Drinking Dirty Laundry

That’s correct. And I would do it again.

Were it not for Colin having family in Penticton, we would almost certainly never have happened upon this lake-straddled little gem of a holiday town. We really found it to be a special little place. 

There are two main routes in from Vancouver, Canada, which is basically South and North. On the suggestion of the hotel driver from Vancouver, we opted for the slightly longer but more scenic route, being the Northern one. I’m glad we did, because I’ve yet to think of a view more spectacular than the Okanagan Lake on arrival as the sun is preparing to set. Penticton is basically situated in the lower half of the Okanagan Valley between the Skaha and Okanagan Lakes, with a channel joining the two. Thank you Google.

Okanagan Lake

What better use for a channel than to float down it on a rubber tube? Penticton is the “Floatie Capital” of British Columbia, as a street banner so claimed. This was of course, the first on our list of 'things to do'. 

We were met with hospitality second to none, as Colin’s uncle Scott and Marie welcomed us with local beers, delicious snacks, roasted chicken and fresh vegetables. A beautiful site for weary travellers eyes and the first home cooked meal in too long. 

The Family

We set off for the channel in the morning and spent an hour and a half tubing down at a leisurely pace. We headed for Lake Skaha after that to take a swim in the lake and lie on the sand. We were listening to some of the locals and eavesdropping on their summer chit chat. I recalled one man complaining about how he wanted to go on a trip somewhere but that his dollar would get him nowhere. I chuckled, as I thought of our South African Rand, and then I started sweating. Not sure if it was the heat or the exchange rate, but both had an impact on my temperature gauge. 

Penticton Channel

After delicious cheesy toasted sandwiches dished up for us at lunch, we set off to sample some dirty laundry. It’s at this point I should mention that Okanagan is one of the top ten wine regions in the world and its popularity is gaining momentum fast. Scott and Marie took us to the vineyard which had been named Dirty Laundry as a result of its beginnings. Originally, a Chinese man had set up a laundry in that very spot in order to provide a laundry service to the many men working on the railroad back in the late 1800’s. The owner soon realised that there was more of a market for alcohol and female company than laundry, and so the upstairs mezzanine became a bar and a brothel. Best Dirty Laundry I’ve ever tasted. 

Dirty Laundry Vineyard View

Scott, Marie, Colin and I spent a long evening chatting and drinking wine, nibbling on snacks and the most delicious Californian Salad as we watched the sun fade and the full moon start to shine. We spoke of past and present, future and family, travel and stories from home. What a wonderful experience, we were just so sad that we didn’t have more time there. 

Land of Peaches and Ice Cream

We headed back to Vancouver via the Southern route, which was just as beautiful as the trip in, just in a different way. Little towns, winding roads and plenty of green trees. I watched every inch pass by as we drove, particularly in the hopes of spotting a bear. I'm sure no one else does that..