DAY 38/39 - Okanagan Wine Tour and Home Time!
Sunday we woke up not quite as refreshed as we were hoping, but we were in a Super8 hotel where we heard every door slam closed through the night so that made sense. We took advantage of the hotel, showered up and got ready for our day ahead!
We checked out around 11am and headed to ABC Nails downtown Kelowna. Considering today was a day of luxury and we have 2 weddings when we get home, it was time to get my nails done. After 6 weeks of roughing it and camping, they were pretty bad. And I do have a shiny new rock to show off now sooooo 😉 While I got my nails done Zack explored the downtown area and grabbed a beer. Which was $7 for a bottle of Kokanee and he was not impressed haha
After that we headed to the next hotel for the night, Best Western Plus Wine Country Hotel & Suites in West Kelowna. We were also getting picked up here to start our wine tour around Okanagan! While we were driving we got a text from the driver at 12:35pm saying he was there ... From our understanding we were getting picked up at 1:15, so then we started rushing. Thankfully we were all ready to go and only about 10 minutes away, so when we got there we hopped right in the van and took off. Our driver Theo, was a middle aged mate from the UK and absolutely hilarious. Instantly him and Zack hit it off, and didn't stop talking the rest of the day. He retired a couple years ago, married a Canadian girl and moved here. His wife, who is still working, got sick of him playing golf all day and loafing around so she made him get a job lol And now here he is, driving drunk people around to wineries all day!
The first winery we went to was Summerhill Pyramid Winery where we did a tour around the winery. We weren't actually supposed to go to this winery but the original winery had already closed it's tours for the year so we had a change of plans. Now Summerhill was an interesting place to say the least. It's an organic/biodynamic winery which we thought was cool, but he also uses crystals inside a giant pyramid to "charge" his wine. Now you're probably thinking that's not too weird, and that's what we were thinking until they told us that their son was not only concieved but also born inside the pyramid... And this was AFTER we were inside the pyramid. Which was already creepy within itself. However, the wine was pretty delicious so maybe there is some super power to those crystals afterall.
After enjoying a couple samples and exploring, we took off to our second winery - Cedar Creek. Once we saw their wine bottles we realized that this is a popular one at home. Thankfully here we didn't have to go on a big tour and listen to someone talk for 45 minutes, we got to go straight to the drinking! We tried about 5 sample, from light whites to heavy reds, including a delicious fruity rose. This tasting definitely reassured us that we do not particularly enjoy red wine, but it's free wine so we drank it anyways. On the tour with us was another couple around our age who were awesome, and 6 international students from Sweden, Germany and Korea. These girls weren't particularly interested in anyone else that day, so unfortunately we didn't get to know them at all. But we did get to talking with the couple and Theo about our trip quite abit and our engagment, which they all very happily congratulated us for! Theo was pretty impressed by Zacks proposal giving him the wink of approval and a "Well done Mate," before telling us how he proposed. At Coachella, while very intoxicated and Snoop Dog was performing with a hologram of Tupac and Eminem 😂
When we were on the bus before this winery, we were feeling a little ''parched" so Zack asked the captain if we could crack a bottle of wine on the bus. He responded with, "Oh heck yeah, I don't care I'm done in a week anyways!" And then rambled on about how Canada has way too many rules and he's determined that Canada actually means rules in Latin bahaha gotta love the Brits! So at cedar Creek, we bought the cheapest bottle of wine we could and cracked er' open on our way to the third winery - The View. The funny thing about this winery is it was the only one that DID'T have a view! All of the other wineries had beautiful, elevated views of the neverending vineyard and Okanagan Lake, but this one was just dirt roads.
Although there was also a cidery and a beautiful orchard here, so that's where they made up for it. While we were waiting for the tasting to start, Zack and I were talking to Theo about how much we love cider and beer more so than wine really. So when the tasting girl walked by, he stopped her and said "These two would actually like to do a cider tasting instead" and my god were we glad he did. Easily some of the best cider we have ever had! We got to try all of their ciders they make, and extra generous samples. Everything was grown, made and bottled right on site too which was really cool. After stocking up on some cider we were ready to hit our last winery of the day. While we were waiting for the last couple people to come out, there was a big group of people on the outdoor patio all with puppers!!! We found out it was called Wags and Wine, where you tour the winery/cidery with your dog then do a bunch of tastings. If we hadn't been leaving, we would be over their on the ground with allllllll the dogs!
The fourth and final winery was called Tantalus. Named after the Greek mythological figure who had apparently stolen wine from Zeus and was punished to stand in a pool of water that he could never drink, and fruit surrounding him that he could never eat. This was a very small but beautiful winery, and all of their wine was made with only things grown onsite. They were also in the practice of organic wine, and had their own honeycombs which self pollinated from all the different plants surrounding. After a sample of their incredible floral honey, I had to buy some. Zack wasn't a big fan because of the elderflower hint but I loved it. They also produce a wine every season that is made by the interns that year. Once their main harvest is done and they have the left over grapes and juices, they let the interns play around and create their own wine! All of their regulars come back each year when it's out to try the new concoction which is really awesome. After many, many samples at this vineyard, we hit the bus again and finished off the bottle of wine we had in the van. It was only at this point that everyone else realized that we had been drinking our wine this whole time, and the trend caught on with the couple behind us.
We dropped each person off 1 by 1 and eventually reached our hotel. We decided to hit the liquor store beside our hotel for some chamagne to celebrate our last night on the trip! We were hoping to then go somewhere fancy for dinner but unfortunately there wasn't much around us. We even asked Theo about an all you can eat sushi place or teppanyaki and he thought we were crazy having no idea all you can eat sushi places existed... Apparently that's an Ontario thing??? Anyways we decided to just go with a classic pub choice as there was one in the same plaza as our hotel and we could walk. Since it was an Irish pub, we had to start off with our classic Irish Carbomb of course. It was not the best we've had, the whiskey was on top of the shot which made it look disgusting and they gave us about 2 inches of Guiness, which wouldn't even cover the shotglasses when we dropped them in. So we got some more Guiness to top it off and bottoms up! We wanted to get steak but after seeing their stuffed mushrooms we decided that was strike 2 and we knew the steak wouldn't be worth it lol so we stayed safe and got some appetizers instead! After dinner we headed back to our hotel, enjoyed our bottle of champagne and cozied up in our fluffy king-size bed with a million pillows after an incredible last day of our trip!!
Sunday we woke up not quite as refreshed as we were hoping, but we were in a Super8 hotel where we heard every door slam closed through the night so that made sense. We took advantage of the hotel, showered up and got ready for our day ahead!
We checked out around 11am and headed to ABC Nails downtown Kelowna. Considering today was a day of luxury and we have 2 weddings when we get home, it was time to get my nails done. After 6 weeks of roughing it and camping, they were pretty bad. And I do have a shiny new rock to show off now sooooo 😉 While I got my nails done Zack explored the downtown area and grabbed a beer. Which was $7 for a bottle of Kokanee and he was not impressed haha
After that we headed to the next hotel for the night, Best Western Plus Wine Country Hotel & Suites in West Kelowna. We were also getting picked up here to start our wine tour around Okanagan! While we were driving we got a text from the driver at 12:35pm saying he was there ... From our understanding we were getting picked up at 1:15, so then we started rushing. Thankfully we were all ready to go and only about 10 minutes away, so when we got there we hopped right in the van and took off. Our driver Theo, was a middle aged mate from the UK and absolutely hilarious. Instantly him and Zack hit it off, and didn't stop talking the rest of the day. He retired a couple years ago, married a Canadian girl and moved here. His wife, who is still working, got sick of him playing golf all day and loafing around so she made him get a job lol And now here he is, driving drunk people around to wineries all day!
The first winery we went to was Summerhill Pyramid Winery where we did a tour around the winery. We weren't actually supposed to go to this winery but the original winery had already closed it's tours for the year so we had a change of plans. Now Summerhill was an interesting place to say the least. It's an organic/biodynamic winery which we thought was cool, but he also uses crystals inside a giant pyramid to "charge" his wine. Now you're probably thinking that's not too weird, and that's what we were thinking until they told us that their son was not only concieved but also born inside the pyramid... And this was AFTER we were inside the pyramid. Which was already creepy within itself. However, the wine was pretty delicious so maybe there is some super power to those crystals afterall.
After enjoying a couple samples and exploring, we took off to our second winery - Cedar Creek. Once we saw their wine bottles we realized that this is a popular one at home. Thankfully here we didn't have to go on a big tour and listen to someone talk for 45 minutes, we got to go straight to the drinking! We tried about 5 sample, from light whites to heavy reds, including a delicious fruity rose. This tasting definitely reassured us that we do not particularly enjoy red wine, but it's free wine so we drank it anyways. On the tour with us was another couple around our age who were awesome, and 6 international students from Sweden, Germany and Korea. These girls weren't particularly interested in anyone else that day, so unfortunately we didn't get to know them at all. But we did get to talking with the couple and Theo about our trip quite abit and our engagment, which they all very happily congratulated us for! Theo was pretty impressed by Zacks proposal giving him the wink of approval and a "Well done Mate," before telling us how he proposed. At Coachella, while very intoxicated and Snoop Dog was performing with a hologram of Tupac and Eminem 😂
When we were on the bus before this winery, we were feeling a little ''parched" so Zack asked the captain if we could crack a bottle of wine on the bus. He responded with, "Oh heck yeah, I don't care I'm done in a week anyways!" And then rambled on about how Canada has way too many rules and he's determined that Canada actually means rules in Latin bahaha gotta love the Brits! So at cedar Creek, we bought the cheapest bottle of wine we could and cracked er' open on our way to the third winery - The View. The funny thing about this winery is it was the only one that DID'T have a view! All of the other wineries had beautiful, elevated views of the neverending vineyard and Okanagan Lake, but this one was just dirt roads.
Although there was also a cidery and a beautiful orchard here, so that's where they made up for it. While we were waiting for the tasting to start, Zack and I were talking to Theo about how much we love cider and beer more so than wine really. So when the tasting girl walked by, he stopped her and said "These two would actually like to do a cider tasting instead" and my god were we glad he did. Easily some of the best cider we have ever had! We got to try all of their ciders they make, and extra generous samples. Everything was grown, made and bottled right on site too which was really cool. After stocking up on some cider we were ready to hit our last winery of the day. While we were waiting for the last couple people to come out, there was a big group of people on the outdoor patio all with puppers!!! We found out it was called Wags and Wine, where you tour the winery/cidery with your dog then do a bunch of tastings. If we hadn't been leaving, we would be over their on the ground with allllllll the dogs!
The fourth and final winery was called Tantalus. Named after the Greek mythological figure who had apparently stolen wine from Zeus and was punished to stand in a pool of water that he could never drink, and fruit surrounding him that he could never eat. This was a very small but beautiful winery, and all of their wine was made with only things grown onsite. They were also in the practice of organic wine, and had their own honeycombs which self pollinated from all the different plants surrounding. After a sample of their incredible floral honey, I had to buy some. Zack wasn't a big fan because of the elderflower hint but I loved it. They also produce a wine every season that is made by the interns that year. Once their main harvest is done and they have the left over grapes and juices, they let the interns play around and create their own wine! All of their regulars come back each year when it's out to try the new concoction which is really awesome. After many, many samples at this vineyard, we hit the bus again and finished off the bottle of wine we had in the van. It was only at this point that everyone else realized that we had been drinking our wine this whole time, and the trend caught on with the couple behind us.
We dropped each person off 1 by 1 and eventually reached our hotel. We decided to hit the liquor store beside our hotel for some chamagne to celebrate our last night on the trip! We were hoping to then go somewhere fancy for dinner but unfortunately there wasn't much around us. We even asked Theo about an all you can eat sushi place or teppanyaki and he thought we were crazy having no idea all you can eat sushi places existed... Apparently that's an Ontario thing??? Anyways we decided to just go with a classic pub choice as there was one in the same plaza as our hotel and we could walk. Since it was an Irish pub, we had to start off with our classic Irish Carbomb of course. It was not the best we've had, the whiskey was on top of the shot which made it look disgusting and they gave us about 2 inches of Guiness, which wouldn't even cover the shotglasses when we dropped them in. So we got some more Guiness to top it off and bottoms up! We wanted to get steak but after seeing their stuffed mushrooms we decided that was strike 2 and we knew the steak wouldn't be worth it lol so we stayed safe and got some appetizers instead! After dinner we headed back to our hotel, enjoyed our bottle of champagne and cozied up in our fluffy king-size bed with a million pillows after an incredible last day of our trip!!
Instead of getting up early and hitting the road like we probably should've, we slept in and enjoyed every second of it. We knew we had about 4000km ahead of us and a lot of time in the truck. And despite all the alcohol we had the day before, we both woke up feeling pretty great! Zack, for the first time ever, was even better than I was considering I still had a pretty wicked headache lol We headed down to breakfast where we joined about 30 elderly people and this is when it hit us, we were on a retirement trip. Everyone along the way have been 3 times our age all on the same route and timeline 😂
After enjoying some hot, delicious continental breakfast and orange juice we checked out and prepared to rip apart the truck. We were going home through the states and would hit the border in about 2 hours, so we knew we had to reorganize and get rid of anything we can lol
At this point we noticed just how much alcohol we had accumulated, and packed that away as well as possible. Finally we hit the road south, towards Washington State. Getting closer to the border we got a little nervous. We have never crossed anywhere near here so we didn't know what to expect and really didn't want to get the truck ripped apart. As we drove down the back dirt roads, border in 2 miles, we thought there is no way a border crossing is coming up. Much to our surprise we pulled up to a stop sign with a shack (that looked like a toll booth) to the left and a sign that said "Please wait here for officer" Then we watched an officer stroll out of the office building to the right into the tiny booth and wave us up. We gave him our passports, told him where we were going, confirmed no fruits or vegetables and were on our way. It was all of 30 seconds, and we were back down the dirt road. Zack and I both started laughing histarically, like what the heck was that? Apparently this should have been the border that I drive through to help me get over my weird fear of driving across the border bahaha
Right after we crossed, we saw something trotting down the stream beside us. It turned out to be a little moose, but it was so dark that it took us a minute to realize. We were so excited!! Although he was just a little guy, a moose was the last animal we were really hoping to see. The best part was that over our 5 weeks in Canada we didn't see a single one, but as soon as we cross into the States, boom a moose!
Since my sister Veronica is getting married next weekend (wooohooo!!!) I was still on the search of a dress to wear lol We didn't have much luck or time in Canada so we knew we would need to make some stops to search in the states. Without a doubt, I knew the first place to search was Ross Dress for Less (basically a bigger, USA version of Winners that usually has an incredible selection). So we found one in Spokane Valley with a DressBarn beside it as a plan B. I took off towards the dresses, and Zack to the men's section. There was about 7 racks all FULL with dresses, so I grabbed as many as I could and actually liked. I ended up buying 5 of them, each under $20! And Zack got lucky with a couple dress shirts as well. After such a successful shop, we were set for both weddings we have when we get home! We then hit up Walmart for milk and sliced turkey, which was a very bad call. Biggest Walmart we have ever seen and we spent about an hour in there. Of course we stocked up on a bunch of interesting food you can't get in Canada, and then we saw the beer... And we got a case of 30 Miller light and 30 Coors banquet for $56 Canadian!!! We also hit up a sports store quick where Zack finally got a pair of Nike sandals that's he's been wanting all summer, so very successful shopping indeed. After spending way too much money, we sat in the truck eating dinner and watched a (assuming drunk) man turn into a parking lot, over the curb and hit the car infront of him. He then proceeded to jump out and head right into Walmart. After laughing for a couple minutes and joking about him going in for more beer, we looked over 3 minutes later and his truck was gone already. We took this as our queue to leave and get back on the road. We headed East on the I-90 for a couple more hours before calling it a night at an awesome rest stop shortly into Montana. We still have about 30 hours until we reach home, but we are going to hammer it out over the next couple days. Since it's going to be boring the rest of the way, this will likely (and unfortunately) be our last post of the trip!!!
Right after we crossed, we saw something trotting down the stream beside us. It turned out to be a little moose, but it was so dark that it took us a minute to realize. We were so excited!! Although he was just a little guy, a moose was the last animal we were really hoping to see. The best part was that over our 5 weeks in Canada we didn't see a single one, but as soon as we cross into the States, boom a moose!
Since my sister Veronica is getting married next weekend (wooohooo!!!) I was still on the search of a dress to wear lol We didn't have much luck or time in Canada so we knew we would need to make some stops to search in the states. Without a doubt, I knew the first place to search was Ross Dress for Less (basically a bigger, USA version of Winners that usually has an incredible selection). So we found one in Spokane Valley with a DressBarn beside it as a plan B. I took off towards the dresses, and Zack to the men's section. There was about 7 racks all FULL with dresses, so I grabbed as many as I could and actually liked. I ended up buying 5 of them, each under $20! And Zack got lucky with a couple dress shirts as well. After such a successful shop, we were set for both weddings we have when we get home! We then hit up Walmart for milk and sliced turkey, which was a very bad call. Biggest Walmart we have ever seen and we spent about an hour in there. Of course we stocked up on a bunch of interesting food you can't get in Canada, and then we saw the beer... And we got a case of 30 Miller light and 30 Coors banquet for $56 Canadian!!! We also hit up a sports store quick where Zack finally got a pair of Nike sandals that's he's been wanting all summer, so very successful shopping indeed. After spending way too much money, we sat in the truck eating dinner and watched a (assuming drunk) man turn into a parking lot, over the curb and hit the car infront of him. He then proceeded to jump out and head right into Walmart. After laughing for a couple minutes and joking about him going in for more beer, we looked over 3 minutes later and his truck was gone already. We took this as our queue to leave and get back on the road. We headed East on the I-90 for a couple more hours before calling it a night at an awesome rest stop shortly into Montana. We still have about 30 hours until we reach home, but we are going to hammer it out over the next couple days. Since it's going to be boring the rest of the way, this will likely (and unfortunately) be our last post of the trip!!!
So thank you to everyone who has kept up and supported our adventure and we hope that you enjoyed reading our wild experiences!
We will definitely be putting up some follow-up posts about our trip once we are home and settled, and there may just be a video coming to sum up our trip so stay tuned 😉
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