five nights at veranda beach

This year we chose to do one main summer holiday trip … and then added on a visit to my parents afterwards. We are trying to limit our costs going across on the ferries and also simply we were not wanting to travel too far! The idea has been floating around a bit for a number of years, in vague wishful tones, to holiday together with Jeff & Shendah and Eli & Allison. And then just after Christmas we talked about it seriously and started making plans … the search was on for the best location and the best venue. The Island or the Okanagan? A hotel or a cabin? Suddenly one night I remembered a place I had bookmarked years ago, Veranda Beach, just 5 minutes across the US border on Lake Osoyoos. It's a 1950's style beachfront resort with colourful cottages lining the movie set styled streets. Allison said after it was like driving into The Truman Show or Pleasantville and no kidding, it was exactly like that! Our group of 13 needed as much room as we could get so we chose a 4 bedroom beachfront cottage, in fact the red one that seems to appear on all their promotional billboards along the highway. The best part was just letting that porch door slam behind you and there was the beach and lake … worth every extra penny!

The 7 boys, Henry, Walter, Felix, Ronin, Angus, and twins Mylo and Ari, range from 1 to almost 6 but they had a great time all together. And Henry certainly wasn't ignoring the little guys as he was constantly helping out, talking to, and playing with "the babies" whenever he could. Their days were filled with bike riding, playing soccer, building sandcastles, swimming at the beach and the pool, finding whatever they could for their bug jars, having a big scavenger hunt with Sam and Jeff, throwing water balloons at Sam, bubbles, watching movies, sleeping in bunk beds, walking to the playground, s'mores (first time ever for our three!), and did I mention the beach? For the parents there was still early mornings and pushing food during meals and crying kids and hungry kids and they-will-not-stop-giggling-and-fall-asleep-kids but we did it together. And we did it while sipping on some pretty heavy duty margaritas once all the kids were finally asleep! Sam, Jeff and Eli have been friends for 22 years and it's great to see their boys now playing together, the next generation of friends.

Veranda Beach, you were pretty spectacular. Thank you for having the hottest day when we arrived and for raining as we left. We couldn't have timed it any better.