A few of my favourite things

In honour of tomorrow marking one month back in town, I offer my dear readers the following...

10 Best Things About Being Back in Kamloops
(in no particular order)

1. Time Warp

... the radio stations are pretty much exactly the same as when I was in high school. People who live here regularly find this frustrating. I, however, love the short-term opportunity to nostalgically rock out. Case in point: belting out Amanda Marshall's "Let It Rain" as I passed by Riverside Coliseum, where I saw my first "real" concert-- Amanda, playing, nonetheless-- back in grade 7.

2. Francie

There's already a post on her and how awesome she is, but it's worth repeating. Francie rocks my socks. Even when high school boys laugh at my car at the park. Or I walk into the lunchroom to hear my coworkers trying to deduce "WHO is driving that 90s hatchback?". Or she takes a good 30 seconds to hit 60 going up the hill. Heart.

Kamloops is a great city to drive in-- the weather is perfect for rolling down your windows, there's a beautiful view of the valley down from my place... and it's really big and hilly, and I'm pretty lazy, so it's far superior to... shudder... walking.

3. Canada Day

Ottawa notwithstanding, Kamloops has one of the best Canada Days I've been to- it's a huge community event with tons of live performances and art displays and kids' games and amazing food put on by tons of the local cultural associations. And the fireworks over the river are pretty fantastic. Plus I got to do a story on it for the news-- woo!

4. Perfect way to end the day

I won't pretend I'm up for many of the sunrises... but the sunsets in the valley are gorgeous.

5. Sun, sun, sun...

At least 4 days of brilliant dry heat and sun for any crappy rain day... the perks of being in a desert.

6. Riverside Park

I can't tell if Riverside has gotten nicer and less sketch since I lived here, or if my standards have substantially lowered after being in Toronto... but the park is lovely, even if the beach is a bit lacklustre.

7. The old haunts

Denny's, the piercing shop, Scoops (or better yet, when it was Summer Dreams), the tea house, Zak's...

... I just realized that all of my favourite places in town either feed me or poke holes in me. Hmm.

8. West is Best

This can be proven through equations:

Safeway > Hartman's; Save-On > Loeb; Superstore > Loblaw's

Okanagan Springs, Big Rock, Growers = amazingly delicious

And the fresh fruit from the Okanagan pretty much schools the ByWard any day of the week.

9. Deck privileges

What can I say? Like most folk, I enjoy being able to barbecue and nap and drink beers. All three are exponentially better when a deck is involved. The only downside is that nosy strata types are often watching deck goings-on... which means I've had to keep my pants on. Thus far.

10. The... pace...

Things are slower out in BC... and even more so in Kamloops. Outside of the newsroom, there's rarely a reason to rush. It's probably one of the things I've missed most.