Tales from the North Shore: The Things I Miss from Back Home 🇨🇦

No matter how much I love where I am now, there’s something about home that never leaves you. Growing up in Kamloops, B.C., in the heart of the Thompson/Okanagan region, I took a lot for granted—things that seemed normal back then but now feel like a luxury. And while most of them revolve around food (because, let’s be honest, food is life), there are also the small, uniquely Canadian comforts that make me miss the Great White North just a little more every time I think about them.

☕ Tim Hortons: The Lifeblood of a Nation

I know, I know—starting a “things I miss” list with Tim Hortons is about as predictable as Don Cherry’s suit game used to be. But listen, Timmy’s dark roast is my everyday coffee, and when people visit me from back home, it’s the first thing I request. Pair it with a Boston Cream or an Apple Fritter, and you’ve got the perfect post-game meal. If you’ve never had a double-double in one hand and a half-eaten box of Timbits in the other while driving through the snow, have you even lived?

🥤 Canadian 7-Eleven Slurpees: The Real MVP

This one might sound weird unless you’ve experienced the magic of a Canadian Slurpee. I don’t know if it’s the extra syrup, the real sugar, or the fact that they’re somehow colder than the Arctic tundra, but nothing beats a Coke or Pepsi Slurpee from a 7-Eleven in Canada. Icees? Trash. Slush Puppies? A disgrace. I’m convinced if Apu from the Kwik-E-Mart was real, he’d endorse the Canadian Slurpee with pride.

🍫 Canadian Candy: The Unofficial Currency

Most people go with the easy answer and say Smarties, but that’s basic. The real ones know that Coffee Crisp is the GOAT, and Maynards Wine Gums are wildly underrated. Whenever Mama Hay comes to visit, I know there’s going to be a stash of these bad boys waiting for me. You’d think I was running a black-market candy operation the way I ration them out.

🌲 Roots Hoodies: The Noble Beaver and the Ultimate Canadian Comfort

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Roots, the unofficial outfitter of cozy Canadians everywhere. Their hoodies? Top tier. My mom always called them kangaroo jackets, but if you grew up in Saskatchewan, you probably knew them as bunny hugs. Either way, slipping one on feels like a warm embrace—with just a hint of maple syrup lingering in the air. The noble beaver on the Roots logo isn’t just for show either. It’s a nod to the animal that quite literally built Canada. Sure, Lululemon might be the modern Canadian clothing staple, but if you want to experience the Great White North like the early settlers—gliding across a glassy lake in a canoe while a loon calls out in the distance—this is the gear of choice. Let’s be honest—nothing holds a country together quite like strong Roots.

🍔 Mr. Mikes Steakhouse: A Kamloops Institution

This one is super specific, but if you grew up in Kamloops, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Mr. Mikes was the spot—whether it was celebrating a good report card as a kid or trying to survive a Sunday morning after a rough Saturday night with a breakfast buffet and a plate of bacon the size of a small province. And don’t even get me started on the legendary Mike Burger. If you know, you know.

🏒 The First Round of the NHL Playoffs

Sure, I can still watch hockey 24/7 where I live now, but it’s not the same. Back home, the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs was a season unto itself. You’d start at 4 PM PST catching the early East Coast games, roll into the Central time zone battles, and then finish off with a late-night Western Canadian showdown (hopefully featuring the Canucks, Flames, or Oilers). Add in pitchers of Kokanee, solid pub wings, and a crew locked in at The Rockin’ Firkin in North Kamloops, and you had springtime perfection.

🏔 The Interior of B.C.: Nature’s Playground

Living in Boise, Idaho, is great, but British Columbia’s interior? Come on. The Okanagan, Kelowna, B.C. wine country, B.C. lake country—all untouchable. And I completely took for granted being a short drive from Vancouver, the Canadian Rockies, Jasper, Banff, and Calgary. Those are bucket list places for most people, but growing up, they were just weekend trips. If I had a mulligan, I’d spend way more time soaking it all in.

💰 Monopoly Money That’s Actually Money

Every time I go back to Canada and hold a fresh stack of $5s, $10s, and $20s, I crack up. It feels like Monopoly money, and yet it’s completely normal to my fellow Canadians. And honestly, Ron MacLean and Don Cherry should be on the blue $5 bill. More people know them than whoever’s actually on it.

🌌 The Northern Lights: The Greatest Light Show on Earth

Some of my best memories from back home aren’t from a rink, a pub, or a road trip. They’re from the ride home after a weekend out with the boys on Victoria Street, when the Northern Lights would be out in full force over the North Thompson River. On those rare, magical nights, I’d look up and watch the greens and purples ripple and shift—humming Gordon Lightfoot’s "Carefree Highway" under my breath, I let the moment sink in. The way the lights danced across the sky, the quiet hum of the night, the crisp air rolling off the river—it all felt like a scene from a memory I hadn’t lived yet. Those were the kinds of nights that made you appreciate where you came from, the kind you don’t realize you’ll miss until you’re far from home. That’s part of the magic of growing up in the 250.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family & Friends: The Heart of It All

At the end of the day, it’s not the food, the Slurpees, or the playoff hockey that I miss the most. It’s my family—my folks, my sisters and their families, my extended crew back home, and all my childhood friends who made growing up in Kamloops so damn fun. The backdrop of those memories? The Thompson River, the high desert hills, Tragically Hip on the stereo, and a Tim Hortons cup in the drink holder.

I might live somewhere else now, but home is home. And if there’s any justice in this world, Gord Downie is up there somewhere, penning one last haunting ballad, turning this nostalgia trip into the Hip’s final #1 hit… Tales from the North Shore.🏒

About the Author

Darrell Hay is a proud Kamloops product, a 1999 NHL Draft pick, and a 16-year professional hockey veteran who played in North America, Europe, and Asia.  He’s also a guy who watched the airshow from the rooftops of Brocklehurst, learned life lessons on Shuswap Lake, and knew the secret to avoiding the cover charge at Cactus Jack's was a cowboy hat. He believes that Canadian Slurpees reign supreme, that Gord Downie deserves his own holiday, and that Ron MacLean and Don Cherry belong on Canadian currency.

P.S. Thanks, Mom, for always sneaking Coffee Crisp into your suitcase when you visit. 🍫❤️