Al and I spent nearly 7 hours consulting on the BCTLA web page in his school lab. We came up with a plan to move forward with and I think both of us were happy with how the day went. We so involved that we never did stop for lunch and left the school at 18:00!
Angie and I had delicious dinner at La Cucina Restorante in Westbank (steak with shrimp & prawns). Angie's family trailer (3 bedrooms) sits in Shady Rest Mobile Home Park on the shore of the Lake Okanagan in Westbank. It was warm enough that we sat by the beach in our shorts until 22:00 watching a fireworks show. A beaver entertained us by swimming slowly by just a couple of feet off shore.
On Sunday we decided to go on a little wine tour. We started at Mission Hill Winery, just above us in Westbank, just to hear the bells at noon. Click here for 56K low speed 200+K high speed Internet connection.
I then drove through Kelowna and south along the east side of the lake. Our first tasting was at Summerhill Pyramid Winery. The staff at wineries are usually good when you tell them that you know next to nothing and they take the time to teach about the wines. Maybe it will start sticking in my head if I do this enough! I bought a bottle of Enchanted Vines Solus Foch 2005.
Next stop was Cedar Creek Estate Winery. I bought a bottle of 2006 Pinot Noir & a 2005 Merlot. Our last stop was St.Hubertus & Oak Bay Estate Winery. This winery lost a house, barn and vines in the 2005 wildfires. I bought a bottle of 2006 Marechel Foch. We think we tasted about 8 different wines as the woman really wanted us to think about the differences in the wines.
Saw a lot of beautiful new developments. A great hamburger with yam fries at Wild Apple Restaurant & Lounge at Manteo Resort sopped up the wine quite nicely.
It was so hot that we went swimming for about an hour. Lots of leftovers from the barbecue to eat and then we sat in the dark porch until midnight watching a lightning storm to the south.
On Monday morning we could see the smoke and planes from a forest fire just to the east of Kelowna. I didn't leave until 11:00.
I decided to drift home so started down the lakes. Peachland was my favourite town.
My next winery was Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars near Okanagan Falls. You need an appointment but a couple let me join them in the tastings. A limit of 2 samples here. I bought a couple of bottles for Pru's birthday since it is her favourite wine. You can finally buy it in specialty shops in Vancouver.
It was 40 in Osoyoos so I was glad to find a big air conditioned tourist bureau to regroup in. They recommended a restaurant and I ended up in the wrong one next door. When I did stop at the right one for a possible dessert, they were all booked so it was good that I went to Passatempo at Spirit Ridge. I had Quinoa (‘keen-wah’) salad with spinach, fried chickpeas, feta cheese, sherry vinaigrette and grilled tiger prawns. Not bad for a small town! The winery next door, Nk'Mip Cellars, was my last one. I left with a 2005 Merlot and a 2006 Pinot Noir.
The drive to Keremeos was a bit exciting. I drove right into a hailstorm that was so wild we all stopped a couple of times. The temperature dropped to 23. It was still raining a bit at Keremeos but I still made 3 stops for jams, cherries and various bottles of stuff. My favourite is Mariposa Orchards & Fruit Stand.
Since it was a workday, the traffic was really light all the way home. I stopped in Hope at a Home Restaurant. The food was good home cooking but the helping was far too big (American) and it wasn't the cleanest place.
I finally arrived home at 22:00 after 1,080 km.
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| Kelowna Trip |
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