In search of Roxanne

Mrs Dim and I were big fans of the movie “Roxanne”, back when we owned a copy on VHS. Living in the UK at the time, we had no idea that the city where the movie is set really exists – Nelson, BC.

A few years ago, we decided to make the road trip out to Nelson from Vancouver, stopping in Osoyoos along the way. Sadly, that first night there was an apocalyptic rainstorm, and our tent was drenched. We didn’t fancy driving another four hours and setting up a wet tent and maybe having another wet night, so we packed u and went home. This year, with the weasels otherwise occupied, Mrs Dim and I decided we would get there.

Since she’s smart, Mrs Dim arranged for the overnight stop in Osoyoos to be in a hotel this time round. No wet tent.

Road trips as adults without kids in tow are really good. We listened to music, to audio books, drank coffee and talked, talked, talked. The weather was fine, the roads were clear and the scenery was awesome.

We were hoping to visit some of the locations in Nelson that were used in the movie, but we hadn’t had a re-watch before we left. Mrs Dim had made a couple of notes, but we were relying on the self guided walking tours that we’d heard were available from the Visitor Centre. And they may be very fine tours, but we couldn’t FIND the visitor centre. The signs said 1km, 3oom, then vanished altogether.

We walked Baker Street, the main drag, and had a lovely coffee in the Dominion Cafe (not featured in the movie). We eventually located the shop that was used as “All things Dead” in the film.

But regardless of our abject failure in locating film spots, Nelson is a great place to visit. There are some beautiful buildings, quite old (by Canadian standards!)

We walked all the way up to the viewpoint and took in the whole cityscape:

Whether you’ve seen the movie or not, Nelson is worth the trip. Also, you can stop in Osoyoos on the way home and pick up some Mooncurser or Nk’mip wines..