Surface 604 Blog

Our first Park ’n Ride session takes us to the renowned Naramata Bench wine region, a sub-region of the Okanagan (AKA “Napa of the North), and a place Fox News described as “The best wine region you’ve never heard of.” The Bench is a narrow stretch of land perched a few hundred feet above Okanagan Lake, a massive fresh water lake 135 km in length located in South Central British Columbia, just 80 km from the Washington State border. The Bench is a little gem-of-a-destination that has something for everyone. Foodies and wine lovers come for the idyllic vineyards and...

For each of his 44 years, Kelowna resident Stephen Hawtree has lived with the reality that he could lose his eyesight. Born with Retinitis Pigmentosis (RP), a genetic degenerative eye disease that blinded both his Great Grandfather and Uncle, Stephen had experienced relatively few impacts on his day-to-day life. That is, until a recent doctor’s appointment, where he was told deep cataracts (a complication of the RP) meant he would have to give up his driver’s license with immediate effect.  “I was pretty devastated,” admits Hawtree, an IT consultant for the federal government. “I drive to and from work, I drive to...