one foot in the fire, one on the face of the sun

so it's been hot lately. really, really hot. the kind of hot that has you sitting around the house in canada's cheapest nightgown (not just for the maternity ward anymore!). we've had some record-breaking days here in vancouver this week and where have i been? oh, the okanagan. because when you live somewhere experiencing an unusually fierce and long-lasting heatwave it's of course logical to go someplace even hotter.

it just turned out that way, with the heat, but i was so glad that we could get away to penticton...

did the road trip up with just cole. i hadn't taken him on such a long drive solo since he was a baby, so i was a little hopeful and a little unsure if it'd be hellish or fine. it was fine. cole slept the way there until manning park, where we ate lunch and chased marmots. he helped me pick my car snacks at the lodge, we played in a few rivers along the way and then he slept from outside of princeton until penticton. such a relief.

i did pack an aresenal of crackers and small toys from my 'mystery drawer', so he was well entertained/distracted. the only hitch - i stopped to put a blanket in the window so he could sleep, just outside of princeton, and i "somehow" managed to roll the window up with my finger still inside. (somehow = i'm routinely clumsy and distractable). i've broken a finger once before and it was only very slightly less painful. i got myself free after a moment of sheer pain and wondering what would happen to cole if i passed out while stuck in the window on the side of the road... no harm done in the end, surprisingly!

we stayed in the beautiful home of our lovely auntie patti. you could not ask for a better place - wonderful company, the fenced yard is huge and grassy, there are raspberry bushes, hummingbirds, a friendly dog named abby, a hot tub and a basement full of different toys! stairs to climb, strange things to poke and a reflective table that he found most enjoyable... i think cole wondered what disneyland i'd suddenly transported him to! we shared ice cream sandwiches on the deck and listened to the crickets at night. cole didn't sleep well - teething and the heat combined to make his nights rocky, but we did thoroughly enjoy our days!

he was a little timid around abby at first, but every morning he would sit up and say "pup, pup" and point upstairs (we were staying in a wonderfully cool basement bedroom). we'd get up and he'd climb the stairs on all fours until he found her. he made the most out of access to a dog - even tasting her food and splashing around in her water. thankfully she is very patient and well used to babies and their ways.

and the lakes! oh the lakes!!

we got a floaty for cole and had no end of fun with it. we went to a beach everyday - often enough to decide that i like okanagan beach better than skaha - it's shallow for ages, has sandbars and shady poplar trees and is just perfect. i'm really getting my money's worth from that bathing suit i bought online! cole gathered rocks and tugged at tree branches and gave me the sweetest hugs while covered in sand. we traipsed to the giant peach concession stand in search of peach drink, but alas they don't sell any anymore. "back in my day..."

stopped at the red rooster winery one evening in the most beautiful golden light. cole fell asleep in the car on the way home from the beach, so i drove to naramata and ate tacos (why is there no taco bell in vancouver?!) and he woke up just as we were driving by. you really can't beat the prices of wine from the source, even if it means you have to endure the pointed looks of uptight folks who may have wondered if i was tasting while baby-wrangling. seriously folks - you have no idea how much that would help, but alas i was not... so far have tried their 2007 gerwertzaminer and it's so crisp and fruity.

and of course we stopped for fruit at bears fruit stand on the way home. again - you can't beat the prices or taste of farm-fresh. i got a trunk full - big box of apricots, small box of peaches, cherries, apples, zuchinni, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, honey and a loaf of bread for $32. cole loved their old tractor (rusty + danger = fun).

cole slept all the way to manning park, where we stopped to eat lunch (beware - i got more mosquito bites in the restaurant than i did rummaging around in raspberry bushes at twilight!) and chase marmots again...

and i realized that we did this same exact trip during this exact time last year, except we didn't go swimming. can't believe the difference a year makes: