- The Fun Side of Life brings me to the Okanagan Valley, where I'm sport fishing... Yeah, jumping back there! This might be happening! Checking out cool RVs. Well, you can easily transform this into a dance floor. This is how big it becomes. And sipping some tasty Pinot noir. Join me for the Fun Side of Life. How are you?
- Excellent.
- I'm no fisherman, and I haven't cast a line since the 1980s. Luckily, my friend Rod, from Rodney's REEL Outdoors, is gonna change all that. He's got a state-of-the-art setup on his 22-foot thunder jet Chinook hard-top boat. I mean, if anyone can get a fish into my hands again, it's Rod.
- So we're targeting the rainbow trout. The rainbow trout are gonna be cruising around the lake. Sometimes just going right down the middle of the lake is is our best chance. We're gonna be using down riggers. And we hook the line into, what we call, a down rigger release clip, so that... And then we can drop it to whatever depth we wanna fish. There's a digital readout on here. It's a really cool way of targeting the fish. So on the sonar, if we're seeing fish at, say, 40 feet, then we just lift them or drop them to whatever depth they're at, and it allows us to catch our fish.
- So has fishing become more of a science?
- I would say so. Yeah, yeah, especially if you wanna be more successful, right?
- This isn't your grandpa's fishing.
- No. You ready to throw that one in?
- Sure. I really hope I do catch a fish. Really do. It'll be 35 years since I've caught a fish --
- [Rod] Oh wow. Looks good. So if you see one of the rods, you know, start bouncing, you know, like that, fish on.
- Well, how do you reel it in?
- Just work at it, man. Usually, that's not a problem.
- Okay, good thing I've been doing some tricep workouts.
- [Rod] There you go.
- Yeah, right. So Rodney, your job is what a lot of people do just for fun.
- Yeah.
- [Jim] Right.
- I'm blessed. It's so exciting to watch people get a fish on the line, especially if it's their first fish.
- How would you describe fishing culture in the Okanagan?
- I did it with my grandfather when I was six years old. So I guess it would be, you know, part of that. It's just in your blood, something I've been doing for a long time, and we get a lot of people like that. We actually get a lot of people that move here for the fishing.
- What makes fishing in the Okanagan so special?
- Just look around, right? You know, we're on Okanagan Lake. The lake's 80 miles long. And we've got, you know, the wineries and the vineyards all over the hillsides. And sometimes we see bears on the shore or California big horn sheep. We see those quite often. So yeah, it's... Oh, we got a fish on, guys. We got a fish right there. See it bouncing?
- [Jim] Yep.
- [Rod] See it bouncing? Grab it outta the clip. Grab it out here.
- Okay.
- Put your thumb on the spool. Okay, nice and slow. Nice and slow. Just slow down. Let's see if he's still on there. Oh, he's jumping back there.
- This might be happening! Nice rainbow trout.
- Wow. Fish on; we got 'em. We got him.
- [Jim] Wow!
- Well done, man.
- That's a thrill, oh man! That's amazing! First fish caught since 1987!
- [Rod] Why'd you wait so long?
- Wow, what a thrill!
- [Rod] Good job!
- Oh, I can't believe it. This is an amazing feeling.
- It is.
- An amazing feeling. And now I'm gonna let him go.
- Awesome, even better feeling when you let him go.
- Yeah, definitely.
- So just, yeah, over the side head first. Nice and easy and...
- [Jim] Just, like, jump.
- [Rod] Well, there he goes.
- Amazing feeling.
- You just slimed me! We're all slimed now!
- Now we're slime brothers. Fishing with Rodney made me feel like a kid again, and I think it's important to say that we caught way bigger fish once we turned off the cameras. You'll just have to trust me on that one. Now, I'm off to see my friend Doug in Kelowna. He knows more about RVs than any other person I know. I drive a class C, but he told me there's so much more to RVing than what I've been driving across Canada. So Doug, I am fascinated with the RV culture, but I wanna know about the variety of experiences to have in an RV.
- Well, in the RV world, there is so many different aspects to it, from the very large units down to smaller ones. There's really something for everyone.
- This Mini Max is not something I'd have expected to see on Doug's lot. It's a small package, but it's got huge potential for fun. Oh yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna have a seat.
- Go ahead.
- All right.
- Go ahead; get comfortable.
- That's awesome; you know what? This is a, a prime example of "never judge a book by its cover," right? It may look small from the outside, but inside it's packed.
- It's got all the features of a full-size travel trailer: a bathroom with a shower and toilet, big fridge --
- Right. You got a full kitchenette, everything. So Doug, who's typically in one of these?
- People 30 to 40 years old that are into mountain biking or they're into hiking. There's unlimited places that they can go with with a unit like this.
- Grab and go, no fuss, and the versatility of being at home.
- Exactly.
- It's a feeling of being at home.
- It is.
- Doug's follow up is bigger than pretty much every apartment I've ever lived in. This is a home on wheels. Wow! This is unbelievable.
- I didn't think it was this big.
- Well, do you know what? I can show you just how big it can get. So once you get to your campsite or your destination, takes a few minutes, everything opens up. You're set to go.
- You can easily transform this into a dance floor. This is how big it becomes.
- Yeah, you don't feel like you're crowded at all.
- It's really starting to look like a home.
- Well, you know, let's see... That's the whole idea of these coaches. So there's every luxury, really, that anyone could want in an apartment or a home. There's your dishwasher, a stove, convection ovens, big double door fridges, a separate bedroom back there, washer and dryer, bathroom.
- Doug, I never... I mean, this blew me away. I never thought that you could live this comfortably in a home that moves. Have you had people come back to you and tell you that you've changed their life because of the RV experience that they're getting?
- As a matter of fact, I have. A lot of people claim, "Now we're able to see our family a lot more, where we couldn't see them before. Now we can take them on trips." The grandkids spend time with them. Yeah, it changes their lives.
- Doug, in a nutshell, describe the RV experience.
- A feeling of freedom. You have the ability to be anywhere. And when you have all the amenities that you have in here, you don't feel like you're away from home. You have a home here.
- [Jim] You can't spend time in the Okanagan Valley without tasting some of the world class wines produced in this region, so I'm heading to the 50th Parallel Estate Winery to visit my friend, Travis. After a quick behind the scenes tour, he set us up for the most scenic wine tasting I've ever been to.
- Welcome to 50th Parallel.
- Thank you for having me.
- [Travis] We're on the 50th Parallel at the moment. Our name is where we're located.
- It's breathtaking. And Pinot noir is what you're famous for.
- It is. Pinot noir is a grape which can be quite fickle to grow and vinify. Pinot is one of the few red varieties which really prefers a more Northern environment because it's really thin-skinned. In hot climates, much like myself, it's just gonna get sunburnt and stop going. Up here, it's gonna reach maturity. We're gonna begin with our 2018 Blanc de Noir.
- [Jim] As a novice wine drinker, what am I expecting to taste here?
- [Travis] So on this wine, you're going to find lots of hard fruits, apples, pears, and a small amount of breaded aromas. Think brioche.
- Ooh. I can't describe it as elegantly as you, but that is a very crisp wine.
- Very vibrant acidity. Lots of Granny Smith.
- Oh, that's delicious.
- [Travis] Next is our 2020 Pinot noir rosé.
- [Jim] Okay.
- [Travis] Incredibly trendy right now.
- Oh, that's a little lighter. That's a "sit down on a back deck and enjoy the day" kind of wine to me.
- It's a patio pounder for sure.
- Oh, patio pounder. Travis, third one's the charm.
- Our flagship wine: 2019 Pinot noir the great 50th Parallel has built its brand on.
- So Travis, why are we having this one last?
- Well, you always begin with your light whites and sparklings; move into something with a little bit of structure, or oak; and then end with your reds, so the wines don't step on one another. This was aged in French oak for 16 months. Showing lots of cocoa, vanilla, pepper, red fruits. Full and firm for Pinot noir.
- Oh yeah. This is a little bit more of a heavier kind of wine. I feel like I should have this with a steak.
- Yes, you see what I mean by structure? It's a lot more rigid. It's a bit more tactile on the palette. You can actually feel it. That's something we really thrive to do here at 50th Parallel.
- Mission accomplished, right?
- Thank you.
- I couldn't have wished for a more beautiful day. My friend Doug gave me an inside look at RV culture. I caught my first fish in more than 30 years on Okanagan Lake. I felt like a kid again. And I capped it all off with a wine tasting right at the 50th parallel. I could stay here forever, but I gotta hit the road and find my a next adventure.
