Casabella Princess / Wine Tasting Cruise

We had a great time with our guest Mutsuko who stayed with us from late April to early May. We had a lot of fun showing her Penticton and the south Okanagan Valley where, among many things, she went wine tasting, hiking, horseback riding, visited the Farmer's Market and the Nk'Mip Desert Culture Centre. Mutsuko was also here during the 10 day Okanagan Spring Wine Festival. One of the many events during this time was the Wine Tasting Cruise on the Casabella Princess. The Casabella Princess is a genuine paddle wheeler (which I got to captain for a short time!), and it was so relaxing being out on the water. Seeing Penticton from the lake provides a completely different perspective of the town and its surroundings too. The 2 hour cruise took us around the southern end of Okanagan Lake, and during the cruise our sommelier (wine professional) introduced us to the fine art of wine tasting and we sampled some terrific local Okanagan wines and absolutely scrumptious hors d’oeuvres. I tell you, life cannot get any better than this!! During the cruise I kept having fantasies of spending the rest of my life cruising around Okanagan Lake sampling wine and munching on hors d’oeuvres while soaking in the stunning natural beauty of the surroundings…pure bliss!!

The most exciting thing which happened during Mutsuko's visit was the traditional Japanese tea ceremony we helped organize (together with South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services) at the Japanese Gardens in Penticton on May 3 (click here to see the photos and description). We put on the ceremony for 2 reasons. The first reason was to give Mutsuko the chance to show off her cultural talents and give her the opportunity to explain the tea ceremony to Canadians. We also held the event in recognition of the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Japan. It was an amazing experience for Atsuko and myself and we learned all the ins and outs of how to promote and put on a cultural event. We went around to the different businesses downtown and put up posters; contacted the local newspapers and radio stations and set up interviews; asked local businesses to donate their products and time to help run the event. Atsuko and Mutsuko had a lot of fun dressing up in their kimonos and going around to the local businesses to get support for the ceremony. You should have seen the heads turn as they walked downtown and into the different stores along Main Street - it was quite the sight! (see photos below).

About 100 people showed up during the 2 hour ceremony, and we sold about 85 tickets to people who wanted to try the Japanese matcha and sweets. Mutsuko performed the tea ceremony, Atsuko and Angela played the Japanese koto, and 2 Japanese friends of ours put on the calligraphy and origami workshops. I was the Master of Ceremonies and also ran around taking as many pictures as humanly possible (without getting in anyone's way which was a bit of a challenge!). Although it was a lot of work, we had so much fun and Mutsuko had the experience of a lifetime. After all, how many Japanese get the chance to perform their cultural talents before a live foreign audience?! Atsuko and I fell in love with the idea of promoting Japanese culture in Canada, and in the future we plan on holding many more cultural events in Penticton and beyond...stay tuned!

Views of Penticton from Okanagan Lake
 

Captain Patrick at the Helm! / View from the Deck

Meeting the Press

Visiting Local Businesses

Visiting Local Businesses

Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony, Japanese Gardens, Penticton

Trip to Vancouver and Powell River

The week following the tea ceremony, we decided to make a trip to Vancouver and Powell River to do a bit of business and try to see some old friends. The plan was to stay a couple of nights in Vancouver and then make our way to Powell River to spend a week with my sister and brother-in-law and make some decisions about our property. First we paid a visit to my sister's in-law's who live in Langley which is a city just outside of Vancouver. Atsuko and I were married in Vancouver and our wedding reception was held on their farm 10 years ago (I still cannot believe it has been 10 years!). It was great seeing them again and were surprised to find how little they have changed over the years. After our visit we headed to North Vancouver and checked into the Best Western Hotel. Travel tip: if you are visiting Vancouver you do not need to stay in downtown Vancouver. Stay in North Vancouver or elsewhere outside the city because the rates are much cheaper and you are still very close to all the sights and sounds of the city. North Vancouver is a beautiful area and I always stay there when I am in town. After we checked in I called a couple of friends and make arrangements to see them the next day. For dinner we headed to the Lonsdale Quay which is full of wonderful restaurants and stores, and we spent the next couple of hours window shopping and eating. The huge selection of food was astounding and it took us so long to decide what to eat for dinner (we even took the time to decide what we were going to have for future meals!).

We awoke very early the next morning - Matthew was up at 5:30am watching cartoons - so we decided to head into town and have an early breakfast. Traffic was light at 6:30am as we drove over the Lion's Gate Bridge but I was amazed at the speed of the cars as they zoomed over the bridge! The speed limit was 60 kilometres an hour, I was doing 70 kilometres, and everyone was else was honking their horns at me as they screamed by at what must have seemed like 90 kilometres or more! After breakfast we explored downtown Vancouver in the rain which was not a lot of fun. However, the time we spent indoors was well worth it as we got to see the wonderful architecture of such places as the Fairmont Vancouver Hotel and the old Royal Bank of Canada building (see photos). We next headed to Fujiya which is a large Japanese food store. I felt so strangely nostalgic looking at all the things they were selling and drooling over the freshly made sushi, bentos, and other homemade delights. After having our lunch at Fujiya (we couldn't resist the food - so yummy), we head to the National Nikkei Museum and Heritage Centre in Burnaby where we had a meeting. As I mentioned before, Atsuko and I got hooked on the idea of promoting Japanese culture so we decided to visit the centre and see if we could possibly hold future events at their facility. The meeting went well, and we were amazed by the beauty of the centre. The architecture was stunning and the interior was gorgeous (see photos below). We are really looking forward to the day when we can hold a concert for Japanese musicians at the centre.

Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver
 

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver / Royal Bank of Canada Building
 

National Nikkei Museum and Heritage Centre

Our trip to Powell River was a lot of fun, and we had a wonderful time playing on the beach and exploring the area. The ferry boat ride from Vancouver to Powell River could not have been better. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and I spent the entire time out on the deck taking picture after picture of the stunning coastal mountain range (see photos below). It may rain a lot on the west coast but when the sun comes out it is one of most beautiful places in Canada. We spent a week in Powell River and Atsuko and the kids went crazy playing on the beach. The big attraction for the first few days was the kite, and since it was fairly windy they had a great time running up and down the beach and watching the kite gradually disappear into the bright blue sky. I rediscover my old pastime of playing golf on the beach. When the tide goes out the sand is packed hard and it is a great place to whack away. I am still very much the beginner, however, and I must have lost 6 or more balls either in the water or in the rocks (too much of a wild slice in my swing, I guess...). I felt bad hitting the balls into the water so I decided to wander in to retrieve them. However, I was so swept away by the excitement of playing golf I forgot about my cell phone hidden in my pocket - I guess you can imagine the rest. Cell phones do not take kindly to salt water as I quickly discovered! While I was golfing on the beach I noticed a flock of eagles at the far end of the beach so I went back to my sister and brother-in-law's house to retrieve my camera and take more photos. I was surprised how close I could get to the eagles before they got suspicious of me and decided to fly away. When I was a kid I never saw any eagles on the beach but there must have been at least 6 or 7 during our stay. My sister and brother-in-law's house is almost finished, and it is looking great. It was so nice and relaxing staying there, and we cannot wait to return. The kids loved making beach fires and roasting hot dogs for lunch, and they spent hours and hours playing on the beach and running in and out of the water. We managed to visit a number of friends and made some decisions about our property which is just a 5 minute walk from the beach. Atsuko would like to preserve the forest on our property and make a nature trail for visitors. She also has a dream of building the "Magic Forest Cafe" where people could come and relax after a day of exploring the beach and the woods (Japanese love cafes - never did figure that one out!). I have my own fantasy of building a summer home on the property, something with a long windy drive leading up to a log cabin style home with a band shell for live music and outdoor parties. Atsuko and I think it would be great to bring our Japanese visitors to Powell River and have them stay with us on the property. It is such a contrast to the Okanagan and it would give them another taste of Canada and its amazing diversity. As I am fond of telling my kids, "who knows, one day..."

View from Ferry
 

View from Ferry
 

Flying Kites on the Beach
 

We Stayed Here!
 

My Own Private Golf Course
 

Matthew in the Water
 

Relaxing with Neighbours (and, yes, feeding a neighbour's donkey!)
 

Eagles Everywhere...
 

Eagles Everywhere...