Sun, Aug 19, 2012

Another day in Kelowna, another massive sleep-in. It was after 10 by the time I got out of bed because I was in no hurry to go anywhere. This was my last day in Kelowna, and I had three visits I had to make before leaving.

After a quick visit to Starbuck’s I collected my things and prepared for my excursion for the day. I was joined by my sister and my aunt…and we were hitting a few more wineries…wineries I had to visit before I could call my time in the Okanagan complete.

The first was Summerhill. My hope was to have lunch on their patio overlooking Lake Okanagan, but this idea was squashed when we discovered that they were serving Sunday brunch. I was in no mood for a buffet. Instead we enjoyed a wine tasting. The tasting room was overcrowded with a few busloads of tourists so it was not as enjoyable as it should have been. There were also no surprises and I ended up buying an Ehrenfelser and a Baco Noir- simply to replenish stock in my wine cellar.

Lunch was finally a reality at Cedar Creek. This winery will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the very first winery I ever visited back on the Easy Rider Tour 2006. I enjoyed a crusted Haida Gwaii Salmon steak with a potato latka and fresh carrots. It was a thoroughly enjoyable, light lunch overlooking the lake and we even got to watch a wedding ceremony take place on the garden outside the winery. The tasting at Cedar Creek was also a fun exercise, albeit pointless as I already knew what I was buying before I even got there: two bottles of their Ehrenfelser. Had to get that wine back in the cellar too. Love that stuff.

After Cedar Creek I convinced my sister and my aunt to visit the Carmeli’s Goat Cheese Farm for a cheese tasting and some goat milk gelato. This place is a special treat if you like goat cheese. I ended up buying quite a bit of cheese because this year- unlike every other tour- I had the means to transport cheese home. My parents drove to Kelowna in their motorhome so they would be transporting both my cheese and my wines for me! For once I would not have to contend with an overloaded Silver on my return trip.

It was late afternoon by the time we were done with the Goat Farm and we returned to the hotel. I opened a beer and put my feet up, feeling a sense of accomplishment at being able to revisit my favourite places in Kelowna. The festivities were not complete, however. At 6:00 all of us- my aunts, uncle, cousins, siblings, parents- traveled across the street into the giant park between our hotel and the main beach in downtown Kelowna. Waiting for us there were about 20 other relatives- all cousins and children of my mother and her siblings. This was about to be a massive family reunion in the park of my relatives on my Baba’s side. Most I had never even met before, and would probably never see again. It was an enjoyable experience.

My time with the family picnic in the park was cut short, however. In a wonderful turn of events, Leanne and her friend had traveled from Vancouver to the Okanagan…and we were going for one last dinner before I left British Columbia. We went to an Indian restaurant called Poppadoms…and without a doubt it was the best Indian food I had ever had. I highly recommend.

The day of wine and cheese tasting followed by the dinner at Poppadoms was a perfect cap to my time in the Okanagan. I rode Silver through the streets of Kelowna in the warm, thick night air and started to prepare myself mentally for the next few days. I had to get back home very soon, and that would require several days of serious road time. I still had some highways to conquer…and tomorrow morning I would be doing battle early.