Rustic Roots Winery

This entry is not a "new" trip but one we did back in the Spring and I thought it should be added because it deserves a mention. Back in April we decided to have a quick getaway and so decided to go to the Okanagan for a few days. We decided to try out our recently joined Harvest Hosts program and we found Rustic Roots Winery as one of their members. We drove up to Cawston, BC and visited a wonderful little winery that I can't give enough praise to. It is run by Bruce and Kathy Hawker and it is a five generation (now raising the sixth!) dairy farm that has evolved into a winery. Bruce and Kathy were the most welcoming hosts.

The tasting room.

Not only did they give us the background on the winery along with a few other people that dropped by for wine tasting but after they closed up they encouraged us to walk around and check everything out.  After dinner we took Henry for a walk, touring the orchards and farm area (we never did find the donkey!). We ran into Bruce who asked us over to their private patio to chat and served us a special wine they were bottling for their daughters wedding in August. We spent a great evening sitting and chatting with them, and then a very peaceful night there. 

A beautiful setting!

I wish we would have had the time to come back during the summer months when everything would have been in season but I vow to return because they bottle some wonderful fruit wines!

A peaceful night - even though they're on the highway
there isn't much traffic after 8 or 9 o'clock.

Hillbilly/Trailertrash Dance and the Casino

Dinner was a catered affair on Saturday night followed by the “Hillbilly/Trailertrash” dance. There were some great costumes including my own “Ellie-May Clampett” - pictures to follow.

A couple of Hillbillies!

Unfortunately, Dale was really not feeling well and so went home early - actually Home to the house so he could soak in a hot bath and he took the whining shivering lump of fur ball with him. 
The next morning I cleaned the entire rig - not by choice but necessity  - Henry was vomiting and had runs most of the night - luckily all on the tile and not carpet thank goodness. Once I started cleaning there was no line to which I could clean to so I just kept going - every surface was wiped and disinfected - what a wonderful feeling to know it was clean.
I talked to Dale midmorning and he was feeling so much better after a long, hot soak and a good nights sleep. Because he had Monday off, we decided that he should come back down and join me to spend 55+ day at Silver Reef Casino. (55% off the Buffet and 5X the points on slots). I headed over there and he came down to join me.

Ahh - Paradise! Happy Hour on the "Patio" at Silver Reef Casino

Sunday afternoon was spent lazing in the sunshine at the Casino among the more than 25 other RV’s. This place is starting to get really busy for RV’s - we may have to start taking a number soon just to get parking LOL!  We had a Pizza for dinner - a really good one - from the Pizzaria and then spent some time at the tables. I don’t really know Texas Hold’em but Dale does so I joined him there and was glad I did. In a couple of hours my $100 was up to $350. and Dale had doubled his too so when they came to change the cards we decided to get out while the going was still good and we were still up. A little ME-TV - Columbo, and then off to bed - another great evening!

Monday morning we lazed around until it was time for the Lunch Buffet to start at 11:00 am. We did go a little early and I played the slots for a while but my $100. went up and down a few times so I finally cashed out at $100.32 - no loss - no gain. The luck just wasn’t with me so no use tempting it! We journeyed home sadly knowing there are no "Planned" outings for over a month now but remember followers - we're ready to go at the spur of the moment - just give us a call!

Washington State Rally

All set up on the Lynden Fairgrounds

I caravanned over to the Lynden Fairgrounds with the other FVE's and we all set up camp to enjoy the next three days. I spent some time wandering the fairgrounds with Bitsey and Henry (Yes - I took Miss Whiner - a big mistake) and then walked up the street to do some browsing through all the neat little shops they have in town. I love Lynden - it is such a quaint “Dutch” little town and the people are all so friendly in the shops. I bought some really “terrific”  things - a hose connector and a strap & screw for the couch handle at the hardware store. I lead such an exciting life - I can hardly contain myself sometimes!!!!
I had just got back to the rig when Dale arrived and it was almost time for “Happy Hour”. I quickly made up some Guacamole and Salsa in my Tupperware “Quick Chef” which I LOVE! (A plug for my consultant - my daughter Kelly). No really - I do love the great little chopper, whipper, mixer and serving bowl all in one - no electricity needed so great for boon docking - no Rig should be without one.
We didn’t join the group for dinner in town as we had plans for dinner. We then changed the plan to have Shepherds Pie by ourselves. As we were walking the dogs around the grounds, we passed the "San Juanderer's" group having their pot luck dinner. They insisted we join them even though we said we had dinner plans but of course Dale doesn't like to pass up a “Party” and so we joined them. I quickly whipped up a couple of Banana Cream Pies to take as dessert (good thing I bought those bananas the day before!). We had such a great evening with them and met a lot of nice people once again. WIT members are all so friendly and very inviting. We met another couple who have a “View” - sister to our Navion - and so spent the latter part of the evening chatting and comparing our rigs with Max and Anne. We got so caught up we didn’t have time for a campfire that we’d planned for later in the evening. The only down part of the evening is Dale was having sore back problems.

Friday and Saturday were pretty low key. We did some visiting with the some of the members of our group and other groups. We checked out the dealer rigs onsite but still keep coming “home” to our own little Navion. The big rigs have a lot of room and handy little gadgets etc. but I really like our cozy little home. I wish we could think of a name for it - all our RV’s have had names but we’ve had this one over a year and it’s still nameless - any suggestions would be helpful!!!

I helped our new area Reps - Christy and Rick in the WIT store on Saturday AM - all that experience I had at GNR came in handy! We had “Happy Hours” and my “Vegetable Braid” was a big hit at one so I had to make another one the next day. We didn’t partake in any of the games because Dale was really suffering with his back so spent a lot of the weekend laying in bed.

Shopping, Wit Club and Casino - Fun Times!

Wednesday morning I awoke early, packed the few things that needed to be put back in the RV (all the clean laundry etc.) and set off just after 10 AM. There was a 40 minute wait at the PAC crossing so I quickly zipped over to Aldergrove and drove right through - no one in line! I headed down to Bellingham and spent the day wandering and shopping to my hearts content. It’s fun shopping with others but you can spend so much time tracking where they are instead of actually shopping. I went where I wanted, took my time, looked at what I wanted etc. - It was all about ME, ME, ME, for a change - BLISS!!! It felt sort of weird eating by myself so I just skipped lunch all together and had a snack in the RV later on. After I had browsed Value Village for my “Hillbilly” outfit, I picked up groceries and then headed over to Kelly & Darrin’s place (Friends from dance who live in Lynden) to spend the night. They fed me dinner - great homemade burgers and potato salad and I met some friends of their’s who were also visiting. It was a fun evening and a good sleep out front. Little “USA Meaghan” (her nickname at dance as opposed to teacher “Big Meghan”) came out to greet me about 8:00 in the morning and I went inside for TV and a good “natter” before I left at 10AM to join the FVE.

KOA With Teenagers

This weekend we're at the Lynden KOA with FOUR teenagers. So far this is morning of day 2 and everyone is still alive! Yesterday the teens did a little swimming, the boys rented a paddle boat for an hour on the lake, they all did a little schoolwork (schools are still on strike so I've taken to "Homeworking" them), we had dinner and then "S'mores" around the campfire before bed.

Hamburgers and Hot Dogs for dinner the first night