Last year John and I drove past Golden Beaver on our way from Osoyoos to Penticton, however on the way home along Black Sage we totally passed it by. After breakfast we were trying to think of a game plan for today and realized we had yet to visit the winery with the silly name so it became our first stop of the day.
Located on Highway 97 halfway between Osoyoos and Oliver, Golden Beaver Winery is only in its third year but it making quite the impression locally, and internationally. Upon ascending the gravel driveway we were greeted by Stella in the tasting room with 5 bottles of wine ready to be sampled by yours truly.
Golden Beaver prides itself on pushing the envelope when it comes to its varietals, blends and releases. We tasted their Vidal, Pinot Gris, 2006 Merlot (apparently people think they’re crazy for releasing it already), the Pinot Noir Dry Rose, and the super tasty Merlot Vin de Cure.
It was really interesting to not only taste a Pinot Noir Rose but also to experience the crisp clean taste their wine achieves by being unoaked. Also, it was the first time I had tried a Vin de Cure, which was a real treat as Golden Beaver is the only winery in Canada that offers this.
After the tasting we received some excellent recommendations for lunch and other vineyards that might be of interest. On their website it states you can get the Golden Beaver 2006 Pinot Blanc at So.cial at Le Magasin in Gastown, however as we have yet to spot any in local liquor or wine stores we were sure to pick up a bottle (or four).
If you’re in the Okanagan doing the ‘wine tour thing’ I would highly recommend stopping by Golden Beaver. It doesn’t have the elaborate architecture or grandeur of some other places but what they lack in showmanship they definitely make up for in quality and tastiness of their wine.
Day two of SuperHappyBollwittTime will include clear skies and 18 degrees here in Canada’s only pocket desert.
We’re still unsure what’s in store for the Bollwitts but I’m certain it will involve sunshine and mushy things couples that are in love do. That’s right I said it, I’m totally loving this time away with John.
Which reminds me I should get back to the condo since the only internet available to us in town is in this common room. Seriously, we tried the “internet cafe” but that didn’t have wifi, just stations. But who am I to complain? Breakfast at the diner calls! And if anyone’s wondering, I left the keys to the internet with Raul so he’s making sure it stays intact until we return.
Crossing over the Similkameen River with the setting sun in our rear view mirror John reached over and threaded his fingers through mine – right then and there SuperHappyBollwittTime (the code name for this weekend) had officially begun.
As the Crowsnest Highway has become a familiar path we both keep an eye out for some of our favourite landmarks like the “CAUTION: SHEEP” sign with the South Park-esque graphic that makes us chuckle.
Last night we arrived in the darkness and after some quick unpacking, snuggled up on the couch with our toes being toasted by the fireplace. There was no agenda for today aside from breakfast to appease my rumbling tummy, so we decided to hop in the car and simply drive.
We ended up in a part of Washington State that neither of us had explored before and before you knew it we were ascending Mount Bonaparte in the Okanogan National Forest. Side note: If you’re going to venture into this park no routes are marked and no maps are posted at trailheads. There are no PDFs available on their site either so you’ll need to purchase a map for $9.68… or have GPS.
Tomorrow will include some hiking and many more pictures from our adventures are to follow (like from the trip back from Danville, WA and Grand Forks, BC today) but as internet access is limited (which we don’t mind at all) the content will be pretty sparse this weekend. If you don’t hear from me until Monday don’t worry, it just means that SuperHappyBollwittTime has been a successful mission.
Over the last few years John and I have given some tips, pointers, coded pages, created themes and shared our wealth of knowledge about WordPress.
Want to know how to move from Blogger to WordPress? Want to know the difference between WordPress.com and an actual WordPress-powered site? What’s the deal with plugins and which will make my life as easy as pie?
These are just some of the things we’ve encountered and have done our best to educate folks about this PHP-based blogging platform and content management system.
This year at Northern Voice there was a mini version of a WordCamp, which ended up being a giant scrum of folks asking questions, and those answering them. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that but as was quite evident from the turn out that there are a lot of people out there who are looking for information about WordPress.
On April 30th I’ll be stepping up to the plate as a sponsor and speaker at Vancouver’s first ever WordPress Camp.
On Wed. April the 30th from 5:30 to 8:30pm we are getting together at the Network Hub to share and exchange tips and how-tos on WordPress and blogging in general. We will also learn how to reach a larger audience by using a WordPress blog in conjunction with other web services and Social Networking websites. [Tazzu Blog][Facebook Event]
My session will be about composing blog posts, more specifically adding Flickr photos: From Creative Commons licensing usage to quick tags that help align images on the fly.
Bruce Byfield: The Joys of Amateur Blogging. John Chow: How to make money using a WordPress Blog. Monica Hamburg: Blogging and Social Media. Jeff Kee: WordPress for total website development. Greg Andrews: Good Typography in WordPress. Kulpreet Singh: Using WordPress to create a custom library, catalog, or other mashup-type site. Duane Storey: WordPress and mobile blogging – i.e. how to read and write from an iPhone
