From Oliver to Oroville and Beyond

I was at my cottage, Golden Mile Chalet, for the last week of summer and didn't find it quite as relaxing as I'd hoped.  A few of the renters had done some damage so I spent a fair bit of time and money on fixing things :(  Aside from that, the weather was pretty good, it was warm and sunny.  Though regretably not characteristically Okanagan smoking hot -- you could tell that fall was coming. 

A Bavarian Okanagan

I spent the first few days alone, as Rich had to work and couldn't come up until mid-week.  I had driven up on my own in my Ghia and was throughly impressed at the amount of stuff it can hold -- camping gear, cat, antique wicker chair, and luggage for me for a week :)  After Rich arrived on Wednesday,  we made one of my favorite dishes, bbq salmon with roasted vegetables tossed in balamic vinegar, Okanagan Grapeseed oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.   And we finished it off with homemade buttertarts compliments of my neighbor, Yvonne. On Thursay night we joined friends of mine from Kelowna Jen, Hugh and their baby Maggie at a fabulous waterfront restaurant, Gasthaus am See (Guesthouse on the Lake),  in Peachland.  They serve authentic German cuisine, ample portions, and had an extensive selection of German beer, much to Rich's delight.  The food was actually pretty multicultural and quite good -- I had a spicy Indian curry dish, Jen had a vegetarian flat crust pizza and both Rich and Hugh ordered German food that I can't pronounce (or spell!).

Friday afternoon we had to leave as I had renters arriving. We drove down to Oroville, which is just over the border from Osoyoos, to attend their fifth annual blues festival.  We had planned to camp, but found a great, cheap motel, the Cottage Inn for $39 a night.  The festival was in a spectacular setting, in the middle of an apple orchard on Lake Osoyoos.  They were incredibly well organized, with a huge stage, beer garden, food tents and a large area set aside for campers.  We chatted with several locals and found them very friendly -- one of the things I love about Americans :)  However their comments were a bit odd/amusing to say the least -- I'm not exactly sure what to attribute this to -- the disconnect between rural and urban or American / Canadian perspectives, or perhaps they were just drunk ;)   The bands were pretty good and we had a fabulous time sitting by the water listening to rocking blues.

On Saturday we headed back over the border and turned east to Christina Lake to visit Rich's chiropractor, Mike and his wife ?, who own a waterfront cottage that she inherited from her grandparents.  The place was very retro -- all the way down to their groovy motorboat, which has inspired me to buy one next summer.  Given the age, I think I can pick one up for very little -- though I should of asked how hard/expensive it is for upkeep/parts. 

Neither of us had ever been to Christina Lake and found the drive through the small historic towns along the Crowsnest Highway in BC's Boundary Country like a step back in time.  We stopped in Greenwood, a picturesque old mining town, and had to check out the local antique stores and have a drink in the saloon, which dates back to 1899.  Given our unhurried pace we arrived a bit later than anticipated, in mid-afternoon and were invited to join Mike & ? for dinner. 

Rich went for a late afternoon swim and we then spent a few hours on the deck getting to know them better.  With both Rich and I being outgoing and rather gregarious, I hope we weren't overwhelming.  I'd like to spend more time with them in the city as they were a pleasure to talk with, are bright, and incredibly athletic.  They've cycled the whole Kettle Valley Trail in the middle of summer.  No mean feat!!! I found it challenging just cycling part of the trail between Naramata and Chute Lake last summer.  I'd like to try doing a different section of the trail that is not uphill :)  I hear the Myra Canyon section that was destroyed in the 2003 fires was spectactular.  Once they trestles are rebuilt, I'd love to check it out.

I was a bit concerned about finding a place to stay after all the difficulties we had in securing accomodations the July 1st long weekend.  However we had no difficulty in finding a rustic lakefront cabin at Schulli Resort for the incredibly reasonable price of $50 a night!  Unfortunately it was a bit on the chilly side in the evening and we only had one thin blanket (all my other blankets packed in my car at Rich's place in Oliver!)  We spent a very cold, somewhat uncomfortable night there, since there was no heat and no insulation :(  On Sunday we had planned to stay and spend the day waterskiiing/hanging out, however it was overcast and not that warm.  So after a run, brisk swim, and hot breakfast we decided to head back to the sunny Okanagan.

Camping with My Cat

Rich wanted to go back to the city, however, since this was my only real summer holiday I wanted to make the most of it and spend our last night in Oliver.  He relented when we found a perfect waterfront camping site on Tuc El Nuit Lake, at the Sunny Beach Park, which is clean, quiet and has WiFi!  Surprisingly, my cat Victoria was incredibly good the whole trip, putting up with an overpacked convertible, moving every day to new strange locations, and now camping.  I purchased a harness for her and though she was not thrilled with it, she handled it pretty well and spent most of the time with us under our lawn chairs.  That night we went for dinner at the Toasted Oak Wine Bar & Grill, which has great food, a cool location and an excellent wine list.  We then saw the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith at a neat local theatre, which was built in 1946 and I don't think has seen many changes in it's 50 odd years existence.

Heading home on Labor Day we decided to stop for lunch in Princeton at the Copper Mountain Bar, which has a stunning patio perched on a cliff overlooking the Similkameen River.  We were disappointed by the food, which wasn't very good, and the service which was somewhat surly and slow.  Despite the one downer of our trip, it was a lovely week, and I can't wait to go back for the fall wine festival at the end of September!