Wednesday 2nd July Vancouver to Kelowna

We were to leave at 8.30am this morning but the Hotels lifts broke down and the luggage had to be manually carried down six flights of stairs. It was the bell boys' first day of work, I think it will be his last. We were held up over an hour because bags were missing. Our morning tea stop was a town called Hope. We were lucky enough there was a free BBQ in the Hope Memorial park and we all had a free tasting.
Hope has chainsaw wood carvings displayed throughout the town. It is also home to a notable carver named Pete Ryan who has carved a number of the chainsaw wood carvings in town. There are chainsaw wood carving competitions and exhibitions held here annually. There was also a man cycling along selling icecreams from his bicycle. He had a fridge attachment on his bike called the Hope Sicle. We stopped at Merritt for lunch and then continued onto the Summerhill Winery which is located in Kelowna on the Okanagan Lake. Established in 1986 by the Cipes family, it was the first winery to be certified an Organic Winery by the Pacific Agricultural Certification Society of Vernon. The winery also features a bistro and was setting up for a wedding in the gardens. We had wine tastings and then had a tour of the pyramid. We entered the pyramids sacred chamber and quietly walked up the stairs and sat down. There is no metal in the building of this pyramid. The wine is stored here for clarification. I wasn't fussed with any of the wines. Our coach picked us up and took us back to the Hotel Ramada Inn. Pete and I went to the adjoining restaurant, Mikeys Bar for dinner.