Monday, June 26th - Thursday, July 6th, 2017
The first Heiken-Prokop extravaganza = British Columbia, Canada
Monday, June 26th
Enjoyed a celebratory drink at MSP airport before take-off. Fly into Vancouver, BC!
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| Bloody's and beer at MSP prior to take-off. Vaca, here we come! |
We took the SkyTrain from the airport to downtown/waterfront Vancouver. Little early for our rental car, so we stopped at Malone's on Pender and Seymour for lunch (including poutine!). Great spot.
Then, we hopped in our rental car, Vic, and headed toward Okanagan Lake and our home for the next 4 nights: Kelowna. Beautiful drive (despite traffic...) with awesome views of Mt Baker.
Found our way to Kelowna! Stopped for dinner at Earl's Kitchen + Bar, complete with deliciously fresh margaritas. We then settled in for our first night in BC with thoughts and plans for the adventure ahead!
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| Super fresh mango, strawberry and lime margs at Earl's in Kelowna. |
First up for the day = Myra Canyon. It is a 12-mile round trip (out-and-back) restored section of the Kettle Valley Railway Trail. We rented bikes and enjoyed the glorious weather, scenic views as well as 18 trestles and 2 tunnels!
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| Dark tunnels and long trestles |
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| View from one side of Myra Canyon and the trestles up ahead! |
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| More of the scenic route along the trestles. |
After our bike ride, we washed up and headed to Boyce-Gyro Beach. Beautiful day!
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| Okanagan Lake. The water level was really high, most beaches were flooded (look at that tree on the right!). |
We found our way to one of the many wineries: Summerhill Pyramid Winery.
We took in the sights, enjoyed a tasting, went on the tour and LOVED the unique musical performance (see below): alpenhorns!
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| View from Summerhill Winery |
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| Lana and Mary at Summerhill Winery. Enjoying a glass of Cipes' sparking wine. |
Wednesday, June 28th
To Summerland on the other side of Okanagan Lake. We hike Giant's Head (aka "Giant's Head Grind"): an uphill 1.6 km to the summit of Giant's Head Mountain overlooking Lake Okanagan and beyond.
We also stumbled upon the Giant's Head Freeride, where ~250 crazy humans skateboard down the steep, curvy-ass paved road that snakes its way up the mountain! Nuts! Here's the event website: http://www.giantsheadfreeride.com/.
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| At the start of the hike up Giant's Head Mountain. |
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| Okanagan Lake from Giant's Head Mountain. |
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| The summit! Complete with the waving Canadian flag. |
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| Near the top, where the all the skaters gather before riding down the mountain. |
After the hike and excitement from the freeriders, we grabbed lunch on the lake in Summerland just as the clouds rolled in.
The clouds and rain held on, so we decided to experience another winery: Mission Hill Winery. Another tasting, great views and unique atmosphere.
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| View from Mission Hill Winery. |
We stopped at a fruit stand/farmer's market in West Kelowna on the drive back. Bought fresh cherries and veggies with plans to cook dinner in tonight: fajitas!
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| Sam posing with our delicious shrimp fajitas meal. |
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| Cheers - it is Sam and Mary's 3rd wedding anniversary! |
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| What a spot to spend an anniversary. |
Thursday, June 29th
So, today Lana and Mary went parasailing! In Lumby, BC, which is up toward Vernon, on the northern part of Okanagan Lake.
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| A hang-glider at Freedom Flight School. Also, that cleared patch of land on that mountain is where we launch from! |
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| Freedom Flight School = amazing! Great people, great vibes, perfect day. |
Lana and I have our ENTIRE flights available to watch! Just ask :) Sam and Luke enjoyed the weather, had a few beers, played beersbee with a traveling band and patiently awaited our flight.
After that unforgettable experience, we headed to Kalamalka Lake ('Kal') for a dip and some beach volleyball!
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| Kalamalka Lake - refreshing and beautiful! |
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| Beer flight at Marten Brewing Co. |
Friday, June 30th
We grabbed a quick breakfast at Tim Horton's (of course!), complete with Timbits for the road, and headed back toward Vancouver. Made a lovely stop at Harrison Hot Springs, drove by Sasquatch Inn and munched on famous beef jerky from Deroche on the way.
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| Caesars in Harrison Hot Springs. |
Back in Vancouver, we checked into our legit rental in Gastown ("staying with our friend, Steve"). We took a stroll in search of a Roots store for Canada Day gear, then grabbed dinner at La Casita. Resting up for the big day ahead: CANADA DAY!
