I fell in love with loons last summer. There were only eight of them, but their presence on a hidden lake high up in New York’s Adirondack Mountains made it magical. Among North America’s largest waterbirds, they are ungainly on land and indominable under water, expertly diving to depths that can exceed 200 feet as they hunt for tasty little fish.
Loons communicate with each other in hoots, wails, alarms and yodels, piercing the stillness of the wilderness with their distinctively eerie calls. They vocally touch base with their besties when they wander away, and carry their chicks on their backs when they go out for a swim, never failing to touch my heart with their singular devotion. They woke me up for impossibly pastel sunrises, alerted me to predatory hawks and not a few bald eagles flying overhead, and heralded the beauty of spectacular sunsets I’m forever grateful I didn’t miss.
Loon
No matter the time of day, I found myself looking for their tell-tale polka-dotted backs out on the water, acknowledging a strange kinship with these haunting birds I couldn’t readily explain. Could it be their penchant for the welcome seclusion of wild places they were wont to call home? Maybe it was their calm delight in partnering with a mate who shared their love of family, adventure and travel in equal measure. Loons are uniquely adaptive to their environment, preferring to summer on the forested shores of northern freshwater lakes, heading south in winter to bask on ice-free saltwater coasts and dine on the seafood catch of the day. Wherever they choose to travel, they find home in the beautiful places they discover, typically returning to their favorite haunts time and time again to experience their wonders all over again – or finding new ones they like along the way.
That’s the thing about travel for me, the unfailing desire to want to live in every new destination I explore. Booking a hotel stay is great, but it lacks the intimacy and authenticity I find when staying in a real home. Having friends around the world, I’ve had the luxury of vacationing in places where I’d love to live for a while. For the past two summers, I have been privileged to be a return guest at a friend’s Adirondack cottage, sharing the regional pleasures and natural treasures – loons included – of her family’s lakeside camp with renewed awe and anticipation like I lived there too.
Experiences like that reveal the luxury of home stays: a coveted opportunity to experience the world from a new perspective, while indulging in the rhythm of daily life like the locals do. Short of having invitations from friends with homes all over the world, you can vacation in an elite range of luxury residences with character across the globe. Choose from city penthouses, centuries-old villas, majestic castles, country manors, wilderness retreats, and even mega yachts, with property values of over $1.5 million, each individually inspected and meticulously vetted for quality, location, and amenities, thanks to a community-oriented membership program with the HomeExchange Collection.
I had the unique opportunity to enjoy life on a private wine farm in Naramata, British Columbia, for close to a week last October in a place I hadn’t been to before. It was owned by a generous member of the HomeExchange Collection, access limited to the privileged few. His pretty-as-a-picture vineyard estate overlooked Okanagan Lake in Canada’s Okanagan Valley, renowned for its temperate climate, vineyards, orchards, outdoor recreation, and nearby small cities like Kelowna and Penticton– all beyond charming. The lake is rumored to have its own live-in monster – a giant serpent-like creature named Ogopogo. But it also serves as an important migratory stopover and wintering area for loons as they travel between northern breeding grounds and coastal wintering spots in warm weather destinations. Leave it to the loons to lead me to my new favorite home away from home.
The owner’s spacious five-bedroom house easily accommodated our small group of travelers, where panoramic windows drank in head-turning views of the vineyards and the shimmering lake from dawn to dusk. During summer’s heat, the swimming pool and built-in bar promised refreshing, totally chill reverie against a stunning vine-and water-laced backdrop, idyllic in every way. Ideally sited to take in the scenic setting, an outdoor firepit warmed the deck in the chill of the fall and a wood-burning hot tub was primed for evening dips under a setting sun. Inside, seating nooks, a flat screen, wall art TV, and a cozy wood burning stove shared the space with a chef’s island kitchen and a window-walled dining area that made the open-floor plan inviting at every turn. Guest rooms were architecturally designed with log cabin walls and modern indulgences in mind; en suite bathrooms with heady rain shower fixtures, along with a steam room and sauna in a downstairs bath, took everyday indulgences to a new level.
Even from afar, our host, was a hospitality pro, recommending the distinctive regional pursuits and culinary delights this area of Canada is known for. We were wined and dined at a private chef-hosted welcome dinner when we arrived at his house – think glasses of Rose from Birch Block Vineyard and Pinot Noir from Hillside, locally produced and proudly poured; caramelized onion and aged Cheddar tarts with zesty zucchini relish; a balsamic-glazed salad of roasted sweet potatoes, pecans and goat cheese; a perfectly prepared roasted beef ribeye entrée with sage-potato gnocchi, wild mushrooms, butternut squash and cowboy butter sauce; and an eye-candy poached pear dessert, specialties of Grapevine Barbecue owner David Simenoff, a true culinary giant. I hit the pillow that night delightfully sated and hopelessly besotted with my first taste of life here.
Each day was a different adventure. We woke to play pickleball on a private court that was hidden in the vineyards and open just for houseguests, learning the finer points of the game under the patient tutelage of Brent Freedman, the affable founder of The Brine Pickleball. We sipped our new favorite wines during dinner at the toast-worthy winery, Poplar Grove, with Chef Stacy Johnston, a dedicated devotee of local, delicious and ultimately sustainable fare. We e-biked with an eager young guide from Hoodoo Adventures who took us along the rough-hewn Kettle Valley Rail Trail on an active adventure rich with scenic highs that had my adrenalin pumping; sculpted pottery in a lakefront home studio with hands-on tips from potter Laurel Jean, artist extraordinaire, as images of Demi Moore’s similarly unforgettable scene with Patrick Swayze in Ghost sensually played out in my imagination; and happily downed craft beer and artisan pizzas at the Abandoned Rail brewery, temptingly tucked into the landscape feet from a popular hiking and bike path. Dinner at Kin & Folk in downtown Penticon showcased globally inspired dishes, blending bold Asian flavors with locally sourced ingredients, with an unexpected gourmet finesse I will long remember.
Leisure time paid tribute to the landscapes I loved lingering in. Rows upon rows of cultivated wine grapes, grown amidst nurturing views in the home’s bucolic backyard, inspired my sensory walkabouts. A soak in the hot tub and a seat at the firepit stoked a new appreciation for unscripted off-season salvations. And starlit nighttime skies, unaffected by manmade lights, paid tribute to nature, unplugged, unencumbered and unforgettable.
Would I have experienced such exclusive entrees to the locally loved treasures of Kelowna as a hotel guest? Certainly not in the same intimate way. The beauty of staying in a HomeExchange property is the access you have to an invaluable resource of personal connections, vetted recommendations and memorably authentic experiences shared by the home’s host. No cookie cutter, touristy things here. The advice you receive is honest and trustworthy, reflecting one of the priceless “membership-has-it-privileges” perks the HomeExchange Collection is known for.
While the loons I was looking for had flown off to an array of seashore homes by the time I arrived for my autumn getaway in Canada where they just happen to appear on the country’s $1 coin (the “Loonie”), they remained iconic emissaries of my mission to make myself at home wherever I travel. After all, they seem to know just where to go to find the most beautiful spots on Earth – traveling from freshwater lakes in northern North America in the US and Canada in the summer to saltwater coasts along the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the winter. Which, not too coincidentally as I learned during my week at the Little Wine Farm in Okganagan, is also where you will find a luxury home-swapping host eager to share a favorite nesting place with like-minded members of the Home Exchange Collection. ☐
About the HomeExchange Collection
HomeExchange Collection is an elite community reserved for owners of luxury homes. It grants exclusive access to the HomeExchange Collection community of 5,000+ exquisite homes in addition to the 270,000+ homes available on the HomeExchange Classic program. With properties available throughout North America, Europe, and Australia, membership in the HomeExchange Collection promises curated travel-like-you-there advantages and privileges not available on your own. Members enjoy networking with like-minded luxury homeowners and high-net worth individuals who serve as personal pre-arrival guides to the destination; a full year of unlimited exchanges with no hidden fees or restriction; dedicated member support services for exchanges and site navigation; 100% flexible cancellation terms; up to $2 million in property damage protection; and much more. Full details can be found at www.homeexchangecollection.
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