Salmon Arm

The trip to Salmon Arm two weeks ago was great. The weather was not, but it was still a pleasant experience.
Catalina and I got to Salmon Arm first, but we drove right past it. We continued on to Sicamous because the rest of the family had stopped there on our recommendation. There is a good dairy with great ice cream. It’s worth stopping if you have the time. After getting the requisite ice cream we headed back to Salmon Arm and the hotel.
The next day I got up early and went for my run. Unfortunately, the entire town seemed to lose internet access while I was out. Which meant I could not see a map on my phone. I had a lovely run, but it went longer than intended. I never got truly lost, but I would have taken a more efficient route back if I had known better. Still, I got a good overview of the area.
When the weather isn’t good, there wasn’t a lot to do. We did check out some beaches and walked along them, but there was no way we were going swimming. Except in the hotel pool. That was nice, except there was a group of eight old white men who had come for a golf vacation who kept taking up the entire hot tub. They were nice enough though.
On the second day it cleared up a bit, so we inquired about renting a boat. However, the boat operator was not giving good odds that it would stay clear. But we still walked along the docks and enjoyed the brief sun.
Generally we just enjoyed each other’s company, having drinks and snacks in the hotel room and talking.
On the Wednesday we went our separate ways. The rest of the family left early to get back to Alberta. After they were gone, I took a somewhat long run that ended up being a half-marathon in distance. I thought I was going back to the beach we had previously walked along, but I took a wrong turn and went down a steep hill to a dead-end. On the advice of a local I ran along the railway tracks. Fortunately the next train to come by was five minutes after I was off the tracks.
We took a leisurely drive back to Vancouver. We checked out a farmer’s market/petting zoo/corn maze that was in Salmon Arm before leaving.

Day Trip

We took a day trip to the States today.
We’re going to Salmon Arm tomorrow to meet my family for a short holiday. So we thought we should get supplies. It is a lot easier for us to make shopping trips to the U.S. than my family. And we do need to get some other things there.
I am not a fan of Walmart, but my wife is, and that is the first place we hit. And there I had the most Walmart experience I could expect. And my expectations come from People of Walmart. I hit the washroom before leaving and the other man in there had decided that while using the urinal he didn’t need to pull up his pants. At all; he was mooning everyone coming in. It made the man who came in after me, who didn’t wash his hands, seem almost normal.
After that we went to Trader Joe’s. I like the snacks there. My wife likes the alcohol. We split up as we enter and go impulse shop our respective sections. It’s not pretty.
Yeah, I totally expect the border agent to pull us aside and charge us duties. I’m not going to pretend I’m not over the non-existent exemption for five hour trips.