Today was a fairly early start again, waking at 6:30. We had breakfast at the hotel before grabbing some coffee and heading out of town. It was a beautiful day today and I was quite thankful that I didn’t have to drive over those passes (or into Osoyoos) in the rain.
It was a fairly uneventful drive and we arrived at the top of the Osoyoos hill, just before noon. I remember the switchbacks from my trip out in 2002, but the sixteen years have blurred it into only a couple of switchbacks. I was reminded today, that it was a couple more than just two lol.
We continued through Osoyoos, stopping for a coffee and a bathroom break and then headed north up Highway 97 towards Penticton.
We stopped in Penticton at Fabricland as Mum needed some lace for one of her sewing projects, then decided to have a late lunch at Shades on Main. It was a family restaurant that was close to where we were, so we figured that it would be convenient. Not only was it easy to get to, it was really good food. Mum had a bacon & tomato sandwich and I had a Blackstone Benny, which is basically a benny with bacon and tomato ;).
After lunch, we drove the last few kilometres to Summerland and checked into the hotel. After a brief rest, we headed out again – first stop was Sumac Ridge Winery. We each bought a bottle of wine (gifts for people) and then went to Summerland Sweets. It is a dangerous place to go if you have a sweet tooth. We both bought some jam and some other treats before continuing on to the Summerland Ornamental Garden.
We spent just over an hour touring the garden and I took a bunch of flower pictures. Even though it was late in the season, and a lot of plant were no longer flowering, I was still able to find quite a few that tickled my fancy. We also saw several families of quail darting in and out of the bushes. The gardens are located fairly high up on one of the hills surrounding Summerland, which allowed for a couple of great pictures of the surrounding valley and Okanagan Lake.
By the time we were finished at the gardens, it was seven o’clock. We returned to the motel and Mum grabbed a Buddy Burger at A&W for dinner. I started on my blog, but had connectivity issues with the wi-fi, causing me to sit under the hotspot in order to upload my pictures. I have put all of my flower pictures below for your enjoyment.
Thank you for sharing our adventures with us and I will talk to you soon.
L
