A Mini Boomerville Reunion in Penticton

Hi Blog!

We came home from our bike ride on Sunday, June 18, 2017, and found a message from fellow Boomers - Mike Hoeinghaus and Judy Preston. We had all camped with them in Quartzsite and had told them of our plans to visit the Okanagan Valley. Mike and Judy live on Gabriola Island, which is two ferry rides and a day's drive from Penticton. However, they couldn't stand that Tony, Dee Dee and we were having fun without them, so they made the trek across BC to join us in Penticton. We were too busy catching up Sunday night to take pictures, but we made plans to get together on Monday for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

On Monday, June 19, 2017, we all agreed to meet at Tim Horton's for breakfast. Tim Horton's ("Timmy's" as it is affectionately called here) is a Canadian institution. It is like Dunkin Donuts, but has a more expanded menu like McDonalds. No trip to Canada would be complete without a stop at Tim Horton's.

After getting our morning caffeine fix, we took off to the Summerland Bench on the west side of Okanagan Lake to visit a couple wineries. Our first stop was Thornhaven Estates Winery. Leslie had recommend this place for their excellent wines and amazing views.

After a delicious tasting, we took a moment to wander the grounds and take some red chair photos.

Kathy and Dave:

Tony and Dee Dee:

Mike and Judy:

Our next stop was Dirty Laundry Vineyard. The building was once a laundry and bordello. All of their wines have cute names:  "Naughty Chardonnay," "Bordello," "Secret Affair." Judy had tried "Not So Naughty" Chardonnay the other night for dinner and was eager to bring some home with her.

At the BBQ at Leslie and Dave's house on Saturday, we had met Tim and Janet Watts, the owners of Kettle Valley Winery. We had made plans to meet up with Tim on Monday afternoon for a tour. Their winery is located on the Naramata Bench on the east side of Okanagan Lake. We decided to head back around the the lake to have lunch before our tour. The folks at Thornhaven suggested we make a stop at the patio restaurant at Lake Breeze Winery. Cheers!

After lunch, we made the short drive to Kettle Valley and met Tim in his warehouse. When we arrived, he was checking the alcohol content of some Pinot Noir. We learned more about winemaking in the short time we had with Tim than we had in all our other winery tours combined. We ended our tour with a great discussion on the geologic history of the Okanagan Valley. (If you are interested, check out Tim's Podcast on the subject.)

Tim left us at the Tasting Room where we sampled his wines and loaded up a box to take home with us!

Our last stop was Maple Leaf Spirits. Jorg Engel makes spirits and liqueurs handcrafted from Okanagan grown fruit, grapes and wine. He distills spirits from wine and lees following the European tradition of making grappa, tresterbrand and marc. We came home with maple and plum liqueurs as well as pinot noir spirit that is very scotch-like. We also paid a visit to Marley, a polish rooster!

We ended our day with dinner at the Kettle Valley Station Pub. The next morning, we reconvened at Timmy's before Mike and Judy returned home.

After wishing Mike and Judy a Bon Voyage, we took off to go kayaking. More on that in the next blog! Cheers!