Road Trip 2012 - Visiting the Murphys

After saying goodbye to everyone in Bellingham, we went to Aldergrove, BC to visit the Murphy's and everyone there.  Cathi and Don had made plans to spend 5 days in Penticton, BC, which is located in the Okanagan, and we joined them on Lake Penticton.

We had a wonderful time - after about a 4 hour drive, we arrived to blue skies and sunshine.  Our accommodation was across the road from the channel that connects Lake Penticton with Lake Skaha, to the south.  A few blocks in the other direction, the little town of Penticton was laid out along the shores of the lake.  There was a beautiful walkway along the lake, as well as lots of little shops, restaurants and ice cream parlors - everything you could ever want!

The motel was situated around the swimming pool, which Patience, Jordyn and Nick took full advantage of!  We all floated down the river channel one day, and then every day after that some combination of the family went for a float.  We had two cars there so we were able to position one of them at the other end so that the floaters had a way home.  The channel was very popular and there were always lots of rafts and inner tubes on this "lazy river".

Also across the street from the motel was a fun park - when the kids had enough swimming, they spent time there, riding bumper cars, playing mini-golf and taking advantage of all of the fun things to do.

Nathan was with us on this trip, as he was on leave from the Coast Guard.  He took the kids to the park one evening and Cathi and Don went for a walk with us along the waterfront and into downtown, where we discovered an amazing ice cream store!  More on this later!  Dylan and Sean were not there - Dylan was working and taking care of the house and dog and Sean was still at his summer job at the Cadets camp.

Cathi and Don had gotten all of us tickets for the steam train ride on the Kettle Valley Steam train.  The old steam engine was a hoot!  We had a great trip through the country side.  Don and Waneta joined us and it was a great afternoon!

Lee and I also spent an afternoon doing wine tasting!  The Okanagan area is a wonderful grape growing area and there are lots of wineries there.  We had a great time and came home with quite a few bottles of wine.

We took advantage of the bar-b-ques that were located right near our motel room and had wonderful dinners.  Some of them were enjoyed poolside!  It was a totally relaxing vacation!  The kids had a great time and the adults did as well!   Penticton is definitely on the "do again" list!!

Nathan, Patience, Cathi and Don getting ready to float down the channel.  Jordyn and Nick elected to stay and swim at the motel with Lee and I

And away they go!!

Cathi and Don on our walk along the lake

Cathi and Don at Lake Penticton

Most of the Murphy's!  Nick, Cathi, Jordyn, Don, Nathan and Patience at the lake

Grandma, Grandpa and Patience

This picture was taken at a park near the lake.  Patience, Jordyn and Nick were having a great time on the playground

Nick in the swimming pool - he's wearing a mask that belonged to some older boys and totally dwarfed his little face!

Grandpa, Nick and Patience in the pool

Patience, Nathan and Nick

Nick got thrown in the pool a lot!  Fortunately he liked it!

Nathan and Nick

Legos!  We brought the kids Lego sets and they provided a nice respite from the sun and water.  It looks like a lot of little pieces, but when they were finished they had horse stables, horses and people!

The Japanese gardens in Penticton

There were lots of murals painted on buildings around town, and we really liked the old steam engine!

We rented an 8 person bike!  We loaded everyone on and pedaled our way down town to get ice cream!  It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work.  Nathan steered, Cathi was "brake man" and all of us pedaled!

But the reward for all that hard work was yummy ice cream!

The Kettle Valley Railway

The old steam engine that pulled our train, along with Nick and Patience

Ready to board - Don, Don, Cathi, Nick, Waneta, Nathan, Pat, Jordyn, Patience and Lee

It was great to be in the open air cars - great scenery and it was such a beautiful day - here's Cathi and Nathan

The Okanagan vineyards

Don, Waneta and Don

Cathi, Nathan and Don at our pre-train ride picnic

Cathi and Nathan

Patience and Grandpa

Nick watching the engine change positions

Don and Nick

Don and Waneta

Jordyn and Grandpa

Grandma and Patience

We had entertainment on the train!  The banjo player was fabulous and we all sang!

Jordyn playing a game - they gave each of the kids a bingo sheet of things to look for on the trip - one of which was a bear!  Fortunately we didn't see any of those!

We got a kick out of this van!  But, the Okanagan really is like Napa with all of it's many wineries and acres and acres of grapes

We saw the "Dirty Laundry" Winery from the train and decided that we had to go there!  Laundry was the theme, as the winery had once been a Chinese laundry!

Their wines were very good, and had won many awards

As we were at the winery, we saw the steam train going by!

A restful stop at another winery - needless to say, we were the only car with California license plates in the parking lots!

And then the trip was over and we headed back to Aldergrove.  We got to see Dylan and Sean who had just arrived home from camp.  On Sunday Dave, Valarie and Madi came for a bar-b-que, which was really cool!  Before dinner we all walked over to Krauses Berry Farm to pick up some pies and fresh blue berries!

Sean, Dylan, Nathan, Patience, Jordyn, Grandma, Madi, Grandpa, Dave, Valarie, Cathi and Nick!  Sean's girlfriend, Bailey, took this picture for us - thanks, Bailey!

And then it was time to head home!  What a great time spent with the family we love so much!