Canada for a change

Arriving in Vancouver was such a refreshing change and held promises of an enjoyable time ahead. The airport was new and spacious. Customs was friendly and hassle-free. What a fantastic change from our U.S. airport experiences! We stayed in downtown Vancouver amidst restaurants, cafes, organic food stores, bubble tea shops and an amazing China Town down the road and specialty tea/juice shops. Our family has become quite enamored of the bubble tea. Our first experience of it was in Kona, almost 3 years ago. I'm not sure where it originates, maybe the Phillipines, but it is truly delicious. You can choose the kind of tea from a long list, including Thai Iced Tea, Macha and others. The most enjoyable part of the bubble tea is the bubbles, or boba, which are the black tapioca in the bottom of the drink. They are quite big and chewy, so the straw they provide is the big thick one like for slurpies.
The hostel staff in Vancouver downtown were really informative and on the advice of Jeff, we decided to go to Nanaimo for a few days after Brian had Lazix corrective eye surgery. We only had a few days left, Brian was in some pain with dry eyes and we needed somewhere quiet and peaceful to hang out, which was also easy to get to. Nanaimo was 80 minutes on the Lynx ferry. It is a popular tourist spot, but not too bustling.
We spent the most magical day in Victoria, which is just over an hour drive from Nanaimo. First stop was the Butchart gardens, where we walked around gazing at the beautiful flowers and sculptured lawns. We enjoyed the very civilized experience of afternoon tea in their tea rooms. The food was presented on a three-tiered platter with an assortment of sandwiches, sausage rolls, cakes, biscuits and scones. If it had been more reasonably priced, we would have ordered one more serving, so instead, we cut up all the dainty little pieces into even smaller dainty little pieces and savoured every one.
On the way home, we found our way back to an observatory that we'd passed on the way to Butchart. We'd taken a back road when we'd gotten lost and it was intriguing to pass the sign which stated 'Centre of the Universe'. It was a very hands-on museum with heaps of kids activities and we got to see inside the observatory with the shutters back and the telescope trained on various stars. We were able to see through the telescope via a camera and projection screen. At one time in the past the telescope was the biggest in the world.
We were getting ready to leave Nanaimo when a fellow traveler at the Painted Turtle Hostel encouraged us to check out a town East of Vancouver, called Nelson. We were regretting having to leave Canada so soon, so got on the phone, changed our departure date and planned the upcoming adventure.
It took two days, driving slowly and making numerous stops along the way including a visit to Ainsworth Hot Springs. The hot springs are situated in an old mine cave which filled with thermal spring waters. It is very warm and steamy and definitely not for the claustrophobic, as it snakes around into the side of a hill, with the water swirling around at waist level and the light getting quite dim inside.
That night we found ourselves relying on the good nature of a local store owner. This part of BC is not built up at all, and the few towns dotted around don't always have all the services that unprepared travelers may need. We got to Ainsworth late in the evening, with little cash and no food. The hotel took our credit card, so no probelms there, but the only place that was affordable and that had a delicious looking menu, only took cash. So we begged some roast potatoes and cheese off the cafe owner and had crackers on cheese, potatoes with butter (saved from the banana bread we'd bought that morning) and instant miso soup. It was one of the most satisfying, delicious meals we'd had so far, and yet it was so basic. I think the satisfaction came from the feeling that another person was willing to help us out, from the goodness of their heart and expect nothing in return. It's a liberating experience to feel this and restores faith in the world.
Nelson is 20 km south of Ainsworth and is situated around a picturesque lake, with the stunning backdrop of the Kootenay mountains behind it. It is a lively town, population about 8000,quite distinct from its sleepy neighbours. But by lively, I do not mean a typical bustling U.S. town, or U.S-like Canadian town, such as nearby Kelowna with its sprawling ugly malls, insidious fast-food chains and car delearships. It is culturally lively, with art exhibitions and festivals, old restored heritage buildings and weekly markets, music in the park by the lake and buskers adding life to the streets.
We haven't experienced a town anywhere in the U.S. quite like Nelson, yet. Byron Bay in NSW Australia is close, but unfortunately spoiled with the throngs of visitors and lure of the tourist dollar. Nelson has made its mark on us. I plan to keep my eye on this little town and pursue the possibility of spending more time there.....