Wanna have a spa day?

Not us UNFORTUNATELY..but that’s what was in store for Newman and Jerry today!

We woke up in Penticton in the Walmart parking lot, which was perfect for us as the “spa” for Newman was only 5 minutes away. We had arranged a 10am appointment at the local NEWMAR dealer to have new ”eyelashes” aka Wiper Blade Arms. put on Newman and also to have the plastic water valve for the ice maker in the fridge replaced which had frozen somewhere in Saskatchewan between Moosomin and Regina!

When we drove into Midtown RV and saw all of the brand, spanking new Newmar‘s we knew Newman was in very good hands! Just as a point of reference a brand new Newmar Dutchstar retails for $480,000 USD! There were quite a few Dutchstar‘s on the lot well as a few Kingaires too which retail for $974,000 USD! Luckily we got out of there with only a $524 bill!

While Newman was having a spa treatment we decided to be tourists in Penticton and visit both of the Lakes In town. First up was Lake Skaha. It was very brisk walking along the Lake, but there were quite a few people out walking along the beautiful wide boardwalk. We could see why this would be a very popular tourist spot in the very hot summers they get here in the Okanagan.

We found the Skaha Solar Timepiece on the beach on Lake Skaha. It uses the “Analemma“ or graduated scale of the sun’s declination and the equation of time for each day of the year shaped in the figure 8. What makes this sundial different is the shadow that you cast by standing on the sundial, tells the time. Of course I had to try it and play “tourist” in the process!

A very bundled up Richard on the boardwalk on Lake Skaha.

Not to be outdone by Newman we had to find a spa for Jerry too! The poor Jeep had lost a front signal light somewhere along the road on this trip and Richard didn’t want to go through a regular car wash, so we found a “do it yourself“ car wash. Quite a tidy operation and Richard cleaned Jerry up like new, in a few minutes.

We drove through downtown Penticton to Rotary Park on Lake Okanagan. The views were stunning but it started to rain so we didn’t stay for very long.

Given we are in BC wine country in the Okanagan we had to visit a local wine store and stock up! Richard not being shy went to look for some first hand recommendations and it turns out the people running the “JAK’s beer, wine and spirits” store were either from Quebec or France...so Richard started conversing in French to them and next thing you know we were walking out with a bunch of fine local wines.

Supposed to be as good as Burrowing Owl.

A master of wine making, makes this wine. There are only 400 master wine makers worldwide and 4 in BC. An organic wine.

This wine won a silver medal in the BC wine awards.

A staff pick and a silver award winner in BC.

Richard also picked up an Irish Whiskey that was recommended by the owner of the store which Richard says Is very good!

After picking up Newman from the spa and reuniting Jerry and Newman, we hit the road for Lake Country. The drive up along Lake Okanagan was amazing! Even though it was raining (and the new wiper arms worked like a charm), the vistas were stunning!

We are staying for 2 nights at a “boutique RV park” called “Orchard RV retreat”. We call it a “boutique RV park” since there are only 10 spots allowed on the owner’s BC agricultural land. The owners have apple orchards and also grow hops. They were only allowed to convert agricultural land to 10 spots for RVs. The wifi is great and we have full hookups with a beautiful view! Tomorrow more exploring and maybe even some wineries!

View from our spot at Orchard RV retreat!