Pumpkins in the Sun

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We lied, we managed to fit in a wee trip before the end of the year - so hurrah, another travelblog abounds.

The first part of the trip was a solo one for Charlotte. Bidding for vacation the year before doesn't always work out. So as a result, Charlotte had all her vacation time in October and November. It's been a big year money wise with trips to the UK and of course, our wonderful wedding so it wasn't possible to do too much this time around. With Mike busy at work with the Canadian elections it was a chance to slip away for a few days. One good thing about having holiday time in October is that most places aren't too busy. I managed to get a hotel in Las Vegas for 23 US a night and took advantage of my staff benefits for a nice cheap flight to get down there. I flew down on a Monday morning and enjoyed two and a half days of walking in the sun and visiting the shops. The Stratosphere Hotel is at the North end of the strip and the area around it is starting to get developed. It's easy to get down to the heart of the Strip on "The Deuce" bus, which only cost two dollars. Or you can walk. It takes twenty-five minutes to get to Fashion Show Mall which is the start of the big hotels. Walkways and bridges lead from one hotel to another and they are huge and fun buildings to look at and wander through. The Bellagio is well known for it's water show and I managed to catch them both at night and during the day. At night, it's great to watch it from The Bellagio as you get a lovely view of Paris Hotel behind the shooting, spraying water against the midnight sky.

It was a fun few days and nice to catch some warmth. Winter has definitely started to creep in over here.

Once home it was time for us both to get away for a weekend. Mike's colleague and a friend of us both, Jen and her fiancee have a cute cottage in the small town of Princeton. Princeton is three hours East of Vancouver, further into the BC interior. We left on the Friday morning and ambled our way through the mountains and along the river until we reached the town later in the day. We stopped and bought extra groceries for dinner and spent the evening cooking and relaxing. The next day we were up bright and early and happy to see that it was a gorgeous day. We drove further East to the town of Osoyoos. It sits at the bottom of Okanagan Valley right by the US border. In summer the whole of the Okanagan becomes a bustling tourist spot, mainly due to the lakes and beautiful scenery. The town of Osoyoos sits right by the lake. We had a little amble before driving up the side of the mountain on the other side to get some breathtaking views of the lake below. The whole Okanagan area is well known for it's vineyards and wineries. We passed a dozen or so on our drive that day.

After Osoyoos we drove back along the road to Princeton and stopped at the various country markets in the small town of Keremeos on the way. There was a plethora of pumpkins and winter squashes for sale as everyone is preparing for the run up to Halloween. The orange pumpkins were a vibrant splash of colour against the blue of the gorgeous sky. We stopped in the small town of Hedley and had a great lunch at the Hitching Post Restaurant. A yummy chicken pesto panini and a fresh caeser salad, washed down by a local brew. Perfect. Back in Princeton we again had a lazy night of cooking and relaxing.

The next day we left for the drive home. It all seemed quite different going the other way, but this time we were going down the mountain rather than going up it! We took a detour on the way and rather than going along the main highway, we came off and stopped at the town of Harrison Hot Springs. We didn't have our bathing suits so couldn't visit the hot springs themselves but enjoyed a little amble by the beautiful, glacier fed lake. From here, we drove back to Vancouver stopping at a garden centre which was having a huge end of season sale. We picked up some plants for the garden, which is slowly coming together after some hard work over summer. We also got a pump for our gurgle fountain, so that was a great find.

Then we were home. We really don't have too many trips planned for the rest of the year. We have booked a couple of nights in Tofino on Vancouver Island for January - courtesy of our aeroplan points. That will be a nice getaway. We haven't been over to Tofino since before we left on our year trip, so it's been far too long. Tofino was our first get away together as a couple so it will be nice to re-visit as husband and wife.

On that note, bye for now. Hoping you all have a great time over the holiday season and if we don't get a chance to say so beforehand - all the very best for a wonderful New Year.

Lots of love,

Mike and Charlotte xxx

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