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07/02/2003 Archived Entry: "Our Trip to the Okanagan Valley :)"

June 28, 2003
We made it out of the house at 6:30 a.m. a world record for us!! We managed to get
out of the city before the Canada Day long weekend traffic got started.
It a nice drive up the Hope-Princeton route on our way to the Okanagan Valley. It
is very hot today, and even more so the closer to our destination.

The Okanagan Valley area is more of desert climate, and is a lot dryer than in
Vancouver...you wouldn't think there would be that much difference in climates in just
a few hours drive.

The Okanagan Valley is beautiful, and is home to lush orchards, and lots of fruitstands.

We arrived early, and had to wait before checking in our room. It was sooo hot...I got
a headache from the heat... We don't have air in the car, and the windows being down helped
some. but it was just extremely hot...around 34C equivalent to upper 90's F or 100F.

When it was time for us to check in ... we headed back to the B&B and couldn't wait to
get out of the heat. This place was spectactular!!!
I am sitting in our room at the Lauro-O-Winn Bed and Breakfast in Summerland, BC
located on Lake Okanagan. We have a breathe taking view of the lake and have
our own balcony, and private bath. It is so beautiful here. The lake is a deep blue,
and is peppered with little sailboats. We are only a short distance from the Sumac Ridge
winery. and we plan on going there tomorrow to take a tour. Tonight we are going out
for a nice dinner, and maybe a movie.
June 29, 2003
We woke up to a beautiful day, and the lake was just glistening. It looked to be another
hot day, but clouds moved in, and controlled the heat much better. There was also a nice
breeze. We had a lovely breakfast prepared by our hosts, and we sat out on the balcony
to enjoy the beautiful view while we ate.
After breakfast we took some pictures around the outside of the B & B. We then
headed back upstairs to pack and head out to the Sumac Ridge Winery.
We had very nice hosts. The lovely couple that ran the place was just fascinated about
our whirlwind romance. We bid them farewell, and told them we would definately
would come again. We took tons of pictures, but they won't be a beautiful as if
you were there in person. Okanagan Lake is definately a place to see.

The winery tour was very nice, and very educational... I never realized how much time
work goes into producing a bottle of wine. We got to see the equipment they use, and
the tour guide explained the whole process. We ended the tour with some samplings of wine.
The tour was only $5.00 each, and that was really for voucher for $5.00 off a purchase
in the wine shop. So we got two nice bottles. A Gerwurztraminer, and a nice blush.

We were having some car trouble so we headed to Keremeos a little early. This is
where Greg's dad lives. I haven't met him yet. We had a nice visit, and took a nice
long drive up the Ashnola Creek, and up into the mountains. It was so beautiful there.
We spent the night with Greg's dad, and were planning to head out the next day to visit
Greg's mom in Merritt.
June 30, 2003
Greg and his dad looked at the car, and discovered we had no front brakes. We just had
the car tuned up a month before, and they said the brakes were fine...to say the least we
were glad we looked!! Greg's dad, being a whiz mechanic replaced the brakes for us in exchange for
some computer work.
After the car was fixed, we packed our things, and went out to the orchard behind the house, and picked a whole bunch of cherries. We said good bye and headed on our way to Merritt.
The trip to Merritt was lovely...we stopped in Hedley, a old mining town to look around. The drive to Merritt has some of the most beautiful countryside you will ever see...lots of little lakes all around. The lakes here are so different. I have never seen colors so vivid and beautiful. The lakes are deep blues and greens, and even deep bluegreen. The lakes are very deep too.
We got to Merritt, and went to Greg's mums place. She had a nice dinner for us. We had steaks and all the trimmings. We were supposed to stay there, but they got us a hotel room instead. Greg's mum and stepdad are moving to Tumbler Ridge at the end of the Summer, so everything is in disarray. We were glad to have some time alone, and enjoyed the hottub and swimming pool at the hotel.
July 1, 2003

Happy 136th Birthday!!
It's Canada Day!! We got up and met Greg's mum and stepdad for breakfast. We then went over to a couple of the Canada Day festivities before heading back home.
It looked to be another hot day. We left Merritt about 11:30a.m. and came back home by way of the Coquihalla. It looked alot different than it did in January. No snow!!! We had a nice trip home. We stopped for lunch in Hope. It was really good. We have eaten at this place once before. We got home around 4pm and couldn't wait to stretch and relax. I don't do well riding in the car for long periods.
Anyhow, our trip was just fabulous, and we can't wait to go back.
We took over 200 pictures in all, and put the best ones in a album...which you can view here: Trip Pictures
Take care,
Jen