Vernon: where happy hour starts at 9 ( the second one)

Posted bybrantdyer6929Posted inUncategorized
Perfect spot for coffee… and to contemplate how these baskets are made.

It was another beautiful drive to Vernon in the Okanagan Valley . Another ferry but this time a cable ferry. We found our friend’s home very easily. We always comment on how GPS and the Internet has changed travel. You can find just about anything, but so can everyone else.

Yup they had South Carolina, North Carolina and Texas barbecue. Then the owner came out and gave us all her recommendations for wineries and a booklet…. Very kind! Brant sure looks happy. They even had fried pickles! I went with the gumbo.


Brant was happy to find Southern style, barbecue, an easy walk from the house. Though sad our friends were not there with us, they were so kind to let us sneak into their bungalow. It feels good to be in a home after being on the road a couple weeks. And nice to walk through a neighborhood that reminded me of Berkeley to a good restaurant. It felt like home. They even had a cabinet on a post to seed swap in their neighborhood. I really wanted to get some seeds for it.

Through Canada we have seen inclusivity and diversity. Our friend’s beautiful artwork in their home echoed that.
In this pic you can see a gray streak of smoke in the distance…still a beautiful view. (Taken at Arrow leaf winery I think). Across the way is Kelowna which is where the fires have been burning that have been on the news.


We headed south to explore the wineries. Sadly there’s still a fire burning in one of the areas we wanted to explore. I suspect this is what caused a landslide or rock slide which has now closed the road indefinitely. While it was still beautiful, you could certainly see smoke in the distance. Oddly, I couldn’t smell it.

At this winery they give you 3d glasses. The son of the winery owner creates all the labels which are even better with 3d glasses and a glass of wine!
When all these labels were accidentally put on upside down they renamed the wine “oops”. Then when they had leftovers, they called it woopsie and put it in cans .. perfect for travel! The incognito wine pourer (what do you call them?) spent about 3 years sailing and spent a great deal of the time in the Los Barriles area. Her kids were 3 and 5 when they started and she loved that area.
I think the smoke might have added to the beautiful sunset. They had great wines here at Peak Cellars. So good that we stayed here for dinner.
I had the best mushroom risotto (made from local mushrooms) of my life. This is panna cotta with peaches but that brown stuff is caramelized honey comb. It was SO tasty. Why didn’t I think of this?


The next day, we rode bikes around the lake. It was a beautiful bike trail that circled the lake. Really was reminiscent of California hills.

Yup a banana bike ebike! I wanted brant to ride on the back but he couldn’t get his legs up high enough to clear the ground. I earned that fresh peach milkshake! Maybe not the blue cheese burger ….

The pickle ball paddles came in handy again at indoor pickleball. They have 1100 members and a waiting list. They say they avoid outdoor courts so as not to upset people with the noise.

Kind of like cages.. about 16 courts. A bit noisy but fun. And not cheap!


We have discovered that Canada has a late happy hour that starts at nine. Perfect for people like us who like to eat and drink late. And lucky for us after a full day of biking then playing pickleball and repacking for the road….. it was MARGARITA MONDAY!

So great to pick up our friend Heather at the airport after happy hour. Too short of visit but so good to see the places we talk about in Mexico.
Interesting that the airport here is international, you can fly direct to England or the Baja.

There were apple orchards everywhere. Perfect timing for stocking up on apples for the road. And you can eat apple pies, tarts, muffins, sauce, cider and donuts while you browse.
Biker dude
Seriously…looks a little like Folsom lake right? (If Folsom was was teal blue)
And a bit like Sonoma?
BUT HOW DO THEY make these BASKETS?
Or these truly amazing baskets from Africa? Love the patterns.

So now we are headed back to Banf for a couple nights. Sometimes your brain can only handle so many beautiful waterfalls and glAciers, but we are ready to tackle it again. Hope we don’t run into too much construction on the way…..

And yes we would come back but not until the rock slide is cleared and we can explore West Kelowna.

Happy fall to all and to our friends in Northern California… avoid that apple hill traffic

One thought on “Vernon: where happy hour starts at 9 ( the second one)”

Leave a comment