Off to Seattle, Lake Chelan, Penticton and Vancouver

As the train chugs along with a destination (for today) of Seattle, Washington, I’m filled with anticipation of what’s to come over the next seven days.  Wine-writing friend, Michele Haid of Winehooch.com, and I will be meeting up this afternoon in downtown Seattle – the beginning of  of a week long, wine-centric, girls getaway.

Planned around the upcoming 6th Annual Wine Bloggers Conference, being held in Canada’s Okanagan Valley wine region, Michele and I decided we would add a few days around the conference in order to explore surrounding areas that neither of us have ever been to.  Although I’ve been to Seattle one time before (when I was 17 years old), my visit had nothing to do with visiting the city of Seattle – it had everything to do with seeing Van Halen, Metallica and the Scorpions play for the nationwide Monsters of Rock tour.  Yes, I loved rock and roll.  I didn’t go to the top of the Space Needle , nor did I witness the fish-slingers at Seattle’s world-famous Pike Place Market.  I didn’t take the Ferry to Bainbridge Island, and I certainly wasn’t old enough to participate in any wine tastings.  This time around, however, I’ll be what one would call a tourist – I’m doing all that and more.

Pike Place Market, Seattle | photo: seattleurbanmedia.com

After exploring Seattle’s tourist attractions, restaurants and wineries, Michele and I will be joining a group of wine bloggers for a pre-conference excursion that will take us from Seattle to Penticton, Canada (Okanagan Valley), by way of one of Washington’s popular vacation destinations, Lake Chelan Wine Valley.  While in Lake Chelan, our agenda is filled with multiple winery visits, including an excursion to Hard Row to Hoe Winery, a seaplane tour over the lake and dinner in a Tuscan villa restaurant at Tsillan Cellars; including an overnight stay at the beautiful Campbell’s Resort & Spa.

From Lake Chelan, we’ll be on our way over the border and into Canada, headed for the Wine Bloggers Conference taking place in Penticton at the Lakeside Resort.  The opening night celebration that I believe will be stellar, called Constellation, is going to be held at one of Okanagan’s nicest view points, and there will be plenty of sessions, including live wine blogging, excursions to wine country and more.

Three full days of the conference, and Michele and I are renting a car and driving over the Northern Cascades, taking the scenic route of course, all the way to Vancouver, BC, where we’ll spend one night while celebrating Michele’s birthday.  Morning will come quickly, because we’re then headed on a train back to Seattle where Michele will fly back to Florida, and I’ll hop aboard Amtrak once again.

This trip is the first time either of us will be away from our kids for an extended period of time. I’m sure there will be many phone calls to home right around bedtime and lots of virtual kisses through Skype.  Keep up with us as we explore; on Twitter we’re using the hashtag #winegirlsgetaway for all of our adventures. Cheers!