Road Trip to Peachland....

Our weekend weather was looking so great that - following one telephone call to friends in Peachland, BC, - Jeanette and I rolled out from home early this past Saturday morning.  The skies were clear.  Traffic was light.

Highway 1 (Trans Canada Highway) heading west for Highway 3; the Hope/Princeton Highway into southern BC.

Knowing we would be riding into high mountain country, we had our cold weather riding clothes on.  Good thing too. The air was cool for those brief periods at high elevations.  Other than a few cool spots, the temperatures were great for riding.

Beautiful roads, offering beautiful scenery.

Late afternoon, this past Friday, Jeanette and I talked about visiting our very good friends who live in Peachland, BC.  That town is located just south of the Okanagan Valley city of Kelowna, in BC's southern interior.    During our telephone call, Garry and Aline were up to having us drop by for a Saturday afternoon visit.  So....that was all it took to lock in our plans. We rolled out of our driveway by 8:15 am, Saturday morning.

Manning Park - about half way from the southern BC coast to the Okanagan Valley in BC's southern interior

Our friendship with Garry and Aline dates back to when our kids were babies.  We maintained this long lasting friendship after they retired to Peachland.  We often dropped in for visits and they would reciprocate when driving to the south coast.  For twenty years, we lived in the same neighbourhood and our kids grew up together.  We spent a lot of time together.  Great friends!

 Fast flowing rivers and creeks can be seen along Highway 3.

Although the longer route from our home to our friend's home in Peachland, Highway 3 offers some spectacular views and the narrow winding highway is well suited to motorcycling.  Many twists and turns - combined with elevation changes - makes for a fun ride.

At the southern end of Skaha Lake, near Penticton, BC

With two fuel stops and one stop for lunch in Princeton, we were close to our on time arrival at Garry and Aline's home. Our ride - with stops - took a little over five hours.  There is a shorter route but, as mentioned above, the route we took is slower but prettier.

We really love riding along Lake Okanagan, from Penticton to Peachland.

The last 30-40 minutes of our ride skirted Lake Okanagan; a huge body of water.  The lake is home to three sizeable cities (Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton) and several smaller communities (Summerland, Peachland, West Kelowna; to name a few).

Simply stunning.

By 1:45 pm, we rode into Garry and Aline's driveway.  They were ready for our visit.  Coffee was on!  We got busy catching up on our respective lives. 

Removing the riding gear.

Garry with his two grandkids. 

Living with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), Garry has soldiered on with life.  He maintains a good sense of humour (one of his many trademarks).  We were thrilled to get to spend a couple of special hours visiting.  Knowing that he tires quickly, we said our bye byes and rolled out of their driveway.  We plan to visit again.

Jeanette and Aline had a long walk around their lovely home and garden.  And what a garden!

Garry and Aline's beautiful home is a gardener's delight.  They have done a wonderful job of turning their place into a beautiful garden shrine.  

Garry and Aline's son, Jesse ( a good friend our son, Deni) was home for the weekend.  He was helping his mom plant some new trees and trimming others.

Jeanette and I knew that once we rolled on, Aline and Jesse would get busy with planting and other garden works.

Our plan was to ride back home; about a 4 hour ride from Peachland rolling on the Coquihalla Highway.  We headed west on the Oakanagan Connector (a major four lane divided highway) toward Merritt, BC - in the BC Nicola Region.  A stop at the visitor's centre - in Merritt - led us on to another plan.  Speaking with the two ladies who manned the tourist information centre, we generated a new ride for ourselves.  We had no reason to be home on Sunday so we chose to find an overnight spot and then meander our way back for home through other south/central interior roads.  Although that was an impromptu decision, it was a good one.  More on that later.

Thanks for dropping by.