Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

I woke up to the sound of rain splashing in the Mission Creek and thunder booming throughout the Okanagan valley. The hot, sunny days were over and the colder, rainy days had come. Forecasts said this was going to be the case all weekend, so I had better get used to it.

I spent the morning indoors to avoid the rain, and just before lunch the clouds parted so I headed to the west side to Quail’s Gate Winery. I enjoyed a lunch overlooking the lake and then wandered over to the wine room for some tasting.

I’ve always enjoyed Quails’ Gate, and I especially like their wine room that overlooks the lake with huge bay windows. I took my time sampling about 7 different wines, ending with their icewine that they served in a chocolate cup. I ended up sticking to my one bottle rule, and went with the Pinot Noir, which was one of the better reds I had tried on the tour so far…

…But that’s only because I hadn’t been to Mount Boucherie yet. This is another little gem that I’ve often overlooked, but their reds are amazing and the women who run the place are great to visit with. I had a very hard time deciding on a wine, but in the end I went with a Blaufrankish- the same kind I bought last year.

By this time it was mid- afternoon and the sun was shining a little so I returned to the Carmelis Goat Cheese farm for some Goat Gelato before returning to La Mission. I jumped on Silver to head to Peachland to visit my cousin Lara and her boyfriend Shane who had just moved there days earlier from southern Ontario. I hadn’t seen either of them in a long time so we had a great time catching up. We met at this German pub that was serving their All You Can Eat Schnitzel…with beets and sauerkraut. I was very tempted to take on that schnitzel but I knew there was something more decadent waiting for me back in Kelowna…Prawns!

I returned to La Mission to prepare for one of my favourite routines…every Thursday night the Creekside Pub next to the motel has Cheap Prawn night. I discovered this back on the Easy Rider Tour 2006 and it’s been a tradition ever since. I sipped a few pints and tore the shells off of a few dozen little prawns and dipped them in garlic butter.  So damn good.

After the excitement of the prawns we adjourned to the La Mission for some television. This would be my last night in Kelowna. Tomorrow I head south to Oliver.