Sunday, July 25, 2010

Another beautiful morning...it’s going to be hot again today. It was our turn to cook breakfast for everyone this morning...okay, after this big breakfast; we’re going to be having much lighter fare starting tomorrow.

By the time we got going this morning it was after 11:00 a.m. and we were heading to a couple of wineries. Our first stop was going to be Burrowing Owl Estate Winery. Along the way, we stopped to take a picture of the mud slide that occurred on the ourskirts of Oliver in early June.  It went right across the highway taking out a number of homes and vineyards with it. Absolutely amazing that no one was killed, particularly with the amount of traffic on that highway during the summer.

Burrowing Owl is a gorgeous place set up on the mountain side overlooking the vineyards. They have a guest house with pool, hot tub, a restaurant and of course, wine tasting and store. After tasting 2 white and 2 red, I bought a Pinot Gris and Dennis a Pinot Noir, and went next door to look at the restaurant. We are glad we did because from inside you access the observation tower and we would have totally missed it if we hadn’t decided to be snoopy. Very cool views as well as interesting history of the vineyard and winery...right down to the giant oak vats in the basement.

Our next stop was Tinhorn Creek Winery. They actually had a hostess that greeted you at the door with a glass of wine (ok...a taste of wine) and welcomed you to the property. She gave an introduction to the winery and explained the self-tour that was available. By the way, the wine we were greeted with was fabulous—Steve even said that it was the best wine he had ever had...and that coming from a beer drinker. You were also welcome to bring picnic lunches and sit out on the patio enjoying a glass of wine. After a small walk around, we went to the wine tasting counter where we were greeted by a very nice young lady who explained each wine that was available for tasting. Dennis and I each purchased the wine that was served when we arrived...it was a special edition called “2 Bench” which refers to the division of the vineyards through the Oliver/Osoyoos region—on one side of the valley, the grapes are mainly used for white wine and the other red wine. This wine was a blend of 3 different types, I believe.

We were back home just before 2pm...and it was very hot out, so we were in our bathing suits in no time, gathering the floating devices and heading to the water. Steve and I tried out Dennis and Suzanne’s kayak (it’s a blow-up kayak and very cool) for a bit but it was just too hot as there was little wind today (quite a change from yesterday!) so we were back after about 15 minutes. We then joined Dennis and Suzanne on floating chairs...awww...lovely! We just floated on the lake, chatting and enjoying the sunshine. We must have been out there for over an hour before deciding that it was time for some shade.

After cleaning up, we decided to have happy hour inside Dennis and Suzanne`s 5th wheel. I know that sounds odd but with temperatures hitting 35 degrees and virtually no breeze, it was just too hot to sit outside when you knew there was a cooler air-conditioned option. So we sat at their table enjoying some nibblies and then brought out the catchphrase game. So much fun!

It was Sunday evening and that is when we usually call Chris and Rob. After a couple of attempts to do a video call with Chris, we finally got through. The video quality wasn’t that great but we had a good conversation with him. After dinner, we spoke to Rob and Angie via Skype. It is so nice being able to keep in touch with them that way. I love being able to see them. Thank goodness for technology...it will make our new lifestyle easier for me.

We met Dennis and Suzanne down at the beach a little later to watch the moon come up...it was supposed to be a full moon either tonight or tomorrow night. It was just beautiful as it came up over the mountain. As thirsty mosquitoes started to join us, we decided it was time to retreat back indoors and call it a night. We were continuing our journey tomorrow....