Touring

We started our day with a fabulous country breakfast and conversation with our host Ruthie. A vintage wood cook stove was used to warm the kichen and cook the food. Ruth managed everything, seemingly without effort! It actually makes me hopeful that I can do the same things when I make it to my mid to late 70's (I am just guessing at her age....

Well, it was raining, but we just decided to make the most of things, plus Ruthie had such great ideas for us, how could we lose? So we set out, maps in hand ( hand written by Ruthie). First stop was a Lavender Winery which, we soon found out was closed! Despite the rain, and since we were there anyway, we checked out their gardens which included lavender, surprised?!?! I wonder if they had surveillance cameras because soon afterward, a youngish man came out.  Rather than shooing us off, he gave us a tour. There were several lavender products as well as Lavender wines and of course after he was so nice to us, we both bought something!

Second stop was another winery and "not" on Ruthies list, however, we didn't realize our mistake until too late. They charge a small fee for the tasting. Likely because of the fee, we were given several small samples of wine to taste. The one we liked the best was $55 for a bottle, so needless to say, we didn't buy anything, and, To make sure we could continue driving, we decided to skip the other 5 or 6 wineries!

Next stop was Duncan to see the Totem Poles. There were yellow painted footsteps on the pavement that led us on a tour of dozens of them all over town. The main themes were Thunderbirds and killer whales, owls, etc. but they always had a story to tell, explained in plaques nearby. 

We found a cute coffee shop for tea and then set out for Chemani. The tour was set up similar to Duncan, but instead of totem poles, they had incredible, intricate murals on almost any solid brick wall, all over town. As we followed the yellow steps, the themes revolved around the history of the town, from the Indian heritage to the settlers, the early 19th century, the world wars etc. We wandered around the town for well over an hour checking it all out. 

Supper was a Chinese buffet in Duncan and then we headed back to see Ruthie. There were new guests tonight. Two young women from Belgium hiking along the Pacific Rim trail. Turns out the lady we met last night from South America was a nun at one time before she came to Canada. All of us gathered around the table for tea and discussing all manner of things. Felt kind of like an evening from my childhood when Mom and Dad had a bunch of family together, talking instead of watching TV!!