Vancouver to Penticton

Hey guys!

Time for an update now I'm here in Canada!!

So we flew from Sydney to Los Angeles which was a 13 hour flight. Such a long flight, ugh. I ended up getting a really bad headache during the flight and I had to sign a medical waiver form to get panadol from the flight attendant since I forgot to take some with me (Sorry Nan! I know that's one of your tips!). Luckily it worked pretty quickly. I ended up watching 4 movies on the plane: 'American Reunion', 'This Means War', 'The Lucky One', and 'Project X'.

Once we arrived at LAX we had about a 5 hour wait for our flight to Vancouver. We spotted Lionel Richie at the airport, unfortunately Nicole wasn't with him, but he did have an entourage! We had starbucks and I bought an American magazine (seriously, I want to buy every single one, I love them! That's what Mum and Dad will be bringing home in their suitcases for me!)

Eventually, we made it to Vancouver. We caught the Skytrain from the airport to the city centre, and then had a 4 minute walk to our hotel. From what we saw, Vancouver looks really nice! and the weather was gorgeous. We were so exhausted and jet-lagged, and just ready to collapse! We freshened up and then went to the hotel's bar and grill for dinner. On the dessert menu you could order a deep fried peanut butter and jam sandwich! Sorry guys, we didn't try it!

The next day, we had breakfast at the hotel and packed up. We then walked down to the car rental place down Granville St, which looked a bit dodgy, kind of like Sydney's King's Cross. We got our car and it took Dad a little while to figure it out, and it was so nerve-racking for Mum and I when he started driving on the wrong side of the road and wrong side of the car! Luckily, he's done it before; just took some getting used to at first.

We started the drive to Penticton. We got quite a bit of traffic at first when we were leaving Vancouver, I think everyone was going on holiday! We went past a lot of mountains, and also a town called Chilliwack which had a place on the side of the road where you could get Drive Thru Corn!! We stopped for a late lunch at a town called Hope, where we tried to say the word hope in every sentence, haha! The town was a cute little country town, and had great food. Then we continued on our journey to Penticton, past even more spectacular mountains. I entertained myself by taking photos out the windows. We've started a competition that whoever spots Canadian wildlife first, wins! Unfortunately, we haven't seen any yet :( I really want to see a moose!!

We reached Penticton, and checked in to the motel. The motel owner, Christine, is so lovely and welcoming. After talking to her for about a minute, you feel like you're already friends. The motel is really nice, with a full kitchen. We bought some Maple Crunch cereal (which is really nice!) and then walked along the waterfront at sunset, which was really pretty. Penticton is a town at the end of the Okanagan Lake (which is HUGE! We drove past it on the way here and it's 135km long! Yes, I may have just googled that). So Penticton has a beach at the end of the lake, with no waves. At the end of the waterfront there was a fair on, because yesterday was the last day of Penticton's Peach Festival. Unfortunately, we were one day late for the Peach Parade! After walking along the waterfront, we went to dinner at a restaurant called Bufflehead, which was really nice. We then headed back to the motel.

Today, we had a sleep in. We drove up to the Lost Moose Lodge which is at the top of a mountain, and got some great photos at the lookout.

We then headed back down the mountain and into downtown Penticton. We strolled along and had a look in a few shops. I got so excited in the souvenir shop. Every five seconds I said "Oh I want this!!!" We didn't get anything though, we're going to wait for a better store. We then went to the Hillside Winery for lunch. It had a fanastic view of the Okanagan Lake, and the food was amazing. Mum and Dad then did a wine tasting, and bought a couple of bottles. We then headed to another winery and bought some cheeses. We then went to a local supermarket and bought some biscuits and dip. Next door was a butchery called T-Bones which is insane! Dad was so excited in there! They sell absolutely everything in there. Like this:

We then went down to the beach and tested the temperature of the water, and it was really nice. The weather here has been really hot, so it was nice and refreshing. We then walked to check out this thing called the River Channel. It's a river with a strong current, and people rent tube rings and float down the river. Dad looked it up and just go to halfway it can take up to 2 hours! We were worried about getting super burnt with our fair skin so we opted out of that one. We then went down to the beach, and Dad and I read our kindles, while Mum read her book.

We then went back to the motel and had our cheese, chips, and dip for dinner. After, we went to play a game of mini-golf! It was so much fun, but I ended up coming last! Boo! Dad was the clear winner.

We then went to reward ourselves with ice-cream. I had a scoop of maple icecream, and a scoop of peanut butter and jam icecream in a waffle bowl and it was yum! We're now in the motel just relaxing. Tomorrow, we have a 3 and a half hour drive to Revelstoke. We're having a lot of fun so far :)

Love,

Emily