ThanksgivingTrip - The road to the farm

We are home safe and sound from our Thanksgiving weekend at the farm and I am ready to put our suitcases away for a looooong time! Yep, it's soooo good to be home and about to stay here for a while. We did have the most glorious colourful drive to the farm though, and a wonderful weekend in the country. Nothing quite like turkey with all the trimmings, shared with family around that old kitchen table at the farm. Delicious indeed.

On the day we set out the skies were blue and full of sunshine, and the trees had on their most colourful dresses. What a fabulous combination. From the Ottawa Valley to the Hastings Highlands the scenery was.....
awesome! I snapped hundreds of pics but none of them do justice to what we actually saw at all. A few captured a smattering of the scope and beauty of the landscape though.
Some parts of the road weren't as colourful as others, but beautiful nonetheless.
Then just around the next bend in the road, the colourful shawl was placed over Mother's Nature's shoulders once again and we were speechless at the beauty.
We were on the road for about four hours and...
we were treated to scenes like this almost every minute along the way.
We stopped at a lake or two to stretch our legs, take a breath and of course snap some pictures,
and also had to stop at this delightful Gallery just around the corner from the farm. Well, maybe half and hour down the road, but it seems like it is just around the corner.
I do love to shop at this Gallery. The owner has things I would never find in the city.
Just down the hill from the Gallery's front door is this little Schoolhouse nestled in the woods. It is now a tea room. Pretty isn't it?
Soon we were back in the car for the last leg of the trip. In no time at all we turned into Welcome Lane at the farm and once we unpacked the car, we walked down to the Swimming Hole then around Perimeter Path back to the house. As you can see from the pic below, taken while standing beside the house looking south across the yard, there isn't a lot of colour at the farm, but oh the drive to get there was...I am at a loss for words.
After our walk around to say hello to all the old familiar places, we snuggled into the cozy farmhouse for the night. The next day was cold and very rainy so we didn't poke our noses out the door ALL day. We read books, watched videos, worked on a craft or two, and reeeelaxed! Ahh, now that's better. The next day broke sunny and bright though, so we hit the trails with our cameras in hand. I'll post those pics tomorrow.

Final hours

Our last day with the A Team was a relaxing but fun one. D2 gave AC some guitar lessons...
and I think he sounded pretty good.
While they were busy making music, D3 did some creative painting on my nails.
Isn's she talented?
After an at-home morning, we ventured downtown to do some shopping. We walked along one of the main streets and encountered this band of buskers.
They it was time for one last trip to English Bay....
and a fond farewell to the Inukshuk near Sunset Beach.
Next stop - our cozy little nest in Ontario. We had a great time, but it was oh so nice to set our sites for home.

Osoyoos - cont'd

Just beside the desert cultural centre is the Nk'mip resort and Nk'mip winery.
In the middle of a desert this native band has carved out this jewel of a winery.
If you ever get to this corner of the world, it is a must see.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
After our visit to the Cultural Centre and winery, we ventured back down into the valley and had a picnic lunch on the shores of Lake Osoyoos.

It was a warm day but VERY windy! Winds gusts were up to 50k's and we could hardly keep our food on the table. We managed though and had a delicious lunch...
before making tracks for home.
We just had to stop and get some Okanagan Valley fruit to munch on during our upcoming flight home.
As we got closer and closer to Vancouver again, the desert receded and we were once again in the lush green mountains.



What a trip of extreme landscapes. Each one beautiful in their own right.

Osoyoos

On our second day in Osoyoos, we were up earlier than the girls, so we went in search of an early morning cup of coffee. The lake was beautiful at that early hour.
As we walked along the water with our steaming coffee, the day got brighter and brighter, and we snapped picture after picture after picture.
We found a cute little cafe for breakfast, so we walked back to the hotel and told the girls where it was and said we would meet them there in half an hour. We went back and sat by the water to soak in the beauty.
After breakfast we set off for NK'MIP Desert Cultural Centre. What a contrast to Vancouver. We had palm trees in English Bay, and here we are in a desert.

This was an amazing cultural centre and a highlight of the trip for us. I spend some happy time in the gift shop and bought myself a trinket or two. What fun.
This is a view of the land around the Cultural centre...
and Lake Osoyoos nestled in the valley, as seen from the Cultural Centre.
We signed up for a an hour long tour of the Osoyoos band's land of the Okanagan Nation's land. This is D2 with our tour guide Bob.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the summer temperatures creep up into the 50's. This is a pit-house used by the early residents of the land to keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Here is D2 and D3 inside the pit-house listening to Bob tell us about its construction.
Of course AC and I had to pose just outside the door.
Another view of the area set up for us to tour and see how life was for the early residents.
This land is now the site of North America's first aboriginal owned and operated winery. More pics and info about that tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Wine Tour - cont'd

Day 9 - Part 2

We left Hope BC and continued on our journey through the mountains to Osoyoos. The mountains outside of Hope were lush and covered with trees.
What beauty.
As we got closer and closer to Osoyoos though, the mountains started to change drastically. Lots of brown earth or rock showed through and the trees were sparse.
Ahh, time to get out and stretch. You can see the area of either side of the road was rather dry and rugged.
Here we are getting closer and closer to Osoyoos and the trees are few and far between. Who knew that we had a desert in Canada, and there would be a famous winery there!
This is our first glimpse of Lake Osoyoos, and it isn't too clear in this picture, but lush green areas collar the lake.
This is a view of Lake Osoyoos from our hotel seen to the left in this pic. Yes, we were right on the water.
Actually, we were right in the middle of the water. The hotel was on a isthmus and below is the view across the road from the hotel.
We visited this little gazebo on the water before heading to a nice restaurant for a most delicious dinner. Our waitress was from Quebec and she said she was anxious to go back home. She didn't like the summer temperatures which quite often climbed into the 50's! (120 F) Yikes. now that is HOT!
D3 and I enjoyed a glass of wine at the beginning of the meal...
and D2 and AC approved of the desserts served at the end.
After dinner we took a liesurly walk along the water...
and watched the sun drop below the distance hills.
Then it was time to retreat to our delightful hotel room for a good night's sleep. Our suite had two separate bedrooms, a full kitchen and...
a comfy sitting room.
I was impressed. The beds were clean, the pillows perfect and plentiful, and the towels fluffy. All for only $124 a night. Yes, I was impressed! I once stayed in a 5 star hotel that wasn't nearly as nice, and had no view at all.

So, our vacation is almost at an end. One more day in Wine country and then it is homeward bound to pack up and get ready for the flight home.