The bounty of Kelowna

A couple of hours up the road and along the lake, we headed for Kelowna to park up and visit Tim’s uncle Philip.  We arrived at our campsite in an orchard.  Unfortunately, the campground put us in the wrong campsite.  Karen and Georgia were down at the playground when Tim had to move the whole rig (after the 30 minute setup).  Unfortunately, we found out later that he compressed the trailer to the truck taillight and broke it, DOH!  A quick run into the Ford dealer the next morning allowed Tim to resolve that truck issue rather quickly.

As it was smoking hot and we didn’t think we could run the air conditioning due to the electricity type provided, we headed out quickly to visit Laura and Philip.  They built their house overlooking Okanagan Lake five years ago and it was stunning.  Karen immediately regretted declining their offer to stay there due to her allergies to cats.  This affliction comes with a large price to pay!

We sat down on one of their many porches to relax and catch up.  The friendly dog that belonged to the neighbours and Philip and Laura’s cat were happy to see Georgia.  

That afternoon, we walked down to the public access to Pebble Beach, where Tim, Karen and Georgia enjoyed yet another beautiful Okanagan lake.

That evening, the Beckmanns treated us to a delicious Mexican dinner inspired by Philip’s current culinary muse, Michael Smith.  We enjoyed watching the sunset on the lake from their deck.  At dark (almost 10pm) we drove back to our trailer to sleep.  The next morning, we got up (after fixing the truck) and headed back to Philip and Laura’s.  They had a fun day planned for us.  Laura was packing a picnic lunch.  We headed up to a local winery, 3 minutes drive away (tough life), bought a bottle of Pinot Gris and enjoyed lunch on their lawn.  Georgia played amongst the grapevines and met a family with young children to play with.  

That afternoon we went in search of bits for dinner and fruit for the road.  We took a trip to the local, small farmer’s market (next to an adorable park with water toys) and then to other fruit stands (the Okanagan is swimming with wonderful, local fruit).  Tim co-chef’ed with Philip with our findings to create a delicious salmon dinner and we came away with 3 pounds of blueberries picked that day and a huge punnet of raspberries, then cherries, etc.  After dinner, we played in the neighbour’s yard on their swings and with their lovely dog. 

Karen was blown away again by Philip and Laura’s vegetable garden (we pulled potatoes, onions and tomatoes for dinner), the cherry trees in their yard and the fantastic ability to grow delicious food in the Okanagan valley. Tim was blown away by the number of wineries and purchased a few bottles for the road.

It was great for Karen and Georgia to finally meet Tim’s Uncle Philip and Laura.