rad summer: stina in osoyoos

I’ve been anxious for a getaway lately, so last weekend was perfect. My family has gone to Osoyoos, BC, Canada’s only desert, since way before I was born. I’ve gone almost every year of my life but have missed a couple years lately, so it was great to be back. Ben and I drove up late on Saturday morning through 5 ½ hours of pounding rain and wind. When we arrived in the early evening we were greeted by my mom, grandma, two of my aunts, my uncle and Koda, my aunt and uncle’s adorable lab mutt. That first night Ben and I slept outside on a big air mattress. I’ve almost always slept outside under the stars in Osoyoos. Laying under a huge bowl of stars is glorious and I highly recommend it. Try to get as far away from lights as possible.  

The little baby hydrangea in the photo is what I woke up to on Sunday morning – so sweet! We were glad to be in Osoyoos where it was warmer than Vancouver, though it wasn’t super sunny. Usually I get sort of desperate for shade and icy things in Osoyoos since it’s generally hot, bright sun all day long, with the occasional fantastic summer storm. Sunday we lazed around and read books, took a little drive so I could show Ben our old campsite and picked up slurpees to spike back at the campsite. We cooled off at the lake when we got back. It got wet and stormy that night so we had to sleep in the trailer. Koda tried to join us on the bunk before giving in and sleeping just in front of us, so I would step on her if I were to get up.

Monday started off cloudy again so we decided we needed to do something if we were being robbed of the usual hours spent floating on the lake in the sun. We took a short drive to NK’MIP resort, which has grown so quickly in the last few years! I remember it as a campsite with a few horses for riding and a winery. Now it’s a resort with a spa, restaurant, and cultural center. We sat on the patio and had a “flight” of four different wines (sounds so fancy) and had a delicious lunch with a gorgeous view looking over their vineyards, the lake, mountains. The sun even came out for us. When we went back to the campsite we were finally able to go float on the lake until we were worried about our shoulders getting burned. That night got stormy again so we slept inside, and we drove home in the overcast morning.

Isn’t it time you had a summer adventure? You don’t have to go far or spend too much. There are probably some hidden gems just around the corner from you that are begging to be explored. A field. The stars at night. I’m tellin ya.

Stina, from the wonderful blog and shop, Honeywild was so kind to share her summer adventure with us all. Make sure you check out her online spaces! Thank you, Stina for these amazing Okanagan photos and a rad summer story! I'm glad we live in the same city! We'll have to have an adventure of our own some day.