August 15, 2014 by Wandering Whit

Back in Time: The Kettle Valley Steam Railway

Train travel has to be one of my favourite forms of transportation. I love the way it gently rocks side to side. I love the amazing scenery you can enjoy along the way. And I love how it feels like I’m taking a little step back in time.

We don’t have many opportunities to travel by train in Canada so when I discovered that Summerland, BC had a heritage railway – I was ready to sign on the dotted line.

The Kettle Valley Steam Railway showcases a unique part of the Okanagan where visitors can take in 10 miles of beautiful vistas along the preserved section of track. I must have taken approximately 500 photographs of the same spectacular view, which included lush orchards, vineyards, and of course Lake Okanagan.

The round trip journey’s mid-point is the Trout Creek Bridge 238 feet above the canyon floor. Some of my other highlights were listening to the adorable little banjo player serenading us along the way, as well as waving at all the locals that came out to watch us pass. I only felt a little bad about peeking into everyone’s backyards – some of them had quite the set up!

Basically, I loved this rail trip! The open air car was the perfect escape from the summer heat, and the restored steam locomotive took me straight back to 1912, fueling my obsession with the era of Downton Abbey (as if I needed any help in that regard).

I highly recommend this little day trip from Kelowna for your next Okanagan adventure. I hope to come back and try The Great Train Robbery next time!

August 14, 2014 by Wandering Whit

Weekend Getaway: Soaking up the Best of Kelowna

Driving over four hours to Kelowna for merely two nights may seem like a long way to travel for such a short trip. What could you possibly accomplish in such a short amount of time?

Well, let me tell you, I made my time count.

Here is a blog style itinerary of my weekend getaway to Kelowna, BC.

Friday afternoon:

I departed Vancouver around 1:45pm to attempt to beat the rush hour traffic. On the way I picked up my sister in law, Faith, in Langley before arriving at my parent’s house in Abbotsford. We loaded into my mom’s new Subaru and were ready to go!

Friday evening:

We arrived in West Kelowna around 6:30pm – just in time for dinner. We were all feeling adventurous and found a hole in the wall, mom-and-pop, Lebanese restaurant online that had solid reviews. We were not disappointed. It was clearly the kind of place that you had to know about because the owner seemed confused about why we were even there. Have you been here before? How did you find us? Someone needs to teach Gaby about the power of the Internet. Anyways, we thoroughly enjoyed our platter of deliciously spiced rice, chicken skewers, humus and pita even if we had to wait a while to get our food. After all, Gaby’s Grill is only staffed by two people. We gave it a 5 star review and will definitely be back.

So good that I dug in right away…

Saturday morning:

We woke up bright and early Saturday morning at our lovely host’s house (my Aunt & Uncle) ready to start our epic day of relaxation.

A solid brunch is the best way to kick off any weekend and so we headed to the Bohemian Café in downtown Kelowna. We were really original and all three of us ordered the same thing – Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes with real maple syrup! Our meal success continues!

Now, no trip to the Okanagan Valley would be complete without a little wine tour and so our second stop of the day was Mission Hill Winery in West Kelowna. Check out the full post here.

Saturday afternoon:

After such a lovely morning enjoying stunning views of Lake Okanagan, we were ready to get a much closer appreciation of the lake life. Fortunately for us, my Uncle has a boat and managed to free up some time to drive us to my other Aunt & Uncle’s waterfront property. We jumped aboard the boat for a 45 minute boat ride where we could soak up the sun while using the breeze to beat the heat – perfection!

We spent the afternoon visiting with family and sipping ciders lakeside. Not too shabby.

Saturday evening:

After a quiet dinner back in downtown Kelowna, we set off to explore the waterfront boardwalk at my most favourite time of day – twilight – or what I affectionately coined “magic hour.” We also wandered through the grounds of the Delta Grand Hotel and enjoyed the colours of the setting sun before heading back to our place for another glass of wine.

Sunday morning:

Once again we were up early, but honestly it still felt like sleeping in compared to my work schedule. We were leaving Kelowna behind now and made our way to Peachland for our sweet fix at Bliss Bakery. Sitting lakeside (is there even another side?) while eating pastries and drinking coffee is definitely my idea of a blissful Sunday morning. I didn’t even question the sign that stated We Bake Naked because maybe that’s just what people do when they are this happy.

We soon left Peachland behind for yet another foreign land – Summerland! Now that name sure sounds heavenly. In reality, Summerland is such a sleepy little town that I would probably go stir crazy in one day but we had very good reason to be there – The Kettle Valley Steam Train. It was such a lovely way to enjoy the valley and canyon views and definitely felt like we had travelled back in time. Check out the full post here.

After an ice cream cone lunch in town we were back on the road – destination: home! All in all, it was a pretty great weekend. We packed in a lot of activity but all of it was relaxing enough that I didn’t feel tired. The toughest part is deciding where to go next year…

August 13, 2014 by Wandering Whit

Wine Tasting in the Okanagan Valley

This past weekend I spent my second annual “Girl’s Weekend” in the Okanagan Valley with my mom and sister-in-law. Basically, this weekend is an excuse for me to have a mini vacation (with my mom picking up the tab) and to show my new American sis all the glorious spots BC has to offer. And of course to bond and spend quality time together too.

Last year we took her to one of our favourite summer stomping grounds – Whistler Village. Although the weather didn’t quite cooperate, we still managed to kick off this tradition with a bang and checked bungee jumping off the bucket list!

Just jumped off a bridge… no big deal

This year we had to make sure our trip was equally entertaining and decided to return to the Okanagan where my family used to frequent back when I was a kid. However, this time we had more grown up pursuits in mind… cue the wine!

No trip to the Okanagan Valley would be complete without making time for a little wine tour. With over 150 wineries in the region it’s no wonder that USA today named it as the world’s second best wine region to visit. Described as “Drop. Dead. Gorgeous” by expert Kerry Woolard, this wine country has made a name for itself with award winning white wines like the Mission Hill Chardonnay and incredible lake views from nearly every angle.

We decided to visit the famous Mission Hill Winery in West Kelowna for a one hour heritage tour. It was a delightful experience, perfectly crafted to please by our host Elizabeth. We watched a short documentary, toured the bordeaux cellars, and of course sampled some wine (three to be exact). But, it’s really the grounds that make this such a lovely place to visit. The winery is built in a Roman classic style similar to what you would see in Tuscany and boasts a 140 ft bell tower, a 1000 seat outdoor amphitheatre, and truly beautiful lake views. I could have stayed here all day!