Here is a picture of Car #23 that I took whilst out running around the Lakeside park. According to the tourist info 'Go and Do Magazine' it is one of the unique features of the City of Nelson - it was among the first communities in Western Canada to have a public transport system. In 1899 electric street cars started running. There were 3 street cars on the five mile long line numbered 1,2 and 3. However, in the 1930s the street cars were renumbered 21, 22 and 23 in an attempt to make the tramway system seem larger than it was!
Car #23 seen here was built in 1906 and first saw service in Cleveland, Ohio. It came to Nelson in 1924 and served the city until 1949. Then the tramway was replaced by buses and the street car was used as many different things including a dog kennel, storage shed and chicken coop. In the 1980s the old street car was rescued and restored. The Nelson Electric Tramway Society was formed and the street car #23 made its return in 1992 carrying over 20 000 people in its first four months. The tramway is maintained by 71 volunteers and runs from Lakeside Park to the Prestige Inn 2km of track during the summer months.
Well thats the history lesson for this week - straight up to date with Rachael's trip to Spokane for shopping. We set off at 7.30am and didn't get back until after midnight - the funniest part was when we crossed the border back into Canada the guard actually looked at what we had brought back and said "Are you sure you have only been there today - is there anything left in Spokane?" Guess we had a good shop!
The prices of clothes, shoes and handbags were much cheaper than either Canada or the UK but we needed to factor into the prices that we would be charged PST (provincial sales tax) at 6% and GST (general sales tax) at 7% when coming back to Canada.
I managed to stock up my wardrobe ready for winter but as you will remember my love of shoes and handbags I also managed to buy two pairs of shoes for about £20 each pair and also a handbag (they call them purses over here which is just wrong!) a Tommy Hilfiger for just £7 - how I managed to restrain from buying more bags I really don't know!
By the time we had finished we had a trunk full of goodies and the great thing is that my current green card lasts for 3 months so I can go as many times as I want until I need to buy a new one - Shaun doesn't seem very excited though so it may be another girls trip.
The best thing was that at lunch time we had cocktails in a bar and got asked for ID !! For a while we tried to convince ourselves it was because we looked under 21 but then the bubble was burst when the server said she asked everyone ordering alcohol - oh well!
Shaun spent the day at home having a DIY day - he managed to finish off staining the decks which turned out to be a 6 hour job - well done that man!
We have learnt more about local wildlife this week - bugs - we have some bugs here that look a bit like crickets but have a shiney black shell but when they fly they look a bit like a wasp - they are called Cedar Bugs and like to hang around wood especially cedar. These bugs aren't harmful to the house or humans but they are very funny as their common name is Stinkie Bugs as when threatened they let out a really bad smell. We had a good chuckle at Phantom as he decided to sniff one that was hanging on to our screen doors. The look on his face was just like if we had a whiff of rotten eggs - he spent about ten minutes trying to run away from the smell poor thing.
And finally, yesterday we headed up Kootenay Lake about 70km to a pretty town called Kaslo where there is a beach and a beautiful mountain view. We had a picnic and relaxed on the beach for the afternoon. Here is a picture that we took when we were here in March - at this time of year all the snow on the mountains has gone. We think that this part of the area has a feel of the Italian Lakes.
Isn't it pretty ?
Well, thats all for this weeks blog but we hope you are still enjoying reading our adventure.
This next week promises some excitement on the driving front as Rachael has a driving lesson booked with a school in town.
The weather is also turning - although its still 25 during the day its quite chilly at night - so who decided to move to a cold country - oopps!! Must remember to test the heating system this week!
Bye for now
Love Rachael, Shaun, Phantom, Harley and the Stinkie Bugs
xx
