34~Lakeside for a Summer Holiday

We are all going on a Summer Holiday! No more worries for a week or two!

Road tripping with a bestie from childhood, with the kids in tow- the open road, mountainous surrounds and snacks galore = FUN! 

The adults headed out together (that is Mama Wolff, Richard, Liz and Harvey), Keith was working and would later join us by flying in from Calgary. The cars were packed to the brim and we were set after grabbing large coffees and the breakfast sandwiches and doughnut bites tom Tim Horton’s- a Donegani/Burritt heading to the Lake family ritual. The summer holiday vibes were in full flow as we left the city behind us, heading out onto the open road. Kate and I remembered being in the back of ‘The Beast’, the huge station wagon that transported us to all sorts of places as kids. Now we were in the front of a pretty awesome vehicle with control of the tunes, snack rationing and the speed. Today some cars have DVD players too (new to me, I thought this was limited to limousines), so we waited till we made the half way mark, whacked on ‘The Lion King’, sang along (with more enthusiasm than the children) and waited till the children to drift off so we could engage in serious gossip. Just like with Lydia, we had a list of conversations to come back to as we had flitted from one topic to another, never quite reaching a satisfactory conclusion or getting as in depth as we wanted.

We arrived first and Reese and Jack were thrilled to see Grandma Di and Grandpa Eric. Harvey, Richard, Liz and Mama Wolff were soon to follow; Liz and Judy bright eyed, with a little raucous laughter having enjoyed a bottle of wine in the back seat. These gals can put away the wine and maintain a seemingly even keel. Pretty impressive. They say it is years of practice. As far back as I can remember, yes, they have been continually practicing and that is a few fair years.

How lovely to have a week at Lake Skaha in the Okanagan. Keith’s family cabin has been moved from the lakeside spot but remains on the family land. Eric and Diane sold their homes in Vancouver to permanently move to the Lake and built a house for round the year living. As their placard in the kitchen/diner says: ‘Life is better at the Lake.’  Very sensible to vacate the city and move to this little spot of Canadian heaven. The weather forecast was hot, hot, hot for the week. So much so that the old cabin was not a viable option for us to stay in as it was literally a sauna (I considered some hot yoga but decided the jetty a hot enough and more beautiful place to practice) so Liz and Harvey, Richard and Mama W, and I (in the ‘bonus room’- as a single there is generally the chance you are on the sofa bed or in with the kids- I had a lovely window looking out onto the hills and a big TV with plenty of Disney VHS) moved into the big house with Eric and Di. Kate, Keith and the children stayed in the little sister house next door that had heaps of cabin charm.

Experiencing the beauty of the Okanagan and the peace of the lake was just lovely. It was perfect for Mama W and Richard to  have a ‘summer holiday’ in the midst of their city break too. Lakeside activities are very cool: waterskiing (Keith’s sport of choice, I was put off when Harvey pulled his back out on his first and only ski of the week), boat trips, plunging to escape the heat, swims, jetty yoga, reading, chatting, rock painting with nail varnishes (Kate, Reese and I had hours of enjoyment), checking out clouds, feet trailing in the cool water and simply gazing into the horizon.  

Post hours of scything the water weeds and then a waterski, poor Harvey pulled his back and proceeded to medicate himself. Here he is using the yoga mats, tequila and a Corona here to help heal his back (mid morning):- 

Kate and I cooked a dinner at the Cabin for the lakeside lot. As we did this, we put on tracks from our childhood: Rick Astley and Dirty Dancing. We knew all the words and had a riot, cooking up a feast of chorizo and prawn linguine with a feta and watermelon salad. We loved hosting and could not help but congratulate ourselves on our skills and delicious food- acknowledging that it was slightly unbecoming to do so. Reese and I had spent a sneaky hour baking Kate’s favourite: lemon drizzle cake. It was her and Keith’s anniversary so we figured ladies choice (lucky, as Keith had overindulged in sun and a few too many rum and cokes- he had to sneak off) and Reese was chuffed to bits to bestow the gift to her mama. 

Reese and I were becoming fast friends. When Jack corrected me in how to say ‘water’, “Not wa-t-er, wa-d-er!” Reese conspiratorially said to him, with one eye on me, “Jack, she has an accent, she can’t help it.” She was now in with the British lingo and was rocking out words like ‘chuffed’, chips were now always ‘crisps’ and ‘brilliant’ had replaced ‘awesome'. Liz too declared she would never call crisps chips again, indeed crisps seemed much more apt for crunchy potato snack! Why had she not termed them so sooner? Reese and I made place settings for our last dinner together, coloured, baked banana bread, yoga-d together and had a pretty cool game of pirates with Jack too. 

 I was oblivious as I stood on my head to the photography and Reese's complementary act:-

Kate and I managed to have time too. We both had a conversation that we wanted to complete. A parallel from across the pond, us both having experienced a fall out with a close friend. Years ago in both our worlds but interestingly we both had taken a long while to heal and the wounds recently closed, the scars clearly there. As we went for a grocery run, Kate divulged her story. Two days on, we did a mourning walk up a mountain and I reciprocated. The cathartic release, perfectly timed as we trudged down the steep incline, brought tears to both friends and we realised how precious this opportunity was in sharing. We were both finding absolution and a sense of closure. 

Here we are with our mamas:

We girls headed out to town to get the next lot of groceries- there were a lot of mouths to feed and we

seemed to do a lot of eating. This trip involved an initial pit stop at two wineries. An Okanagan must, what can we say? A shopping session at Canada’s version of TKMaxx. I looked on as the ladies bought clothes and consoled myself by buying some lavender oil and coconut body scrub as toiletries surely were essential. We then went for lunch which made us realise that this was the very first time we had ever been just the four of us, Kate and I grown up girls now, lunching and chatting over our histories, presents and futures. Very decadent and a ridiculous amount to catch up on- like 25 years! Eventually we made it to the supermarket and it was a strategic dash around the aisles in order to make it back to rescue the men or the kids, whichever were feeling the strain more and of course to make the most of the late afternoon sun at our lakeside spot (admittedly, this was our first and foremost thought).

The sunny days here were reminiscent of our childhoods at ‘The Cabin’. Liz and Harvey’s over the border beautiful cliffside spot where we would spend weekends adventuring, reading, being together, eating candy and pancake breakfasts. Here we were, all together again and I remember the ever arching skies from our cabin vantage point and I marvelled at the stunning skies lakeside too. The first night I trailed my feet off the jetty, mesmerised and unable to move to get a camera. Amber, peach, apricots, threads of saffrons and rose stretched, slowly ribboned and danced as the sun disappeared behind the hill. The uplight, a gorgeous staging effect prevented true darkness and postponed nightfall. Reflections in the water were equally captivating and the warmth of the sun kissed air kept me there for some time. 

Each night was a different performance, each incomparable and treasured as was the slow rise of the sun and early light that permeates this vast expanse of undulating mountainous ranges. Morning runs were perfect for smelling the land, catching the sprinklers that watered the crops and seeing the moon in the early morning blue. One night as the sun was setting, I kept thinking about night swimming. The water lay darkly translucent in the wavering trees that fringed the lake, the amber-hued belt of mountains reflected in the gentle ripples upon the surface, twinkling 

Diane encouraged me just to

do it, so as the others watched on, enjoying the sun set, I hopped in for some lengths. Buddy, the dog, they felt was surely in love with me. Running up and down the jetty as I swam, clearly captivated and protective. Well, he has not been my worse offer as of yet. He has all his teeth and is apparently incredibly loyal. I guess a summer holiday often features a budding romance. If my feelings were not reciprocated, at least I had an admirer and it did cause quite the stir at our camp! Here he is, heading my way:

Lots more happened during this week: the adults went for a posh lunch at a winery; Kate managed to find time to complete a book; the kids suffered a few melt downs; Harvey hobbled around with a bad back; Keith got in a few early morning water skis; we watched the World Cup Final; the adults got pretty merry on Friday night; Diane made some top notch meals; we breakfasted together; we chatted and most of all we laughed. 

I headed home in the adult car- Kate, Keith and the kids would continue their stay for the long weekend. Mama Wolff got sick on the windy ride home and stopping for a box of Okanagan peaches and a crate of wine was a must. A perfect ending to our summer holiday: a victim of car sickness, a box of local peaches and a pit stop at a burger joint!

What we learnt form our group vacation was that we would do it again in a heartbeat, so next year or the year after we are down for a reunion. We have had a good few years practice at this holidaying together back in the 1980’s and some 20 years later we still have the skills.