Let's Go Places (And Meet People!): Kelowna, British Columbia

 

The last time we talked, I had just left Bridal Veil Falls.  After a drive through the most gorgeous mountains you have ever seen, I arrived in Kelowna and turned onto Boyhouse Street.

My GPS decided that it was done for the day and directed me to turn into a drive that clearly did not go to Nicole's house.  I was in the process of getting my bearings when I heard a bark and saw a very happy sight in my rear view mirror.  Rex was there to do what technology could not.

As best I can remember, Nicole and I "met" sometime in late 2021, and I'm pretty sure that someone else linked to her or I found her through a comment.  While I don't remember the exact details, I do remember what I felt the first time that I visited her blog, Girl in a Boyhouse.  I live with my husband, two stepsons, and a female dog.  Nicole has a husband, two close-to-the-boys'-ages sons, and a male dog.  We have just a few things in common.

It's cliche to say that all of the bloggers that I have met are "just like their blogs" but it's also true.  So that's the TL;DR for this post.

Nicole poured margaritas and put the finishing touches on dinner as we started our three day long conversation.  Roasted chickpea and cauliflower tacos, cashew crema, garden fresh salsa, and guac.  It was the best thing that I had ever tasted.  I can only use words and show you pictures, but if you get nothing else out of this post, I want you to know that the food at Nicole's is really That Good.

Nicole and I have similar family structures, we're the same age, and we're also on the same schedule.  Normally I wake up around sunrise, so between 5:30 to 7:00 AM depending on the time of year, and I'm generally in bed at 10 with the lights out before 11.  Adjusted for the difference between Eastern and Pacific time, that pretty much matches Nicole's schedule of a 4:00 AM wakeup and a 9:00 bedtime.

The early morning view from the deck:

The day started with coffee and computer time, and after sunrise it was the Most Important Hour of the Day: walkies!  We headed out for the walking path around a creek.  Rex had a mix of on leash and off leash time, and the route included a stop at the dog park.

And then breakfast.  Nicole is Team Smoothie, and I'm Team Something Solid.  My Boyhouse breakfasts were an English muffin, two farm fresh eggs, and sausage.

Then it was Garden Time.

Around noon we hit the streets of Kelowna and saw more gorgeous things.

I approve of the old theater that was repurposed as a Tim Hortons.

We stopped at a restaurant for lunch.  Nicole had a kale salad and I had a tofu bowl.

Continuing on with our strict schedule, we went back to Nicole's for an afternoon of chatting and reading.  I finished off an "it's fine" book (The Unwedding).

It was such a novelty to be with an adult, well mannered dog.  Rex likes to hold hands, and while we were chatting, he often had a paw wrapped around Nicole's hand or foot.  He made sure to include me in on some of the loving.

Mid afternoon we took a break to go visit with Nicole's MIL, who lives next door, and who was absolutely lovely.  Then it was time to start thinking about dinner, which was enchiladas.  Well, originally it was an enchilada recipe that was modified to the family's tastes, so if you ask for enchiladas in the Boyhouse, this is what you will be served.   Black beans, roasted sweet potatoes, and orange bell peppers topped with salsa and guac.  It was heavenly.  Nicole's oldest son joined us for dinner (his dad and younger brother were in Scotland on a hiking trip).

After dinner Son #1 broke out the ice cream.  Normally I wouldn't have been interested since I still had a margarita to nurse, but this was not just any ice cream.  It was homemade ice cream.  The choices were vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, or all three.  I knew that I needed to get in on the action, and I knew that all three was the right choice.  I was very glad that I made room for a small bowl of the best ice cream I had ever tasted.

Son #1 called it a night and went home, and then Nicole and I moved on to a pressing item on the agenda, which was movie night.  We watched Dirty Dancing.  Now of course we both saw it when it came out, but this is a movie that I've kinda been meh on.  The simple reason for that is that I never saw it with Nicole.

On Sunday we were up and at 'em at our normal wake up time.  We adhered to our very strict schedule of coffee and internets, then walkies, then breakfast, then garden, and then a break for us each to work on our own things.  Mid morning I started reading, and it just so happened that it was a "sit down and finish this in one day" kind of book (Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell).

For lunch we finished off the leftovers from the previous two nights' dinners and then we set off for our Mission of the Day, which was a tasting at Tantalus winery.

Then it was dinner time, which was the meal that I was looking forward to the most.  Nicole makes a Greek salad every Friday, and she's said that if she could only have one meal for the rest of her life, this would be it.  I could not wait to see what all of the fuss was about, and I was not disapointed.

What we have is a salad of cucumber, tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, olives, feta, and Nicole's dressing.  On the side are some falafel, Nicole's homemade hummus, and toasted pitas.  This is hands down the best meal I have had in my life.  Yes I will try to recreate it someday, and no, there is no way that it will come close to the Nicole magic.

After dinner we tucked into When Harry Met Sally.

The next morning we did coffee and internets, walkies, breakfast, and then....sob...it was time to leave.  

At least I had the consolation of a gorgeous drive through the mountains and a stop at Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park to walk through the Othello Tunnels.  You might be wondering how I picked the Othello tunnels, and the answer is that I didn't.  There are a lot of provincial parks on the road between Kelowna and Vancouver, and this was the one that I just happened to stop at when I was ready for a break.  I am not trying to make anyone jealous, I am just reporting facts.

I got back in the car and headed for the next stint of the journey, which was a few days in Vancouver.  But that's a story for another day.

Let's Wrap it Up

Visiting Kelowna: 10/10

Spending the weekend with Nicole: infinity/10

Holding hands with Rex: infinity/10

A short one sentence summary of the visit: I felt nourished.

Nicole's side of the story is here.

Who's been to Kelowna?  If you could only have one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?