Giant's Head

Wine, Family Time and a Wedding in Kelowna

A few weeks ago Zevi and I squeezed in one last weekend in BC before summer was over. Some friends of ours were getting married in Kelowna, so we figured we’d make a little weekend getaway out of it. 

On Wednesday night we flew in to Kelowna. I do love a good road trip, but it was such an amazing luxury to be able to get out to Kelowna in only an hour instead of sitting in the car for eight. We rented a car at the airport and drove to Summerland where my aunt and uncle live. We go out to the Shuswap a lot but seldom make it the couple of hours further to the Okanagan so it was nice to finally have a chance to see their house! They live across the street from the lake, which is pretty incredible. We chatted with them for a couple of hours and briefly saw my cousins before calling it a night.

wp-1476240430344.jpg wp-1476240290445.jpgThe next morning we said a quick hello and goodbye my cousins and aunt before they jetted off to school and work. My uncle didn’t have to work until later, which was a great bonus, so we had breakfast with him and then headed off on a little hike. We walked to the top of Giant’s Head, which is about an hour return. Zevi didn’t really have any appropriate clothes or shoes for the climb, but luckily he was able to make it work because the views from the top were stunning!

After the hike we went back to my aunt and uncle’s house and I took the opportunity to go for one last brief summer lake dip before we said goodbye to my uncle and headed to see some more family. Another one of my mom’s sisters and her husband have just finished building a gorgeous house in Penticton, so we went there for lunch and to see the finished product. After lunch, we discovered that a third aunt and uncle were in the area, and we managed to connect with them for a glass of wine at a nearby winery. It was great to be able to catch so much family in one little trip!

wp-1476240564466.jpgwp-1475443772177.jpgOnce the family visits were done, we got down to business. The business of wine tasting, that is . There are SO many wineries in the Okanagan area, and we knew that with Zevi driving we’d only be able to try a few, so we picked three that sounded enticing. Hillside, Upper Bench, and 8th Generation all impressed us! After only a short couple of hours of wine tasting we came away with seven bottles. Oops! 

20160909_192209.jpgwp-1476241291655.jpgThat night we drove back to Zevi’s cousin’s house in Kelowna where we’d be staying for the rest of the trip. Our friends were staying there as well, and the six of us hung out in their beautiful backyard sipping some of the wine we’d bought and playing with their very energetic puppy for the rest of the evening.

On Friday we went on a wine tour, which I’m going to talk about in another post so that this doesn’t turn in to a novel! We ended the night with the bride and groom and some other friends at a little pre-wedding party in downtown Kelowna followed by some late night poutine 

2016-10-10-03.26.05-1.jpg.jpg wp-1475443772064.jpg wp-1475443772057.jpgOn Saturday we ate a delicious brunch at The Bohemian Cafe and browsed a little bit downtown before heading back to get ready for the wedding. The wedding was at the beautiful Summerhill Pyramid Winery – we’d been to one wedding there before and this one was just as gorgeous! They had lawn games set up to play between the ceremony and the reception, which I thought was a super fun idea, although our games did keep getting sabotaged by a certain eight year old . We ate and drank and danced the night away and then ordered late night pizza as we walked home in the rain. Weddings are my favourite, especially with lots of good friends!

The next day we mercifully didn’t have to drive home, so we were able to relax at Zevi’s cousin’s place watching football until it was time to head to the airport to catch our flight. Our trip to Kelowna was a great last summer hurrah with lots of time with friends and family, and more wine than we probably really needed. With so much family sprinkled throughout the Okanagan I have a feeling we’ll get back out there soon!

4 Comments

    1. This sounds like an amazing weekend. I’m dying to get back to that area as I haven’t been since I was a kid and would love to do some exploring (and obviously wine tasting). What a beautiful location for a wedding!

      1. Yes, the wine tasting there is incredible. I don’t know why I haven’t taken advantage of it until recently!

    1. These photos are absolutely gorgeous, and so fun to spend time with family on such a happy occasion!

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