Oliver, Day Six

Our time in Oliver is over. We couldn't have had better weather and we toured our share of wineries. Penny's parents liver here after her dad retired from the Vancouver Sun many years ago. Because of her many visits up here she has become quite the Okanagan wine connoisseur. She became a member of the Tinhorn Winery Crush Club and gets a selection of six bottles of their wine shipped to her house twice a year. She also gets a 15% discount on everything including the fancy on premises restaurant. This is where we were last night.

Tonight we ate one of the two large crabs I bought in Campbell River before we left. What can I say? Steamed crab, melted butter and garlic. Yes, it was wonderful!

Tomorrow we move on to Kelowna after a stop in Oliver to fill the propane tank. Somehow I allowed it to go dry and we finished up the week here with having to heat our hot water on the induction stove. Tines are tough!

Flashback

Penny and Croft on Vancouver's Granville Street, Theatre Row 1961. Foncie's Fotos. 16 years old. Date Night!

Who Am I With?

People are asking, "Who is your traveling companion"?

Her name is Penny, a woman I have known since my mid teens, almost 60 years. We met in 1960, dated from 1961 until 1963 (grades ten to twelve) and have remained friends ever since. A while ago we started talking on the phone and texting. She volunteers at the Victoria Cancer Center and was able to offer a sympathetic ear and an insight that I was lacking. Our conversations went on for hours. When I had to go down to Victoria to meet with Norma's Pension Office, we met for lunch. I had last seen her 6 years before at our last High School Reunion but during our lengthy lunch the years just seemed to evaporate.

She is unattached, has a son just a year or so younger than Brooks, is retired from the banking industry and owns a condo in Victoria. Like me, she loves to travel but also like me, is not excited about doing it alone. She is an excellent chef and loves cooking and eating gourmet meals! Which just by chance as do I!

We are traveling as friends but are both open to whatever develops. So far we are having a great time and she is teaching me to laugh again and the rapid weight loss I was slightly concerned about seems to have stopped. So far, everything is on the plus side.

Oliver, Day Five

Another quiet day in the hot Okanagan (after a bit of morning rain) for us until we drove down the road to our dinner reservation at the Tinhorn Creek Winery restaurant. We ate on the patio, enjoying a great meal of Arctic Char for me and Braised Lamb Belly for my friend. We shared a nice bottle of Oldfield Reserve Pinot Noir. Also featured was a great view of the valley and vineyards.

Oliver Day Four

It was a do nothing day. Well, except for a frantic early morning trip to Canadian Tire to replace a coffee maker that decided to give up the ghost. It was less than a month old so I took it with me (no packaging or receipt) and after checking their computer, they allowed me to exchange it for a better brand. Other than that we did nothing. Dinner was another batch of the Shrimp Pasta Alfredo, a baguette and a very nice bottle of wine!

On a personal note, I am learning to laugh again and my appetite is returning!

Okanagan Trip!

Many of you know I was getting ready for a nice trip down the Oregon Coast. That is until I got a quote for travel medical insurance of $900 for a month. My friend who is traveling with me was hit with $1,500 for the month so it was a no brainer to switch to a tour of BC's Okanagan Wine Country. The following are cut and pastes from Facebook.

Change Of Plans
Not an unusual thing for me. Medical insurance costs have caused me to substitute destinations for my little vacation . Instead of Oregon's Pinot Noir I will be sampling British Columbia's Pinot Noir!

I am off to BC's Okanagan on Friday morning for a very leisurely voyage of discovery, I must admit to a certain feeling of relief for avoiding contributing my hard earned dollars to Trump's America. The wine here is just as good but the politics oh so much better!

Plus I will have a lot more money to spend on wine and food. I will not be missing out on the crab either as I will be taking a couple of very large fresh frozen ones with me. Add garlic butter to suit.

So aside from missing a possible meeting with my American friends Bill and Dee, this change of plans will turn out for the best.

Princeton

Sunday morning in Princeton, BC and it is raining and cold! What is going on? This is the Okanagan!

We had a nice visit with my old workmate/friend Keith Olsen, resident and former mayor of Princeton. We spent an hour or so catching up on each others lives.

Today, on to Oliver and the start of the wine tours! And hopefully some better weather!

Oliver!

We left Princeton around 10:00 am, stopped at the fabulous fruit/vegetable stand in Keremeos to stock up and carried on to Oliver. My buddy Rick no longer owns the Maple Leaf RV Park so no deals here and we ended up paying $50 per night but for a week we got one day free. So we are staying for a week.

We drove back to Tinhorn Creek Winery for a tasting and bought a nice bottle of 2015 Oldfield Reserve Pinot Noir. It will go nicely tomorrow night with one of two slabs of salmon we brought with us.

Oliver Day One

Nice breakfast of eggs, toast and hash browns and then headed out to tour three wineries. Tasted many wines and bought one bottle at each place. We are stocking up!

Dinner was a beautiful slab of Sockeye Salmon.

Oliver Day Two

Lazy morning, breakfast and visits to two more wineries. We didn't find any wine we couldn't walk away from but did buy a nice bottle of Burrowing Owl port and a bottle of very expensive balsamic vinegar. Back at the rig now enjoying a nice vodka and V8 before dinner. Dinner was the rest of the Sockeye.

Oliver, Day Three

We decided this morning that this was going to be a "do nothing" day But after a message from our friend Contessa we decided to book a spot in their RV park north of Kelowna for next week (Sept 1 - 8). That done we went to check out a nearby winery that came highly recommended but which disappointed our taste buds - except for their Merlot which we purchased two bottles of. Maybe tomorrow will be our "do nothing" day.

Dinner tonight was a fabulous Shrimp Linguine with Alfredo sauce with Russian Red Garlic added. Delicious. 

Change Of Plans

Not an unusual thing for me. Medical insurance costs have caused me to substitute destinations for my little vacation . Instead of Oregon's Pinot Noir I will be sampling British Columbia's Pinot Noir!

I am off to BC's Okanagan on Friday morning for a very leisurely voyage of discovery, I must admit to a certain feeling of relief for avoiding contributing my hard earned dollars to Trump's America. The wine here is just as good but the politics oh so much better!

Plus I will have a lot more money to spend on wine and food. I will not be missing out on the crab either as I will be taking a couple of very large fresh frozen ones with me. Add garlic butter to suit.

So aside from missing a possible meeting with my American friends Bill and Dee, this change of plans will turn out for the best.

Wanderlust!

The endless paperwork is nearing an end, summer is drawing to a close and I want to get out of town! The Oregon Coast has always been a favorite destination although I have usually been in too big a hurry to explore it on the way south and on the way back north, well.... weather.

The motorhome is almost ready to go and I am planning a trip down the Washington / Oregon Coast later this month. A leisurely pace with lots of time to explore small seaside towns, coffee shops and seafood! Staying with my usual method of travel I have no itinerary, no reservations and no final destination. Maybe as far as California, maybe not My moves will occur whenever I tire of a place or think I have seen all there is to see. Travel days will be short and my feet will spend more time "up" than on the pedals. I will be gone four to five weeks.

I am going to have a good time! Did I mention I am going to eat a lot of crab dipped in garlic and butter? And Oregon's Pinot Noir?