Day 10 - Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer

So today's post will be a little short on words, because, to be honest, we didn't do all that much! We started the day peacefully - Theresa yoga-ing on our lake facing patio, Gord and Dad lounging and munching on the bed. Then we made our way downstairs for a delicious 3 course breakfast: fruit and granola, followed by fresh blueberry-lemon scone and then some delicious quiche. We chatted with the host family and the other couple staying there (Calgarians escaping the fervour of opening Stampede weekend) as we sipped our coffee and juice. Gord was thoroughly entertained by the 4 dogs and the 4 year old grand daughter, Harley. It was nice.

After that we decided to take a little hike up the trail at the end of the street. We climbed up to the top of the mountain and were rewarded with a breath-taking view of the valley. It was hot and dry, but our water bottles were full and we enjoyed the unique alpine desert wild flowers. Gord slept the whole time on Theresa's chest.

Now we thought we were finally ready for some of what wine country had to offer. Most of the wineries are about an hour Soth of Kelowna in the towns of Cawtston, Oliver and Osoyoos, but there are some fine wineries closer to Kelowna, so we decided to stick close to our base. We drove 30 minutes south to Peachland and hit our first winery, Hainle.

 

We were greeted by the head wine maker and the vineyard dog, Tipsy. We sampled some, we liked what we tried, and we shipped some wine home (we weren't sure how many other wineries we'd get to, so we thought it wise to strike early). Luckily for us, Hainle is a bit of a power house in the vino world, winning many world class competitions. 

After leaving Hainle we continued on into Peachland proper where we found a farmer's market (a bust, sadly), and a lovely bakery (Bliss Bakery). As Mom and Gord waited by the lake Dad picked up some sandwiches and pastries. We enjoyed a lovely lunch by the lake and flirted with a dip in the sparkling deeps of Lake Okanagan. In the end it got a little too breezy and overcast to tempt us in fully and we settled for a family foot washing.

And then we simply headed home -three world class wineries are located very close to our BnB so we aimed for home and thought we'd make as many pit stops as Gord would allow. It turns out one was it, so we stopped in at Quail's Gate winery. 

As usual, Gord was a favourite, and Mom and Dad enjoyed the wine enough to pick up a few bottles. Our assessment is that BC wineries are similar to those we're familiar with in NOTL, but with two major differences: first, they're a little more informal (flip-flops and board shorts are not uncommon in the Okanagan sun); and second, it is considerably more expensive per bottle. Now this may not be true of the region as a whole, our sample size of 2 wineries is less than one percent of the wineries in the Okanagan, but we rarely come across wines as expensive at home, even at our favourite boutique wineries. C'est la vie, everything is bigger out west I guess.

Dad and Gord by the vines. 

And from there we headed home. Everyone needed a nap and we needed to polish up before our fancy dinner. By the time our 5:30 reservation rolled around we were looking pretty good, and we were hungry. Mission Hill Family Estate is one of the oldest wineries in the area, and it's one of the most grand. 

The architecture is big, the landscape dramatic - the restaurant is that open air patio on the left in the picture above. We felt pretty special, and the courteous staff hammered that feeling home. They actually have a vegetarian menu, not one or two items on the list. Theresa and I each had different dishes, and each was more delicious than the last. Gord enjoyed it all too, especially the wait staff, who he completely wooed over the course of dinner, in spite of being a bit of a grumpy Gus.

By the end of our mains we were left with a quandary - we had a time bomb baby on our hands, but ALL of the desserts sounded amazing. We asked our server if the chef would entertain a dessert order to go - and when the lemon tart with lavender infused ice cream came in a doggy bag we happily made an exit. Gord and his folks were tired, so we headed home to bed. We are heading through the Coastal mountains tomorrow and on to the ocean and family in Van city, we need our rest.

Sleep well everyone. Hope you enjoyed your lavender ice cream!

TOTAL FUEL FILL UPS: 4

DAILY WILDLIFE: dogs, quail, repeat...