Today we spent the day in Kamloops, a place I had visited with my parents a little over a decade ago. Kamloops is a desert town, with a large rail network and river network running into it. It is easy to see how the town would have developed in the early days.
We started our day with a meal from Harold’s, a diner towards the other side of town. Erin went for a No Eggs Breakfast, while Claire and I shared a Crabcake Benny and a Pancake Stack between us (half on each plate).
Suitably fuelled, we headed for the Secwepemc Museum and Heritage Centre. The Secwepemc people have a long running tradition, and it saddens me to consider the impact of Westernised culture on their heritage. However, seeing strong elements of their culture alive and well even today is positive. Unfortunately, a bear had moved in to the outside areas, meaning we were restricted to the museum, but nonetheless this was interesting to see.
Next, we headed to the Courthouse Gallery. When I visited years ago, the gallery was a youth hostel and we stayed there. A fantastic building, in an old courthouse, we enjoyed looking around both the exhibits and the traditional panelled court room. I think there is mileage to further expand the use of this building, but for now great to see it still retains original features.
Once we had finished (and purchased a painting for the landing back home) it was back to the hotel to cool off in the pool. We spent hours sunning, splashing, and enjoying the whirlpool.
After we had dried off, we went to dinner at Frick and Frack, a local bar. Again, I had visited here on my last trip (probably underage back then… by BC standards anyway) and remember a fish bowl of drink fondly. The place had changed and now seemed more of a restaurant, but still served fish bowls!
The food was gigantic… we are learning that when in Canada it’s probably best to skip starters, as nobody finished mains! The food was brilliant, but about twice what we could manage!
