May Trip to Lake Okanagan in British Columbia

Dan and I like to plan a getaway trip once a year. We usually plan it around my birthday. It sure beats any present that I could open. It gives me something to look forward to and gives Dan and I a chance to reconnect with more than just a night out for dinner and a movie. We went and my sister Kayla came to our house and watched the kids while we were gone.

We went to Kelowna, BC. It was my second time being able to use my passport! We ended up staying in a 1 bedroom studio apartment at The Lake Okanagan Resort. It had a great view and it was nice to have our own full kitchen so we could save quite a bit of money on food by having our own groceries. The only complaints I would have are that since we did go during their off season everything was closed and we weren't able to rent kayaks to go out on the water and there were 2 nights that we found ticks on our bathroom floor. They probably came from our shoes since we went hiking every day we were there. Seeing those buggers put me on edge and made me paranoid of every itch and tickle I felt while we were there.

Here's the view from our balcony.

It was very pleasant weather while we were there and we enjoyed eating breakfast and dinner out on the patio furniture overlooking the lake.

Like I mentioned earlier, we went hiking/walking on the trails every day we were there. It was gorgeous country! This shot was taken on a trail pretty close to our resort that we just happened to pass and decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised to find out there was a big waterfall further in. That alone made the huffing and puffing and my tired legs worth it.

Aren't you impressed that I climbed all those steps at 30 weeks pregnant? The view of the guy in front of me wasn't bad though so I couldn't complain too much.

The waterfall in the background looks pretty blurry in this picture but it was huge. We couldn't get to a vantage point where we could fit it all in one picture. Absolutely beautiful!

This was a unique trip too in that Dan and I actually took pottery classes for 3 days of our trip. We got private lessons and ended up making 10 different bowls and platters to bring home. Now we just need to take them down to our local pottery nook and put some pretty glaze on them. We both really enjoyed it and it made me happy that Dan enjoyed something that I love too. He even mentioned that he'd like having our own pottery wheel. hahaha.

Gotta love that tongue sticking out. Such concentration.

These are two of the bowls I made. Dan's hands were too dirty to pick up the camera and I finished before he did so I had a chance to clean up a bit. But at least I got some pictures of him at work. We later got a couple shots of me on another day.

One of the days after playing with clay we found The Kettle Valley Rail trail that had been recommended by our pottery teacher. My legs didn't feel up to a huge hike so we broke out the scooter we borrowed from a lady in our ward. It worked great!

This picture was me just being silly on the way back to our resort. Say cheese!

Another day we hit the local famers market in the morning (also recommended by our pottery teacher). It was pretty impressive and we ended up buying some amazing pretzel buns and some homemade mango salsa that we had with dinner that night.

After the market we ended up at the Misson Creek Regional Park that had a trail along the river. It was so pretty and peaceful. I rode the scooter again and only wished the trail was paved. The rocks made for a bumpy ride.  But I still loved the time with Dan and the river rolling next to us made for some awesome ambiance.

We took an evening stroll one night. This is a view of the lake on the beach front trail by the resort.

This was a bit of humor we found in the parking lot at the resort. They must have TINY cars in Canada :)

Night time views from the Resort. The moon was amazing one of the nights so much that I had to get a shot. The camera does NOT do it justice. I couldn't get the settings right before the lighting changed.

The dock was pretty at night all lit up

This was the building our apartment was in. You can't see our balcony but it is just behind that big tree.

This was the building at the resort where the restaurant and pool was.

Just some random shots Dan took of me while hanging out in our room.

Yea! Some shots of me at the pottery studio. This was the day we made things off the wheel. In this picture I am making a scallop edged platter/plate.We also made some hand formed salsa bowls.

Here I am trimming my bowls and adding detail to the bases now that the clay had a chance to dry out a bit.

Dan trimming one of his bowls

We went miniature putt putt golfing too. It was a pretty warm day and I lost one of my golf balls in the tall grass. Luckily we found someone else's lost ball of a different color. Dan prides himself on his "perfect form/stance" in this picture. But to be honest I like my awkward pregnant belly hunched over stance better.

This is where we found the nut farm. They turned the historical nut farm into a memorial park. It was pretty cool to see and each of the trees still have these metal makers on the trunks and the types of nuts that they grow labeled on them.

This was the original cabin of the nut farmers back in the day.

It was so nice to get away for an entire week! We had lots of fun and did things on this trip that were out of the ordinary for us. Some of the other highlights of our trip that I don't have pictures of were the dinner cruise where we went out on the Okanagan Lake and ate a yummy steak dinner, and the pulled pork tacos we had TWICE because they were sooo good. We ended up making them when we got home and plan on making them when we go to the beach this summer. Oh and don't forget the frequented hot tub! mmmm Heaven!