Southern BC & Washington State

I was ready to find some warmer temps and escape the high alpine environments for a bit. After a few days snowboarding up at Silver Star in BC, we thawed out in Kelowna and the Okanagan region. We drove for miles and miles down the Okanagan Lake. All I could think of is how beautiful it must be in the summer.

Trixie in front of the vinyards at Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery in Oliver, BC.

Before leaving Canada, Isaac entertained my idea of visiting one of the hundreds of wineries in the area for a quick tasting before we crossed back into the US. We stopped by Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery where I got to taste some fine Canadian wine, get a peek into the bottling facility and buy a bottle of dry chardonnay for later.

Leavenworh, Washington. No real Germans here, it turns out.

Crossing the border back into the US was pretty uneventful. The agriculture gal took an avocado and my cactus from the trailer. Take note....avocado. Cactus. Something about being back in the imperial speed limits and American soil seemed oddly comforting. Our first night back in the US would be in Leavenworth, WA – a German-themed town in the eastern Cascades. I was sorely disappointed when I heard the truth that Leavenworth has no real German heritage whatsoever and was established based on the question of "how can we get more tourism here?" Regardless of the lies, Isaac and I enjoyed the scenery, bratwurst and beer. We even found our new favorite dog-friendly bar Bushel & Bee. My friend, Breanne, who I've known since high school came over to visit for the day from Spokane. Have I mentioned how much I love seeing friends on the road?

I think my next personal challenge will be hand-drawn fonts. I'm still in the doodle phase. Professional hand-letterers are my heroes, they have so much patience and attention to detail.