I’ve returned from my little Canadian adventure, and while there are many tales to tell, I shall begin with the story of the Great Smarties Hunt.

Smarties are, for those who don’t know, the “un-M&M”; a hard-shelled chocolate candy made by Nestlé that is not available in the United States. They are well-loved in my family, travelers that we are, and the expectation is that whenever we travel to Europe or a Commonwealth nation, we had better come back bearing Smarties.

So when I was in Vancouver this past weekend, I needed to find time to raid the local stores and stock up on some giftable candy. This proved more difficult than first expected. Smarties were traditionally packaged in a round cardboard tube. While I understand that, around the world, the round packaging has gone the way of the dinosaurs (or evolution in Kentucky schools), to me, Smarties means round tubes. So when I could only find Smarties in rectangular boxes or massive plastic bags, I became forlorn.

Our Canadian hosts, trying to help, were secretly laughing at me, I know. “Silly Americans… tubes!? We don’t keep our Smarties in tubes! Next you’ll be asking us if we drink lots of beer and say ‘eh’.”

I did eventually meet with success. Apparently, all the round tubes in Canada roll south, because the only place I was able to find my beloved Smarties tubes were at the duty-free store on the border. So, armed with Smarties, I have returned home to the delight of my kin.

So when I next come up, Vancouver, I’m bring a round tube with me. We can enjoy it with a six-pack, eh?

Note: There is a candy in the U.S. called Smarties, a compressed fruity chalk that makes its appearance every Halloween. The two are not to be confused.

I’m still hacking away at the site, but I’m taking off to Canadia over the weekend to enjoy my birthday. Apparently we’re going to check out a laser glacier show… glacier floyd? I dunno.

EastVan and I are destined to become fast friends, I’m sure.