Our Westcoast Adventure Continues

It is almost the end of our month in Kelowna. We can't believe how fast these weeks have flown by. I have attached a picture of the cute house we are renting. We have come full circle. We are back in a 900 square foot house with no dishwasher and every week we have to go around the corner to the laundromat.

Most of the hiking we have done here has been of the urban variety which includes lots of stopping for coffee and reading. We have managed to get out a couple of times. We drove to Kettle Valley and saw the 14 trestles built during the early 1900's for the silver mines, burned down in the 2003 fire and finally rebuilt. From the top there is a beautiful view of Kelowna and the Valley. We also hiked in Mission Creek Park, a beautiful park in the heart of the city. Look closely at the picture I took at Turtle Pond. The log on the right is covered with about 40 sunbathing turtles.

One of our favorite things to do in Kelowna is eat and we will spend the last week here visiting some restaurants that have been voted "The Best in the Valley".

Tuesday we head to Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island where we hope to see lots of friends and family and do lots of beachcombing.

We are still alive and well

WOW!!! Has it really been two months since my lasy blog? After a week in Palm Springs with Bruce, the three of us left for Napa. We had three wonderful days there. Because Bruce had been therebefore, he acted as our tour guide. (Many thanks to Darcy for being our D.D.) There are hundreds of wineries in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys so we just scratched the surface. We visited Darioush, a beautiful winery done in a Persian style with every piece designed and built in Iran and brought to Napa. It was there that I had my first taste direct from the cask. Fantastic! Sterling was one of the other wineries we visited. A tram took us up to the winery which has a mission style design and the view of the valley from their veranda was oustanding. One of the highlights was our visit to Rafanelli, a small estate winery in Sonoma. We got to see where the casks are stored and the owner brings in opera singers to entertain his special guests. Their wine was probably the best we tasted. If you get a chance, call ahead for an appointment to see this beautiful spot. I almost forgot to mention the wonderful food. If you visit the area, you have to go to Mustard, one of the restaurants owned by the very talented Napa chef, Cindy Pawlcyn. Aftger eating there, you will be inspired to buy one of her cookbooks.

We left Sonoma about the 15th of March and we made our way back to Calgary through Oregon, Washington, Oliver and Vancouver. Darcy spent the month of April doing tax returns and I kept his mom company. After a very busy month we were glad to get back on the road. We have rented a tiny house in Kelowna where we will stay for the month of May. Right now Darcy is in Palm Springs on his annual Dewey Dinkman golf trip. I have had three wonderful days cardmaking with my friend, Jan, who was visiting from Calgary.

Once Darcy is back from P.S. we will start exploring the hiking trails in the Okanagan Valley.