This weekend were headed to the Fraser Valley for a mini staycation in Abbotsford, BC. We were attending one of the Taste of Abby events and thought to make it a two days and one night occasion.
And we had the 2025 Hyundai Kona N-Line to get us there. With it only being a two person trip, the compact sedan that seats four comfortably was all we needed.
The Kona offered a hassle-free drive with simple conveniences like wireless charging and two c-cable ports for my passenger and I to charge our devices simultaneously. I liked the easy touch screen navigation and quick connection with devices. Everything I needed was at my fingertips and obvious to locate.
It has a smaller cabin for more intimate conversation. I just wished the seats were more plush for extended travel and that there was enough room on the arm rest for two.
It did get us to our destination easy with safety alerts and proximity beeps, it even slows you down if you are going too fast towards the vehicle ahead, and steers you back into your lane if you are swerving. Best of all, our round trip, including all the driving in between didn’t even cost us half a tank.
The main purpose of the drive out was for the Taste of Abby fall food festival. In 2025 it returns for its fourth year, celebrating Abbotsford’s harvest and food culture. Held from September 19th to 28th, the festival launched with an outdoor Night Market followed by ten days of curated and engaging food experiences. It showcased the bounty of the city and invites locals and visitors to visit their favourite or new spots, experiencing them in unexpected new ways.
Our adventure started off with brunch at Tanglewood. This is my first time visiting the estate, where they are currently getting ready for the opening of their Halloween haunted house next week. Spooky faces pumpkins and giant skeletons were already up and ready for photo ops.
Our brunch was hosted in their now shuttered restaurant, as they move more into seasonal celebrations and throwing the occasional event meal. Which was what they were doing this morning. To read more on this experience, check out its own dedicated post.
After brunch spent the afternoon exploring the Mount Lehman area, admiring cows and looking for local farm eggs to buy.
We noticed a Christmas store on the map, and their website said they were open, so we decided to check it out. Set up in a lane way house is Glenda’s Christmas shop. We walked in to discover that they were still setting up, although a fair bit of their Christmas merch was already out on display. Sadly, they won’t be ready and open for business until mid October (as today was only late September).
Next, we went on to enjoy the sunny last day of summer at Singletree Winery. Perching up within one of their wine cabanas, out on their backyard patio, over looking their sea of grape vines. This is a two person box for guests to sit side by side, looking out into their vineyard, with a table in between.
Today, I got to try their recently bottled rose, made from their new Pinot Noir clone. This was a full circle moment, as I attended their long table dinner last year as was able to try the same batch of rose, while it was being churned and allowed to ferment in large vats. I appreciated getting this conclusion.
It was matured only three weeks earlier and was given additional skin contact to achieve this darker hue. This was strawberry and raspberry on the nose with a zesty grapefruit undertone.
We enjoyed a glass paired with Singletree’s charcuterie. You can order one to accompany your wine or purchase any of the ingredients separately and as a whole package, from their market shop. Singletree sources out local ingredients to craft this cheese, cracker, and jam board. It was nice to nibble on in order to change the taste in between sips with sun.
Even with our slow sipping, our rose soon ran dry, so in order to continue our good times going we ordered another bottle. The patio weather called for a white and seeing as I have yet to try their Petite Milo, this was the winner. This is a more rare grape and Singletree is one of two wineries that grow it locally. A sweeter wine, I got warm baked pie fruits like pear, peach, and apricot.
So impressed with everything that we stayed until closing and before we left we grabbed another bottle of rose and a bag of their twisted pretzels, that were included in the charcuterie above, for later.
It was then time to check into our hotel. We were staying at Clarion Hotel & Conference Center. They are the largest event space in the Fraser Valley, and conveniently close to some of the city’s major attractions, like Castle Fun Park, Fraserglen Golf Course, Abbotsford Center, and Ledgeview Golf Course. Beneficial to us, they are only a 10 minute drive to Downtown Abbotsford, where we would be having dinner and breakfast the next day.
We shared a room with two queen beds. A standard suite with more utilities than most. Where it lacked in new and modern fixtures it made up in with the presence of a mini fridge for storing our leftovers and to keep our wine chilled. Plus a microwave to heat them up should we get hungry late at night.
We took some time to rest and freshen up before heading out for dinner. We decided to check our Amici, a pizza and Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown Abbotsford. I have been before once, for lunch on their back patio. So looked forward to see what dinner was like in their basement. For the full review of our visit to Amici, stay tuned for its own post.
After dinner we went back to the hotel to take advantage of its amenities. Unlike most other accommodations, Clarion’s indoor pool, hot tub, and fitness centre closed at 11pm, giving us an hour to enjoy all these free amenities included with our overnight stay.
We arrived to an empty pool room. We started off in the hot tub with jets, sitting and talking until we were too hot. And ended up in the heated pool for a cool plunge of sorts. I did a few laps and enjoyed the sensation of bobbing, just below the water’s surface. This was peaceful and relaxed me for the sleep ahead.
When time, we headed back up to our hotel room to clean up and get ready for bed. There were plenty of smaller lights to curate the brightness level of the room. Plus plenty of accessible USB and regular outlets for plug in. Air conditioning and heating was controlled through a unit by the window. This was noisier than we’d like, it at least drowned out the periodic beeping we heard in the distance, that the staff weren’t able to pinpoint. Thankfully it eventually stopped, only to start again later, but by that time we were tired enough to sleep through it. Just like the television with basic channels and most of them either sports or news.
I enjoyed having a queen bed with hotel sheets all to myself. I was able to sprawl out, take over all the down pillows and roll to the other side after I heated up the other. I slept well and woke up refreshed, despite sleeping late and waking up late. Check out was at 11am, but the front desk clerk was kind enough to give us an additional hour when she called up and we were not ready to leave yet.
We loaded up the Kona N-Line and headed back downtown for breakfast. We were craving the classics with eggs and bacon, and luckily there is a retro dinner in Abbotsford that has a good reputation, but more on this meal in its own post.
After breakfast we decided to walk things off and do some window shopping around town. Checking out our favourite spots and some new ones. There are plenty of great wellness and gifting shops that I like exploring.
And whenever I have time to spare in Abbotsford, I always find myself at Re:Vive, home decor store meets gift shop with a bohemian vibe.
I like shopping their jewelry and grabbing a couple of drinks. The latter of which was boozy and tropical with sweet fruit juices and flowers today.
After well enjoying the space we left the city and headed out to farm land, with our last stop of this trip.
It has been a while since I visited Maan Farms for their pumpkin activation, and this year they have new sights on top of picturesque places to take photos in front of. However, more of that in its own post.
In short, this was a lovely getaway, with the ability to try something new and revisit the familiar that we liked. An easy trip and an easy drive in the Hyundai Kona, with no stress and no fuss going at our own pace.
