3 Kelowna wineries

Still much to blog, and we're only at breakfast on our second day in the Okanagan. The mall (yes, the mall - let's go to the mall, everybody!) opens in an hour and a half, so we've got a bit of time to get more photos up. And heck, isn't it better to read about our latest jaunt west in nice, digestible bits? (And as it turns out, I'm adding the photos to this on Thursday morning in Vancouver)

Part of the point of this expedition to Kelowna was to visit some wineries, and we managed to get to three on the east side of Okanagan Lake yesterday. It was a pleasant afternoon for a drive, though we might have liked it a bit sunnier. Ah well.

Up first: Cedar Creek. We'd had their wines before in restaurants, and thought they were nice. That's faint praise, I know, and to be honest, I don't know that we had ever had their better wines, truly. Still, the name is an appealing one, and we wanted to visit it, so at about 2:30 we pulled up to the winery shop on its hillside perch.



Once inside, Conrad, Roy, and I opted to pay to taste the higher end wines. The result? A few purchases. The 2005 Platinum Reserve Pinot Noir, the 2005 Estate Select Chardonnay, and the 2005 Estate Select Syrah. Roy found them a bit dry, so he opted out of the pricier tastings and went for the more basic ones before settling on a bottle of a Dry Riesling to purchase. We also bought an inexpensive red blend in case we wanted something to sip back at the hotel after dinner (we didn't, though). A successful first stop.

Since it was nearby, we thought we'd pop in at St Hubertus next. We really didn't know their wines well, but heck, why not? One of the co-owners (as it turned out) greeted us in the driveway - he was on duty at meeting visitors and opening the shop for them. A November Monday is not a busy time for visitors at Okanagan wineries, though it is a busy time for the winery workers otherwise. We were delighted to get to come in and see the rebuilt facility - the fires of a few years ago hit some of these wineries hard, and we could see the skeletons of trees up above.



As for the wines, well, we didn't enjoy them as much as we did the ones at Cedar Creek, to be honest. They seemed lighter, thinner, less complex. Still, Roy again liked the Dry Riesling enough to buy it, and I bought one as well. Conrad and I also purchased a Pinot Meunier in part because it's unusual to find such a wine.

We didn't think we would go to any other wineries for the rest of the afternoon, but on the way back into the city we caught sight of the Summerhill pyramid and detoured slightly to drop in there.


The winery has a terrific view of the lake, and a restaurant taking advantage of that. I think Roy and even Conrad were already a bit tired of tasting, and I have to concede that neither the Pinot Noir Conrad tasted nor the Merlot Roy appealed to any of us. Conrad's Pinot was funky, and not in the desirable way. Roy's Merlot tasted cooked - like it had been kept warm too long. I liked the Cipes Pinot Noir Brut (a rose sparkling wine) enough to buy it, decided against the Ehrenfelser (too cloying), and bought a bottle of the 2005 Enchanted Vines Solus Foch. Interesting smokiness to the wine, so I thought it would be fun to crack open one night down the road.

And with that, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. I don't think we'll get to any wineries today, but with the haul from yesterday afternoon plus a few bottles from the winery we dined at last night, we're nicely set for at least a few days here!

See Jeph?

We do eat junk food on rare occasion.

You can pick your jaw up off the floor now.

No, I'm not in the photos, so there's no "blackmail" material floating around out there. Rest assured, though, Conrad was not the only one enjoying the A&W (are there even any A&W restaurants in the US anymore????) onions rings. Breaded. They rock, seriously. And they rock even more for being served in a bilingually labeled bag.Rondelles, indeed! This was in Merritt, I should say, en route to Salmon Arm. A town of 7088 in the 2001 census, and of that number, 175 spoke French as a first language, and 20 others were bilingual. Happily, they, too, could order and enjoy the rings!

some people never change...

...and thank goodness for it!

Blogging a bit out of chronological order here, but I'm sure you'll all cut me some slack. I have a few photos still from yesterday, but I did want to get Ray's photos up before too long.

Ray is someone I've known for about 15 years from back home. Way back in about 1993 he took a fat young guy (me - and yes, I was fat, about 90 pounds heavier than I am right now) and somehow instilled in him an appreciation and enjoyment of activity. As if that were all he did, though. Ray is simply a very rare person, someone who takes each person on their merits and makes his judgment based on that. No generalizations based on the person's background or self-identification. It's a remarkable quality in a person, and I am glad to know him for it.

It's been too many years since last we saw each other. A few near misses when I've been in Salmon Arm and the area, but otherwise, it's been several years since last I saw him. I think it may have been 5 years since we managed a coffee in Kamloops on a snowy late December morning. 1 hour in the last ten years. Not enough.

Before Conrad, Mum, Roy, and I set out for Kelowna this morning, we stopped by Ray's new running gear store, Cool Running, in Salmon Arm. From the sounds of it, it's been a welcome business in the community, and I hope his success there endures. Meanwhile, he and I had a lot of running and swimming chit chat to catch up on as well as the Terrace gossip. Plus, he'd never met Conrad before, though others in his family and extended family had.

Dinner with Ray tomorrow night in Salmon Arm and more catching up on tap. How nice to do so on this all-too-short visit back west.

snowy Lions

So here I sit on a bed at the Holiday Inn Express in Kelowna, contented with a good dinner at the Old Vines Restaurant - to be blogged later - and keen to post some photos from our trip so far. Ready? Shall we?

I've veiled the truth slightly on the blog for a little while now. Every time I talk about staying with my sister, well, we have, indeed, stayed with her. What was not said but many know is that my sister lives in the second home we purchased earlier this year in Vancouver. So, yes, all the views are ours, and she just kind of takes care of them for us while we're at home in Chicago.

One of the key things to sell us on the home were the views. Much of what lies between us and the views of the North Shore mountains are the low buildings of Chinatown, many of them protected heritage buildings. Better still for us, we are in the middle of a city-designated view cone: no new construction will be permitted above a certain height, and our views will be preserved because of that. We are truly glad when we wake up to sights like this - fresh snow on the mountains. Wow. Winter dusts the North Shore peaks, and the Lions, the two prominent humps, are two snowy sentinels over the city.



No snow in Vancouver itself, or in Salmon Arm or Kelowna. We did encounter some on the ground and the road as we hit the two summits on the Coquihalla, though. Otherwise, it was just mountaintops gleaming with fresh new snow. This one, near Chilliwack, reminded us of a horse's head.

Life isn't back to normal yet

So, in the past week

• Conrad has returned from Honolulu;
• Conrad has gone to Fort Collins, CO;
• Conrad has returned from Fort Collins;
• Dion visited from New Zealand;
• I have dined out at Frontera Grill and Yoshi's and otherwise tried to use up things in the fridge before we go away;
• I have been in the pool 6 times - wow!

Nope, nothing is normal. Conrad and I strolled down to Whole Foods after swim practice this morning, and as we walked, holding hands, making our usually googly-eyes at each other, we both confessed that we very badly want some time in our home to be together. It will take two things:

1. effort - readjustment time and the like
2. no travel

The second one is easier for me than for him - he heads off to the Bay Area early in December for more work. I can't begrudge him that, of course. Look at the perks:

• Sweden (2002)
  
  
• Hawaii (2005)
  
  
  
• New Zealand (2007)
• lots of upgrades elsewhere.

Just the same, I am excited for the approach of December when we can get time at home together. And we can get the tree put up!

Meanwhile, it's packing this afternoon. Vancouver tonight with my sister, and by dinnertime tomorrow, we'll be in Salmon Arm to visit Mum and Roy, and Monday will find us wine tasting again in the Okanagan. Quail's Gate, here we come!

forgetful me

In among all the fun of catching up with Dion this week and getting to see (and sort of sleep in with this morning) Conrad after his several days of work in Hawaii, I utterly forgot about Rachel's birthday. In excusable, and I've been on the phone with her tonight, begging her pardon and promising a nice dinner here at our place in an effort to win my way back into her good graces. Consider this a belated happy birthday to her, and when Conrad and I are back from our trip to BC this coming week, we'll be sure to have her over and feed her well!

Frontera Grill, Dion's photos

Dion didn't take too many photos, but before he took off on his return trip to New Zealand, he left me these few.

Once again, then, his steak.

My goat. A bit salty and spicy, and a good match with the wine.

The apple and berry tartlet. Dion preferred this one.

The persimmon pudding. I preferred this one.

We're just back from catching up with friends at Yoshi's. Alas, we'll miss the 25th anniversary celebration next week while we're in BC. On the other hand, we're altogether excited about our 6th trip up there this year!

Frontera, before the camera battery died

Dion was back in town yesterday, arriving at our place earlier than expected - before I got home from work even. He tried ringing up to the apartment a second time a little while after I got home, and once I got round the front desk of the building telling me that "Theo" was here for me, I welcomed him into our home.

And almost immediately turned around to try snagging a dinner downtown at Frontera Grill. Not a bad wait for a spot - we arrived between 5:30 and 5:45, and were seated at the back counter by the kitchen at about 6:15. A bit of a different spot, but fun.

Things I learned last night: Dion does not care for tequila, and the Topolo margarita was too much for him. A little presumptuous of me to order one for him. Ooops.

Never mind, we got him back on track with a different cocktail, and then each of us had a glass of Pinot Noir to go with the quesadillas capitalinas and the flautas filled with pork picadillo. Jill recommended a half bottle of a Qupe Syrah to go with our meals, and it was a nice choice as well. Dion was sold on the carne asada - a big steak with an appealing amount of heat in the seasoning.

At that point, the camera battery died. Merde!

Dion took some shots with his camera, and I hope he will send them along so I can post the remains of dinner. The evening ended late - Conrad got in the door from Honolulu just before 11, and he wanted a light bite and some time to catch up with Dion as well.

Dion heads back to New Zealand later today. I'll head in to work before too long, after he's done getting ready to go. Come Friday (New Zealand time), he'll be back home with Minna and happy to be so, and then the two of them can begin their end of scheming for a return visit from us in 2009.

dinner and wine with Dion (and Korapat)

I am utterly wiped out. No, I lie. If I were wiped out, I wouldn't be blogging. Just the same, though, it's now two hours later than I've been up any other night this week. Worse (or better, in many ways), Dion and I shared too much wine this evening. Will I make it to swim practice in the AM?

Dion is in town for business, and it's a real treat being able to sit down and catch up with him over food and wine. Second opportunity this year, and he'll be back to spend the night at our place on Tuesday. Excellent! Conrad and I rank the New Zealand trip as, well, pretty much our best vacation ever, and we're keen to sow the seeds for a 2009 return.

Dion was accompanied by Korapat, who holds the same position Dion does in the Thailand/Indochina region of the company. I was dining with high level people tonight! But no, both Dion and Korapat were terrific dining companions. They've just spent the past few days in Kohler, and while that village is rather pretty, the dining is a bit, um, heavy/stodgy/hugely-portioned/well-intentioned/Wisconsonian. Sorry. It had to be said.

We had dinner at the Park Grill.
I thought it would offer a reasonable menu amidst some good Chicago surroundings. Too early in the year for the skating rink to be operational, but no matter. We had a good meal just the same. I was quite pleased with my scallops appetizer, with cauliflower (funny how I love that vegetable so much now but didn't care for it as a child) and truffles.The thyme-roasted halibut with lentils and oxtailwas not as good but still quite decent. We shared a bottle of a Pinot Noir and chatted amicably.

After that, the evening was ours. They were up for more wine or something, so I piled us into a cab and got us away from downtown. Both of them have seen the downtown before, so I got them up to Boystown and more wine and dessert at Yoshi's.
It's always a special thing to bring people to our regular place, and though we only had one dessert between us (while Korapat ate some edamame), Dion and I had a bottle of a New Zealand Pinot Noir that outshone the bottle at Park Grill.

I have a restaurant booked for Tuesday night, so stay tuned for that blog entry. Poor Conrad, due in at 10:30 that night. He'll barely get to visit with Dion on this trip, and he'll miss out on a nice meal. Ah well. He IS in Honolulu, remember!

grown up chocolate chip cookies

Conrad is in Hawaii for another week yet, and I'm, well, a little bored without him. So I rooted around in the baking staples cupboard and then searched online for some recipes and found these cookies. Essentially, they're a grown up chocolate chip cookie. Spiced, studded with candied ginger pieces. The dough tasted good.

Honestly? Hmmm. They may need some tinkering with. I read a comment on the recipe from someone who was put off by the butteriness. They are buttery. I tasted one fresh the oven in an early batch, and the butter was the first thing I noted. It's not a bad thing, but...

(and oh gosh, I'm eating carbs! the gym for me in the AM!)

I think that the cookies are better for being rolled and flattened so that they spread evenly and attractively. The early ones were more or less dropped, true to the recipe, and they're smaller clumps rather than broader discs. Live and learn.

They might make the cut for Christmas. They weren't at all difficult to make, so I'll taste-test them on co-workers tomorrow and go from there.

strolling, sailing

Goodness, what a remarkably beautiful day out yesterday. Conrad and I decided to play hooky, so to speak, and skip swim practice in favour of strolling out along the lakefront, coffees in hand. So sunny, cool temperatures but not too much breeze. As we rounded a bend into Belmont Harbor, we caught sight of a lessons in sailing being taught in the Harbor. No, I don't know what class of boat these are, but we enjoyed watching them for several minutes before continuing our gentle stroll off into the direction of Whole Foods.