Travels with Chili: Perched in Penticton

I've been dying to write this post since we got back from our Okanagan road trip, but I've forced myself to stick to the itinerary and not spill the beans. On this vacation there were so many places that really stood out, and people who blew us away with their kindness, as well as their commitment to their communities. I've already mentioned some like the Methow Valley Inn and Tappi in Twisp; and Gene Covert, Road 13, Tinhorn Creek and Miradoro in Oliver. But little did we know what was in store for us as we moved north.

The living room.

Our next destination was centered around the city of Penticton, bordered by 85-mile-long Okanagan Lake to the north and much smaller Skaha Lake to the south. We were scheduled to spend the night at a place called God's Mountain Estate, whose name gave me pause. Were little monk men or, worse, evangelical fanatics going to set upon us with religious tomes and chanting?

The narrow two-lane road to the estate was wedged between the eastern edge of the lake and the hills that rose up precipitously from it. About halfway around the lake we saw a tiny domed white stucco structure with the address we were looking for stuck on it. A gravel road ran up the hillside, and about halfway up that drive there was a white iron gate. We paused, wondering if this was really where we were supposed to be since there was no sign and no one appeared to be around. But as we inched closer the gate mysteriously swung open, so we cautiously continued.

Stairway to a landing.

At the top of the drive we finally saw a building, a rambling white stucco house that wouldn't have looked out of place on a hillside in Greece. Out of the house charged three large dogs of varying ages, barking madly. Since we're dog people this ferocious display didn't dissuade us in the least, accompanied as it was with wagging tails and broad smiles (not bared teeth). Behind them came a woman in a long flowing dress, her hair tied up in a loose bun and a smile on her face as she shooed the dogs away.

The roofless room-with-a-view.

It turns out Sarah Allen knew she had to have this house from the moment she walked in the door, even though it was in a physical condition that, generously speaking, could have been described as crumbling and with the interior walls all painted black. Eventually she and the owner came to an agreement on the price, and she and her partner started (literally) bringing the house back into the light.

The view of Skaha Lake from one room.

The house is oddly laid out with stairs and landings leading to rooms on various levels, some cantilevered to take in the view. One is actually roofless, featuring its own hot tub, an Asian-style gazebo and a 360° view of the property and the lake. We kept taking wrong turns trying to find our room, but it became part of the fun of the place. Everything about the house reminded me of a movie set for a Liz Taylor/Richard Burton film, filled as it was with (several) life-sized deer statues and an idiosynchratic-but-sophisticated jumble of antiques.

The property is a vineyard, as well, producing just a few cases of wine from the riesling grapes grown on its steep hillsides. There are several excellent trails that meander through the property and along the summit of Skaha Bluffs, offering spectacular views over the valley. Even better? One of the hounds will escort you on your hike. But for us the best part of our stay was simply sitting on the shaded wraparound veranda reading a book or taking a dip in the cliffside hot tub as the stars came out over Skaha Lake.

Breakfast was quite the spread, with everything from muesli to eggs, bacon, French toast, pastries, fruit and, most importantly, terrific coffee in the sunny breakfast room. There was also a full kitchen for those who wanted to cook their own meals or just store a bottle of wine. Sadly we only had one night at this place, but it made us long for several more to really kick back and relax. Maybe on our next trip?

Details: God's Mountain Estate, 4898 Lakeside/Eastside Rd., Penticton, BC, Canada. 250-490-4800.

Read the other posts in this series, The Great Okanagan Road Trip, Okangan's Lake Country, Magical Moment, Penticton Personalities and Crazy for Kelowna.

Travels with Chili: The Great Okanganan Road Trip

There's nothing like a road trip to clear your mind and open up your head to new possibilities. Especially when those possibilities involve lots of good food, wine and folks.

Flourishing orchards, dry hills.

It had been a good long while since Dave and I had taken an extended vacation, just the two of us, so we decided to head out on the road and explore some new territory up in British Columbia's Okanagan wine country. Not to be confused with Washington's Okanogan (note different spelling), basically the southern half of the same valley. Go figure.

Driving up the Gorge, turning left at Biggs Junction then heading up through Goldendale, Yakima, Ellensburg and Wenatchee, we crossed the Columbia River three times, surprised that it seemed just as big way up north as it does here (top photo). North of Yakima the rich river basin turns into lush orchard land, reminding me of Washington's reputation as the apple capitol of the Northwest. Most look like conventional operations, so we weren't tempted to stop and pick the ripe red, green and yellow fruit, plus we were pretty sure they wouldn't survive the Canadian border inspection.

The Methow Valley Inn in Twisp.

After seven hours of driving we could have made the two-hour dash to the border but, fortuitously it turns out, we decided to stay in the tiny town of Twisp, Washington, at the Methow Valley Inn. A historic hotel with a barn-like Dutch roof, we were greeted by affable co-owner Peter Morgan, who showed us around the simple but elegant inn, pointing out the indentations in the stairs made by decades of loggers' caulk boots.

Peter Morgan of the Methow Valley Inn.

Clean, quiet and comfortable, our third floor room had its own balcony that overlooked the garden patio shaded by a giant silver maple. Rather than hanging around our room, at this point we were more interested in finding dinner and a well-deserved beverage. We'd heard about the local brewpub, but Peter pointed us toward, believe it or not in a town of just under one thousand souls, an authentic Sicilian restaurant called Tappi.

Tappi, a Sicilian outpost in Washington's Okanogan.

The son of Italian immigrants, John Bonica had always wanted to open a restaurant dedicated to the foods he grew up watching his mother prepare. With the recipes he learned in her kitchen and with a wood-fired oven as the restaurant's centerpieces, he's dishing out food that would hold its own against the best Italian places in Seattle or Portland.

When we walked in, John had just pulled a cast-iron skillet of polenta out of his oven and was putting in small rounds of his sourdough "cuscino" (pillow) loaves that he offers as appetizers with ricotta or roasted tomatoes. Both went on our mental "must order" list, and to go with them we splurged on a bottle of Produttori del Barbaresco "Torre"…I mean, it was our anniversary, for pete's sake. Without going into lugubrious descriptors, my braised beef with romaine was astonishing, and Dave's pork sugo with penne was sublime in the way that meat in its falling-apart stage can be. Dessert? Forget it. But as soon as John heard it was our anniversary, he brought over a bottle of the house dessert wine…yes, he has one…a Colosi Malvasia, rich and delicious. Needless to say we barely remember the two-block walk back to the inn or much of anything else before we fell sound asleep.

Our early departure was delayed by a discussion with a French documentary filmmaker…I should have known this was a foreshadowing of the amazing people we'd run into on this trip…but depart we did, and crossed the border without incident to start our Okanagan adventure.

On to Osoyoos!

Read the other posts in this series, Okangan's Lake Country, Magical Moment, Perched In Penticton, Penticton Personalities and Crazy for Kelowna.

My Awesome Summer: Okanagan Bound

The second trip this month is a road trip in Chili up to Canada's Okanagan to check out the region and the wines of eastern BC for future features.

Yesterday Dave and I explored new territory (for us) along the upper Columbia River, crossing it three…yes three…times on our way up to the tiny village of Twisp, Washington, where we discovered an insanely great B and B (the Methow Valley Inn) and had one of the best Italian dinners I can remember (at Tappi's).

Again, a full post will be forthcoming…a reason to look forward to some downtime this fall!