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M&A

Canada September 2024 - Day 11: Floating bridges and Dirty Laundry…..whatever next!

Today we were giving our feet and bodies a day off.  Our sore and poorly feet needed some respite from all the walking they’ve done so far, in fact our bodies were in need of some rest and relaxation so there would be a) no yoga or five minute exercises carried out in the lounge this morning b) there would be no long walk around the neighbourhood to try and reach our daily 10,000 step count and c) there would be no morning coffee to enjoy but hey, some things you need to sacrifice and that was one of them!


Today we’re off to Penticton, a town situated between Lake Okanagan and Lake Skaha with Myrna, Tara and maybe Kerrris if she can get the time off work. The plan was, which was made yesterday evening over supper, that Tara was going to call us at 8.30am to let us know if Kerris was coming…if she wasn’t she was going to drive over to us for 9.30am and if she was they’d both come over about 11.30am. So, Tara called and said that Kerris couldn’t come and that she would be over at 10.00am. The fact however was that she arrived at 11.00am just as we were playing our second game of Dutch Blitz, you know, whilst waiting for her arrival!

We set off in a westerly direction towards the William R Bennett bridge, which, did you know is one of only eight floating bridges in the world and the largest one, if fact it’s the only one in Canada. So, crossing this very unique bridge we headed down to Peachland where we stopped for coffee and croissants. Before we knew it we were sat outside the Bliss bakery/cafe enjoying coffee and croissants and soaking up the sun. It was gorgeous and we were sat overlooking Lake Okanagan which was looking very picturesque under blue skies.

We arrived in Penticton where we had the opportunity to ‘do the shops’ and where of course a number of purchases were made by all four of us. We purchased a few items in one of the ‘thrift’ stores where the ladies who ran it, who were all of a certain age, had an unusual way of dealing with any purchases made……it was indeed a four woman job. You handed your purchase to one lady, who gave it to another lady across the counter, who wrapped or folded it up who then handed it to another lady who packed it for you and then after you’d paid for you purchase you could move around the counter to collect said item! Ah well, it kept them all busy we did find this ritual rather amusing.

By now we were getting a bit peckish so for lunch we were off to The Dirty Laundry, a winery not far from Summeland where they also do nice food. This area is renowned for its vineyards and wineries and on the drive up into the countryside we counted at least twelve! The view from The Dirty Laundry was beautiful and when we were seated we were told that bears had been sighted down in the fields below so Myrna was on bear watch whilst the rest of us went to order a) wine b) food and c) flight of beer…….all being ordered from different areas of the winery. Apparently the whole system has changed. Before the changes you were waited on and served at the table, now everything was self-service which just happens to be one of Maice’s pet hates, another being no price tags on anything, but I digress! Anyway that’s the system and we just had to go with the flow. So, to order food you ordered at one counter, then paid at another counter, then gave them your phone number and you were given a ticket which you can’t lose as you need this to collect your food when you receive a text message which says ‘your food is ready to collect, bring your ticket’. It was all very complicated! Then Maice and I went to order some wine. There was no wine list, only two women who reeled off what was on offer. We were coerced into ordering a bottle of wine as according to one of the women….it’s the same as having two glasses of wine!  Suffice to say, the wine, the beers and the two pizzas we ordered were delicious and we dined al-fresco looking out over the lovely countryside. Sad to say that not one bear was spotted during our lunch!

Tara dropped us home around 6pm where the three of us had a leisurely evening in. Tomorrow Maice and I have been invited to an afternoon tea party by Tara’s friends where we have to wear and decorate a hat and where we are going to learn how to paint wine bottles and make them into a type of lamp.  With this in mind we raided Myrna’s ribbon box and proceeded to decorate our hats much to the amusement of Jenny and Josie who were trying desperately to play with the ribbons. A few days earlier one of them, we don’t know who the culprit was, had already attacked the adjustable string in Maice’s hat where she had to perform a slight operation on said hat to pull the string through again. When we’d finished our creations we hid them in a cupboard, away from prying eyes and claws.


Before we knew it it was time for bed. It’s been a lovely day and a big thank you goes to Tara for driving us around. It’s been awesome!


Night all and see you all tomorrow.  Not only are we going to a ‘tea party’ we’re getting there on the local bus. Now that should be fun!


M&A xx


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