Wine Country

Because there are no curtains at the top of our little A-frame rental and I was sleeping upstairs I woke up early and rushed outside to see the sun shining over the mountains. 

Gayle and I knew we were driving longer than one hour today.  We are a well-oiled machine.  Our cabin had two bathrooms and so we were up and out by 8:30 a.m. -- plus we gain an hour today.  We hopped onto the Trans-Canada Highway down to Golden, BC.  I had been on this road before.  It was the summer of 1979 on a vacation with my parents.  It was a difficult trip that included my father spending five days in the hospital in Golden, BC.  I was eager to experience all I didn't get to enjoy that summer.  This section of the Trans-Canada highway was closed from Easter until this past Friday  (July 29) in order for the road to be widened and re-aligned.  We were grateful we were driving on it on August 1 but the construction is obviously not finished.

It is a very dramatic road.

We stopped at Roger's Pass in Glacier National Park in Canada for a photo op.  

One of the things we read about this National Park is that it is known for its very steep trails and prime avalanche terrain.  Every winter Parks Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces work together to release avalanches in a controlled manner before they become a threat.  We stopped to walk the Hemlock Grove Boardwalk but it was closed.  So we got off at the next exit to walk the Giant Cedars Boardwalk Trail .  We eagerly got out the hiking poles because a stroll through a rainforest seemed like an excellent idea.  However, this trail was also closed.  They had heavy rainfall and snowfall in the winter of 2021-22 and many trees fell and destroyed the boardwalk.  This National Park seems to be very threatened by its extreme weather.  We did our best to peer around the gate blocking the trail to at least get a peek. 

The next National Park we came upon on our trek along the Trans-Canada Highway was Mount Revelstoke.  We have now been in 6 National Parks in Canada -- Waterton Lakes, Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and Mount Revelstoke.  

We made no stops in Mount Revelstoke.  The pre-made tuna sandwiches we had eaten the night before were no longer sustaining us.  I had researched where to find the best poutine in the city of Revelstoke -- the Village Idiot.  We have very little time left in Canada and we really do want to see what all the fuss is about.  We arrived in Revelstoke just after 11 a.m.  We looked up the Village Idiot and Google said it opened at 11:30 a.m. So we went in search of gas and to re-fill our cooler with cold drinks.  The National Parks along the Trans-Canada Highway do not have many places to get gas or food.  We waited to get a gas pump.  We waited in line to buy drinks.  By the time we got to the Village Idiot it was 11:30.  A sign on the door said that they weren't going to open until 1 p.m. today.  We walked next door to an empty Chinese Restaurant.  We inhaled our lunch and got back on the road.  Maybe we can have poutine for lunch tomorrow.

The highway was packed with cars and was only one lane each direction.  It was slow going.  We headed south from Sicamous toward the Okanagan Valley.  The area surrounds the Okanagan Lake and Okanagan River.  The lake is 83 miles long and the river extends into north central Washington.  This area in Canada is known for its fruit orchards, vineyards and water sports.  It wasn't a long distance from where we spent the night but the speed limit is slower in Canada.  The highways have less lanes.  I have been greatly impressed with the average mileage I have achieved on a tank of gas.  

We made our way down to Kelowna in a long line of cars, enjoying the multiple lakes and all the lush agriculture.  We arrived in time to do some laundry and shake out our dresses.  We had reservations tonight at the Home Block Restaurant at the Cedar Creek Winery Estate.  We splurged and decided to go for the Library Experience -- a five course meal paired with their platinum wines.  They called us two days ago to check out our allergies and preferences.  Gayle is not a fan of meat so we asked to have a vegetarian experience. We drove beside the lake to get to the restaurant and the wind was incredible, like a Fall day.  Wind surfers were out on the lake leaping across the waves.

The hostess sat us on the patio with an incredible view of the lake.  

I am not a drinker.  I have no tolerance so I knew I needed to be careful.  Our first course was a roasted apricot with sage, goat cheese and honey.  I sipped my wine and didn't finish.   For our second course they brought us a crispy zucchini flower with favas and buffalo mozzarella.  I would have been satisfied right there.  Next was a pasta dish with truffles, morels and peas.  It was so good.  Fourth on our list was a lion's mane mushroom (a new taste for me) with a gorgonzola and red lentil stuffed onion -- not my favorite.  We ended with a fruit tart (red currants, cherries and haskap berries) with malted whipped cream.  It was exquisite. 

With each course we were brought a new wine and it was described for us.  Gayle and I just sipped our wines and then moved them to the edge of the table assuming they would take them away.  But they left them there.  It formed a wall of wine around the table. When the server delivered one of our five wines he called it a feminine wine.  I asked him what was meant by that description.  He said that wine is often described as having a masculine or feminine characteristic,  depending on whether it is bold or light.  He could tell I didn't like the description.  I said, "Can I swap out this glass for a non-binary wine?"  He expected me to argue with him.  He didn't expect that response.  He looked down at our wall of wine and said, "If you leave these glass of wine here long enough they can identify however they choose."

After 2 and 1/2 hours of dining next to this beautiful lake we finally paid our expensive bills and set off towards our sweet little VRBO rental.