Monday - heading home

Think that was the longest either of us have slept in a very long time. For both of us, sleep is usually about 5 to 6 hours a night. Wow 9 hours! We woke around 6ish for coffee and to think about anymore route changes. Nope stay the course, head for Oliver and the winery and then circle back towards Keremeos. Glad we did, the wine country there is beautiful. Just after leaving Oliver we came across the winery we were looking for. So what, its 10AM, big deal, what a better way to start the day. We pulled in and the property was gorgeous, well maintained with a road leading right thru some of the vineyards. We took a few pics outside and then went in for our "Breakfast." Great place, great staff, great fun. We must have tried atleast 6 wines each and also got to nibble on some crackers and dark chocolate.(my fave) We ended up buying 2 bottles of wine to bring home with us. Could have stayed there much longer but of course we did have to ride home today.

The smoke was pretty heavy along here from the fire in Kelowna and I gave Len a bandana to tie over his mouth and nose. We carried on to the junction and then turned back towards Keremeos. This is a great road. 2 lane blacktop that you can just fly along and of course we did. It wasnt long before we came across this beautiful lake and we pulled over to get some good pictures of it. This is Yellow lake and the colour is amazing. We continued down the road for not too long before we came across B and B's and stopped in to see them once again. They told us that the lake actually changes colours and that it is airated as well as stocked. We visited with them for a bit then knew we needed to carry on if we were ever going to get home. Not that we wanted to but because we had to. We said our goodbyes again and hoped to see them when they came to the island later this summer.

We proceeded to work our way thru Keremeos and on to Princeton to stop for lunch. It was a toss up on Billy Bobs or the pub across the street, but we ended up in the pub. Cant say that we made the right choice there. You know the food is great at Billy Bobs! The pub not so great, his soup was really thin, and I only ate half of my ceaser wrap. The smoke wasnt as bad here in Princeton but according to conversation in the pub, all rooms were booked up by those escaping from Kelowna, or trying to get home that couldnt. Hard to believe that they were booked up that far south. We finished up lunch and then on for basically the last stretch homeward. Into Manning Park we go.

Oh damn forgot bout those switchbacks again. Last(and first) time I went Hwy 3 was a couple years ago on my way to New Denver, I was paranoid and did slow down and take it in my own comfort zone only to get belittled when we hit Princeton cause I slowed down to much and dont have to go the speed they post on the warning signs. Whatever, I was extatic that I did it period. Well this time, I was much better and actually kept up pretty good with Len. He still outpaced me a bit but I hate those things and wasnt going to over do it. We travelled along and were in Manning Park. It is beautiful up there and we had the road to ourselves. Both riding along in our own lanes. Len took a great chunk of video now that he finally figured out how to keep his fingers out of the way. Frog hopping each other in the clip and he even managed to get some of me behind him looking thru his mirror. Was really pretty kewl. Only hit one little slow down on the way down into Hope. Thankfully we were lucky, I guess the day before a car had gone over the cliff and they were there hoisting it up. We stopped just past that for a little break and then down into Hope we went.

We didnt need gas so we carried on to Chilliwack, got gas then headed over to Dukes for a quick beer and to check ferry options. Well it was a good ride but looked like we would be on the 8:15 to Duke Point and home by 11:30ish. We finished our drinks and made for the ferry. With the time being later the traffic wasnt that heavy but we still took 0 Ave from Abbotsford to the Peace Arch and then 99 to the ferry. 0 Ave is a great ride and a great way to avoid all the traffic and the headache of taking number 10. All the farms and markets along the way, if we had of had any room in the bags I would have stopped to buy some to bring home. Its also neat in some areas along 0 Ave that you have the American road running paralell with you seperated by a ditch. And if you look up or into the fields you can see the US border cameras watching. Not going to be able to cross there without a hassel. Even saw some border patrols parked off on a side road.

We made the ferry, tired but happy. Great trip all the way around, with wonderful friends and many memories(Im sure I have forgotten some as I have written) Back to work tomorrow or so we thought. As we were about to dock in Nanaimo, Mountain called us with some unfortunate news. He seems to think something blue came off the trailer at the top of the Coq. Oh shit, that would be our cooler with bout $600 worth of HD gear in it! Oh well nothing we can do now but head home and talk about it tomorrow.

We arrived home at 11:30, tired, happy and ready to fall down.... after a quick dip in the hot tub first.