by Chris Millikan
Electric bikes kick off our whirlwind Okanagan escapade in style. On the first glorious day, my hubby and I mount these steely chargers and blissfully explore along Kelowna’s scenic bench lands.
Up the street from our lakeside resort we turn onto meandering Mission Creek Greenway, joining joggers, dog-walkers and fellow cyclists along a peaceful wooded creek. Although these electric bikes can get up to 32 kilometers an hour on the flat, we start out pedaling exactly like other cyclists until eventually emerging onto paved roadways.
Snaking upward past luxuriant hillside vineyards, the E-bikes render grinding climbs painless. With a flick-of-my thumb, one of three power levels magically engages; wheeling smoothly into the lead with pert waves and triumphant “Waaa-hooos” becomes highly irresistible to me; keeping up the pace without strain simply sublime!
Ascending to Okanagan Lavender Farm, delicately scented breezes announce our first stop. Exercising the U-pick option there, we gather up handfuls of purple, pink and creamy-white stalks from a fragrant field overlooking lush vineyards.
Owner Andrea explains, “Our farm grows 60 lavender varieties over 3-and-a-half acres.”
And strolling over to her country store brimming with handcrafted products, she impishly whispers, “Roman men thought lavender head-wreaths made them smarter…” In case they’d been onto something, we poke the aromatic stems into our helmets!
Chilled lavender lemonade fuels us as we ‘fly’ joyfully downward, landing at one of BC’s oldest continuously producing vineyards.
Slightly off the beaten track, this fifty-acre winery originally named Pioneer Vineyards…and Tantalus since 2004…was planted with grapes in 1927.
“This winery targets wine lovers with small-batch specialty wines, handmade from 30-year-old vines,” Jane tells us. “And world-renowned Tlingit artist Dempsey Bob’s mask adorns our new labels…signifying elegance, like our wines.
” Visualizing numb but nimble fingers picking frozen grapes, we savor premium Riesling Ice Wine 2005, the first under new ownership. Motoring easily back up the corkscrew driveway, we charge swiftly downhill to one of Canada’s most visited wineries, generating reserve energy to replenish the bike’s batteries as we go…
Largest to be certified organic, Summerhill Pyramid Winery specializes in sparkling wines aged in a unique four-storey concrete Egyptian-style pyramid. Touring it, Casey reveals, “Facing true north, this fuse frame structure has no metals or electricity…but its spiritual energy positively affects liquids, proven in 14-year experiments and three years of taste-testing. Now, all our wines are pyramid-aged in this sacred geometry.”
Amid million dollar patio views, we sip fruity, food-friendly wines while munching gourmet pizzas topped with some of 66 heirloom tomato varieties from flourishing organic gardens below…and luscious local goat cheeses from Carmelis Alpine Goat Cheese Farm, the afternoon’s final and longest uphill chug.
After visiting with lady-goats gathered in milking barns there, we enter the visitor center displaying 20 handmade cheeses.
Although tempted by farm tours demonstrating traditional artisan cheese-making methods, we freewheel back downtown with several scrumptious samples for nibbling later…perhaps with robust local wines…on our balcony overlooking Okanagan Lake…while sunset reds, pinks and purples signal the first day’s end.
For a change of pace the next morning we join others sauntering…and cycling…along the restful lakeside walkway in Waterfront Park.
After strolling we past the pretty marina, feathery willows, trickling waterfalls in floral gardens, golden beaches and captivating artworks, an arching bridge leads us into a transformed six-block area, Kelowna’s award-winning cultural district.
Once the center of the Okanagan’s fruit packing industry, heritage warehouses now offer thirty intimate galleries, museums, theaters and artist studios to investigate.
A park-like common there hosts seasonal festivals and concerts; the vine-shaded Artwalk connects pedestrians with a revitalized downtown. One of eleven permanent sculptures, the monumental Fruit Stand stretches along this walkway, recapturing history with gigantic stylized peaches, pears and mosaics of early packing labels.
At the busy bus loop, the Running Man sculpture comments whimsically on our hectic lives; the Bennett Clock with merrily splashing fountain honors BC’s longtime Premier. Tucked behind, we wander the soothing Kasugai Gardens pathways, established in recognition of friendship with a Japanese sister city.
Cycling the Myra Canyon portion of the Kettle Valley Trail launches our last day.
The Kettle Valley Railway crisscrossed southwestern BC between 1916 and 1964, its eighteen abandoned trestles later providing spectacular hiking and cycling routes through rugged splendor. Glad that more destroyed trestles will be rebuilt in 2007 we tackle six newly reconstructed trestles amid stark, still-charred pines from the devastating wildfires of 2003.
Driving onward, we investigate a 150-acre orchard, operating since 1904. The Kelowna Land & Orchard Company provides regularly scheduled orchard tours, but we’re too late for this informative wagon ride. Instead, we explore the farm store overflowing with golden honey, jams, jellies, crisp red apples, succulent purple table grapes and fresh garden vegetables.
Inside, at the Raven Ridge Cidery taste-testing unique specialties made from premium apples harvested during the first big freeze, another keen sampler leans over with a toast, “Try this ice cider once…you’ll be back!” Our little dessert glasses clink affirmation.
Slim bottles of Granny Smith Ice Cider stowed, our final stop beckons ten-minutes away.
Carved from a lovely old apple orchard and tended organically, 4-acre Elysium Gardens has provided a tranquil place for locals and visitors since 1999.
Throughout this paradise for birds, butterflies and garden buffs like us, owner Jacquie points out native plants, hardy perennials, golden ornamental grasses, English roses and multitudes of variegated hostas.
She observes, “Some areas reflect the formality typical of ‘proper gardens’…others feel more natural, free flowing…” Backstopped by unobstructed mountain views, Lavender Lane leads to the threshold of a magnificent gazebo, a popular wedding spot.
In visiting a revitalized historic center, thriving family farms, famed wineries and beautiful gardens over three fun-filled days, we’d only just begun to discover Kelowna’s many sides.
About the author:
This week Traveling Tales welcomes freelance travel writer Chris Millikan who lives in Delta, a suburb of Vancouver BC.
About the photos:
1: A productive lavender farm stretches above a Kelowna vineyard. Rick Millikan
photo.
2: A local vintner “empowers” his wine in this pyramid. Rick Millikan photo.
3: A multi-use pathway runs along Kelowna’s Waterfront Park. Rick Millikan
photo.
If you go:
Contact Kelowna Tourism www.tourismkelowna.com for all travel needs.
Manteo refresh@manteo.com features lakefront amenities and superb accommodation in spacious guestrooms, suites and villas.
Enjoy an al fresco gourmet lunch, unique tour and tasting at Summerhill Pyramid Winery www.summerhill.bc.ca
Elysium Gardens www.elysiumgardennursery.com offers peaceful strolls and panoramic views in a former apple orchard.
Just a puddle-jump away from the Lower Mainland, Galiano is magnificently undeveloped and pristine, its island charm unblemished by the tarnish of tourism.
Part of it is the interesting cast of characters that constitute Galiano’s population. I caught a smattering of it on a quick visit. There’s Jane Rule, the well-known novelist whose work deals with gay and lesbianism, and Steve Ocsko, a Hungarian-born stone carver who lives and works up a steep hill on Manastee road, chiseling rocks into a veritable canvas of shapes and figures.
Troubadours roam the McLean Mill site bringing the Mill’s and Port Alberni’s long logging and sawmilling history to life. Close your eyes and the smell of freshly cut timber being hewn in a steam-driven mill will take you back to the early life-blood industry of Vancouver Island. The vibrant actors/musicians guide you through the mill as if you were just starting work there, touring the logging/sawmill camp buildings.
Port Alberni’s unique location at the end of the Alberni Inlet, or the Alberni Canal as locals call it, makes it a world-renowned place for salmon and halibut fishing. Also out on the canal, the MV Lady Rose or MV Frances Barkley can take you on an unforgettable 40 kilometer journey to Bamfield or Ucluelet with some of the most incredible scenery and wildlife viewing in the world.
The market is a warren of rooms, passages, nooks and crannies. Stalls display Nova Scotian crafts—miniature watercolours of Halifax, stained glass candleholders glowing with Maritime emblems and designs, appliquéd aprons and eye catching pottery.
This is the HMCS “Sackville”, Canada’s last surviving vessel from a fleet of 269 gallant little corvettes that saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. The boys nod attentively as their grandfather points out some of the ship’s special characteristics.
The artifacts recovered from the debris on the ocean floor range from perfume vials (visitors can sniff the scent) to one of the 3 million (possibly defective) rivets that held together the steel plates of the hull.
“There’s the excitement of constructing each of the artifact galleries, the ship’s grandeur, and the incredible drama of those final hours,” says Zaller, “but it’s the stories behind these one-of-a-kind irreplaceable objects that truly fire the imagination.”
Inside the canvas walls of a 320-square-foot enclosure, expect slate floors with radiant heat, a Jacuzzi bathtub for two, flush toilets, a comfy king-size bed with down comforter and pumped up pillows and securely locked doors.
There’s no urgency to go anywhere once you arrive at Rockwater. A game of Scrabble, a good book and a pair of binoculars are all you need to pass the time.
Among the 11 million annual visitors to Niagara Falls, 50,000 are honeymooners, who are rewarded with discounts aplenty from local businesses and honeymoon certificates from the tourism bureau.
One way to experience the view is from a heated gondola on the Niagara SkyWheel, a 53-meter-high Ferris wheel that sweeps visitors to the summit for breathtaking views of the falls.
Every Saturday morning from April to October over a hundred artisans and farmers congregate to sell their goods. Tables, shaded by colourful umbrellas, border the parkway and host everything from bead work to bokchoy.
The string of bargains and vendor stalls carry on after we leave the market place. Roadside stands dot the hillsides on our island drive and brim over with everything from bright floral bouquets to the garden’s daily pick. Most are unmanned, and operate by a trustworthy honor system -a refreshing change from our commercialized big box stores!
As the crowd files into the square, the opening ceremonies begin: songs, speeches and performances. And then the Christmas lights decorating the building, the Christmas tree and the square are turned on to cheers and exclamations of delight. The Christkindl Market has officially opened!
It’s a great way to buy truly unique gifts for everyone on my list. I select a hand-crafted necklace from one stall, while a nearby toddler watches in fascination as a toymaker demonstrates the intricate mechanisms of his wares—carved wooden figurines that evoke days long past. A few moments later, I know exactly how the toddler feels, as I find a table of Fabergé-style eggs, each gilt-encrusted orb concealing its own little wonder.
Her terrain is the beach just beyond the Sooke Harbour House, alongside a narrow stretch of land that twists like a dog’s tail into the ocean. The area is straight out of a west coast fairy tale, from its very name, Whiffen Spit, to the white clapboard house that is Sooke Harbour House, with the acres of edible flowers that trim its perimeter.
Braving about 100 bee stings a year, Liptrot turns some of his honey into mead, the dessert wine most often referred to in the works of Shakespeare and Chaucer. The mead is a deliciously different alcoholic beverage, and Tugwell Creek’s varieties are hard to come by unless you stop in at the farm or visit the smattering of wine shops in BC that carry this product.