree view of the lake, mountains and vineyards and a commanding view of Greenbay.and the entrance to the harbour.
4. 115 ft. of sandy beach and beautiful clear water.
5. 7 to 10 ft. of water off the end of the dock during the summer season.
6. Eurasian Milfoil or weeds of any kind are not present in this area of the lake.
7. The bay is well protected from the prevailing westerly winds.
8. The beach area is very private and secluded. Natural tress and wild rose bushes separate the neighbors to the east.The neighbors house to the west is 300ft. away.
9. You can have small fires in the Bar-B-Q pit.
10 The 12X16 ft beach house has power and water and a fridge with an ice maker.
11. You have a choice of swimming in a 20X40ft. swimming pool or the lake.
12. There is very little vehicle traffic passing by the house because it is situated a the end of a dead end street. Very little dust reaches the house.
13. 8 minutes to major grocery and big box stores. Two golf courses are within 10 mins. drive.
14 The road to the beach is accessable with a 4 wheel drive vehicle.
15. It is like owning two properties, the upper one being the house and pool and the lower one is like having summer camp 150ft. away.
16. There is a 45ft. difference in elevation which allows a wonderfull view of the activities going on in the bay such as float planes taking off and landing.
17 There are no mosquitoes and very few bugs and flies.
18. The nature of the bank and the beach properties makes public access along the beach nearly immposible.
  

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East of the Sun is a lakeshore property situated on the west side of Okanagan Lake in West Kelowna. The property is approximately  1/2 acre in size and has 115 ft. of lake frontage. The house sits on the back portion of the lot and is fairly level. A 20x40 ft. swimming pool lies between the house and the bank to the beach. The difference in elevation between the pool and the beach lawn is 46ft. A road wide enough for a 4x4 curves down to the beach.. The beach is sandy with a post and timber wall dividing the sand from the lawn area. A dock 104 ft. long reaches out from the west property line. This dock is 6ft. wide and flares out to 8ft. wide for the last 24ft. The water is 10 ft. deep off the end for most of the summer. A Shore Station boat lift with a steel roof occupies space on the west side of the dock for boats up to 20ft. This lift has an electric motor for raising the boat.

The other main feature of the property is the beach cabin. This 12X 16ft. frame building has a steel roof and a mix of siding and cedar shakes and lots of glass for views of the beach and lake. The cabin is equipped with a fridge with ice maker and a sink with running water. A counter with cupboards under and drawers provides space for cutlery and pots and pans etc. A double size hide-a-bed ( chesterfield ), table and four chairs and an easy chair make up the furniture. Most cooking is done on a portable barbeque that is stored in the shed at the rear of the cabin. Two can sleep on the hide-a -bed and two on an air mattress on the floor. There is a tent space on the east corner of the beach near the willow tree for additional sleeping space.This lower part of the property has a fine lawn area with automatic irrigation. A huge wonderful maple tree stands in front of the cabin and provides shade for the cabin and lawn area in front for the hottest part of the day. The property faces due south so you get the rising and setting sun. One nice feature on the beach is the fire pit. It consists of a steel welding ring about 30 inches in diameter and about 16 inches deep. This ring sits imbedded in the sand near the retaining wall and is ideal for small fires. It has a steel circular grill and can be used for barbequeing. This arrangement makes small fires legal with local by-laws. I burn very dry wood and try to keep smoke at a minimum so as not to polute the local air quality.The shed at the rear of the cabin provides storage space for the electric lawn mower. barbeque. chain saw and garden tools etc..A permanently connected hose stays coiled on the east side of the cabin. The lawn and plant irrigation system has a small automatic timer mounted on the wall inside the cabin. The summer before last I replaced the old aluminum cabin door. My daughter replaced all her windows and doors in her house so I managed to salvage a nice outside cedar door with small glass panels. I managed to cut half the old slider out and install a new soor frame and metal threshold. I installed that nice cedar door in that new frame and gave it some sanding and three coats of varnish. That door looked so nice I decided to complete the job by installing rough cedar casings ceiling trim and baseboards. The cedar trim was siding that I ripped to the size I wanted and I left the rough side out and unpainted so it has a nice effect and goes well with the wall paneling.

Can you imagine how cosy this place would be if it were a real house with a nice fire place and all the amenities of a real home but alas it's just a summer cabin and built for warm weather.

The issue is access, since the beach house is located 140 feet beneath the main property down a steep, narrow dirt road, which more closely resembles a path than it does a driveway for a car. However, it wouldn't take, too much to heat the little cabin and I suppose it would be enjoyable on a sunny winter day, for a cup of hot tea and to read a book for awhile. It can get very quiet beside the lake in the winter, if the wind is calm but you can really hear the water fowl and any other critters that remain for the winter. Very peaceful on a calm winters day.

I have not taken a ride on a City bus for over 10 years. I did to-day because I got stuck over town without my car. I was dropped off at the Hudson,s Bay bus stop in Kelowna, got on a bus that said downtown and asked the driver if his bus went to the main depot at Queensway and he said yes. I asked him what bus I should transfer to to go to Boucherie and Quails Gate and he said # 24. I got on # 24 and picked up a schedule. I discovered I was on the wrong bus. The first driver had misinformed me. I asked the driver if his bus went along Boucherie Rd. to Quails Gate and he said no I should be on bus #20. I asked what I should do and he said I will have to transfer to bus # 20. I asked where do I do that and he did not answer but picked up his radio mike, contacted bus # 20 and asked his location. Bus #20 responded that he was coming up bridge hill and was about 5 minutes behind us.

The dusk hour is one of my favorite times to have a cup of tea by my beach fire and go over the events of the day and maybe think about a project I have on the go. I find that the tranquility of the setting, the utter quiet except for the soothing sound of the waves on the sand and the chatter of the water foul provide an incredible ambience for thought. When I plan and think about a project I can get mind pictures so clear I can see in my mind even the grain in the wood. The project right now is removing part of the old temperary shed roof at the back of the cabin and replacing it with a matching cedar wall and door. The old shed roof was very ugly looking and did not have a door. I have just enough cedar that I recovered from my daughter,s renovation to complete a matching wall and door. I had enough paint left over from painting the cabin last year to paint my new wall and door. The project actually turned out better than I had expected and really improved the appearance of the building.A junky ugly area attracts ugly junk. I have noticed  that my daughters and friends put the barbeque lawn mower and garden tools completely away now which proves that a really neat area promotes neatness.The fire pit is another nice feature on the beach. It consists of an old steel welding ring about 30 inches in diameter and is about 16 inches deep. It sits sunken down in the sand near the edge of the lawn. I usually finish my chores about eight o,clock and put on a cup of tea and light a small fire in the fire pit. It is very relaxing and easy to enjoy the quiet ambience of the beach. I watch for a beaver that usually swims by at about this time. On one occasion a pair of lake Otters frollicked along the waters edge and disapeared in the rock groin to the east. One night I was very lucky to see a beautiful Osprey dive and completely submerge to catch a fish and fly away to feed the family. A family of Bald Eagles lives somewhere along the banks and also the Marsh Hawks ( Northern Harrier ) have been seen hovering over the banks and shoreline hunting for mice and rodents.