Food – Venturing Into The Great Unknown

Arrived in Hope

Sep 012018

Today we awoke at our new regular time of 6:30 and I finished yesterday’s blog post that I was too tired to write last night. After I had finished, we went downstairs to have breakfast at the hotel.

We then went to Shuswap Pie Company to grab some lunch for today’s picnic. Mum got a Sausage, Apple & Sage pie and I got a Chicken Pesto Baguette. This is our second visit to Shuswap Pie Company and one of Mum’s favourite restaurants – stopping in Salmon Arm was a requirement for this trip.

On our way out of Salmon Arm, we also stopped at Grass Roots Dairies to buy some cheese. This is another repeat visit from our trip last year and I was looking forward to getting more Habanero gouda. Mum got a couple different types of gouda, as well.

Once we had our cheese, it was off to Kamloops for a stop at Michael’s. Mum needed a couple of craft supplies and I never turn down a chance to browse the scrapbooking aisles. Although I was denied any good deals and decided against buying anything, Mum was able to find one of the things that she was looking for. On our way out of Kamloops, I once again got lost and took the long way back to the highway. I don’t know what it is about Kamloops, but I almost always seem to get misplaced there.

Once we had finally found Highway 5, we headed south towards Merritt. In Merritt, we stopped at the Rotary Park for our picnic lunch. I had a scone that I bought at the Village Cheese Factory yesterday, as well as last night’s leftovers. I didn’t end up having my baguette from Shuswap, but it will be great for the ferry tomorrow. Mum had her pie and surprisingly, ate the whole thing. I was able to get a picture of it, but not until Mum had already devoured half of it.

We left Merritt and continued on to Hope, arriving around three. We checked into the hotel and while Mum relaxed, I went for a walk around the town. It is still the sleepy little town that I remember, but at least I was able to find a couple of shops to find some last gifts. I was also able to take some pictures of the wood carvings that are scattered around the downtown area. I am posting the pictures of the wood carvings below.

We ended up having a quiet night at the hotel, doing wiki-research and watching some TV. I had my leftover benny from yesterday and Mum decided that she was still full from lunch and begged off dinner.

After dinner, I went for a walk by the river and took a few more pictures.

We didn’t really do much today, but it was a nice, relaxing day after the two weeks of adventures. Tomorrow, we will be heading back to the Island and back to reality. We are hoping to stop at Tomahawk BBQ in North Vancouver for brunch tomorrow, which will be our last Food Network stop of the trip.

Thank you for sharing our adventures and I will post my last post of the trip tomorrow.

Arrived in Salmon Arm

8th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours No Responses »

Aug 312018

This morning we woke at our normal time and I walked over to A&W to get our breakfast and coffee. We “dined” at the table in our room, while Mum reviewed my blog for any spelling or grammar mistakes. Then we did some of our wiki research that I had been unable to do the night before, while we waited for the time to head to our adventure of the day.

Every year, I try to find something a little different for us to do/visit. This year it was a ride on the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. It was a beautiful day for the ride and it was surprisingly not too busy. It is a 90-minute ride along ten kilometres of the old Kettle Valley Rail Line from Faulder to Trout Creek. It was a very interesting and informative trip. It turns out that the original engine that they used from 1995 to 2009 was Duncan’s very own Mayo Lumber #3, which was on loan from the BC Forestry Museum.

As we traveled along the tracks, the conductor told us of the history of the railway as well as the surrounding area. There was also a banjo player onboard and he sang Morningtown Ride for me and Mum. I’ve always loved the Irish Rovers and it seemed to be a perfect song to sing on a train.

Before we knew it, we were pulling back into the station. We had purchased some tickets for the 50/50 draw that they were having as a fundraiser, and just as we stopped, they called out a number – my number. I couldn’t believe it, but I was the proud winner of $56. Not bad for a morning’s adventure.

Our next stop, was brunch at The Jammery, in Lake Country. It wasn’t that long a drive – just over a hour – however we hit traffic from hell all the way through Kelowna. Neither of us is sure if we would like to go back there on a future visit since the traffic was so bad.

Brunch at The Jammery was delightful. Mum had a Reuben with caesar and I had the Besto Pesto Benny with cheesy hash browns. After we ate, we went next door to the gift shop. They had tons of jams, honeys, and other yummy things for sale. Thankfully we were full from our brunch and didn’t buy too much.

We also stopped in Armstrong at the Village Cheese Company to pick up some cheese. I picked up some habanero, horseradish, beer and wild salmon flavoured cheese. Mum picked up some gouda and parmesan and then we were on the road again.

Within a half an hour, we arrived in Salmon Arm at our hotel. While Mum took a brief nap, I organized the back seat of the car and chatted with hubby on the phone.

Dinner was at Setter’s Pub, just up the hill. We went here for dinner on our trip last year and enjoyed it, so we decided to go back. Mum had the Yorkie Sliders and I had the Buffalo Chicken Salad (sorry no pictures, I forgot).

Tomorrow we are heading to Hope, with a stop at another cheese place, and of course, Shuswap Pie Company.

Thank you for sharing our adventure and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Summerland

8th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours No Responses »

Aug 302018

Today was a fairly early start again, waking at 6:30. We had breakfast at the hotel before grabbing some coffee and heading out of town. It was a beautiful day today and I was quite thankful that I didn’t have to drive over those passes (or into Osoyoos) in the rain.

It was a fairly uneventful drive and we arrived at the top of the Osoyoos hill, just before noon. I remember the switchbacks from my trip out in 2002, but the sixteen years have blurred it into only a couple of switchbacks. I was reminded today, that it was a couple more than just two lol.
We continued through Osoyoos, stopping for a coffee and a bathroom break and then headed north up Highway 97 towards Penticton.

We stopped in Penticton at Fabricland as Mum needed some lace for one of her sewing projects, then decided to have a late lunch at Shades on Main. It was a family restaurant that was close to where we were, so we figured that it would be convenient. Not only was it easy to get to, it was really good food. Mum had a bacon & tomato sandwich and I had a Blackstone Benny, which is basically a benny with bacon and tomato ;).

After lunch, we drove the last few kilometres to Summerland and checked into the hotel. After a brief rest, we headed out again – first stop was Sumac Ridge Winery. We each bought a bottle of wine (gifts for people) and then went to Summerland Sweets. It is a dangerous place to go if you have a sweet tooth. We both bought some jam and some other treats before continuing on to the Summerland Ornamental Garden.

We spent just over an hour touring the garden and I took a bunch of flower pictures. Even though it was late in the season, and a lot of plant were no longer flowering, I was still able to find quite a few that tickled my fancy. We also saw several families of quail darting in and out of the bushes. The gardens are located fairly high up on one of the hills surrounding Summerland, which allowed for a couple of great pictures of the surrounding valley and Okanagan Lake.

By the time we were finished at the gardens, it was seven o’clock. We returned to the motel and Mum grabbed a Buddy Burger at A&W for dinner. I started on my blog, but had connectivity issues with the wi-fi, causing me to sit under the hotspot in order to upload my pictures. I have put all of my flower pictures below for your enjoyment.

Thank you for sharing our adventures with us and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Castlegar

8th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours No Responses »

Aug 292018

Today we had an earlier start, waking at 6:30. We had a small bite to eat at the hotel before heading out. Since we didn’t have a Timmy’s close to the hotel, we drove to get our coffees and then pointed the car west.

We drove back through Fort Macleod, where we noticed a Subway with a drive-thru. Neither of us had ever seen one with a drive-thru, but while typing this blog I decided to research it and it turns out that there are several across Canada. I am pretty sure that my daughter, who used to work at Subway, is very glad that her restaurant didn’t have one.

We continued past the turnoff for Hwy 2 and Buffalo Jump, and on to Pincher Creek. There, we caught our first glimpse of mountains in almost a week.

We decided to stop at the Frank Slide to take some pictures. On our trip in 2010, it was so foggy that we could barely see the boulders piled on either side of the road. Thankfully it was much nicer today and I was able to get some good pictures. It was the deadliest landslide in Canadian history – killing between 70 and 90 people when over 82 million tonnes of limestone slide down Turtle Mountain within 100 seconds. The section of rock that broke off was 1,000m wide, 425m high and 150m deep travelled 112 km/h down the mountain and reached the opposing hills, burying the eastern side of Frank, the CPR rail line and the coal mine.

We carried on, over the Crowsnest Pass, and stopped for a picnic lunch at a rest area, just east of Cranbrook. Just west of Creston, on the Kootenay Pass, we drove through the Blaze Creek Fire. Although it was mainly just smoke that we saw, Mum said that she also saw some flames, close to the road. We were just thankful that the road wasn’t closed as it is still considered an active fire zone.

Other than a couple of construction zones with single-lane, alternating traffic, the rest of the day was fairly uneventful and we arrived at the hotel around four. We spent an hour or so relaxing at the hotel before going out to dinner.

We decided on the Lions Head Pub as it had Moules Frites (mussels and fries) – one of Mum’s favourites. When we got there and looked at the menu, we noticed that several things that we had seen on the menu (as per Trip Advisor) were no longer being offered. Thankfully, they still had PEI mussels – just served differently – and Mum was happy. I had a Lions Head Burger (with Swiss and blue cheese and bacon) and fries. This way, Mum was still able to have her “frites”. We also had Dilly Chips (deep-fried pickles) as an appy.

After dinner, we returned to the hotel and did our wiki-research before Mum turned in and I started my blog. Tomorrow, we are heading north through the Okanagon to Summerland.

Thank you for sharing our adventures and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Lethbridge

8th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours No Responses »

Aug 282018

Today was probably our latest start of the trip. I awoke at 8 to find Mum patiently waiting for me to get up. We went down to breakfast at the hotel and I proceeded to finish my blog from yesterday. After my normal run to Timmy’s, we ventured downtown to the Clay District, only to see a tour bus full of people outside the entrance. Since we were pressed for time, we decided to put Medicine Hat on our list of places to return to next year and decided to head west.

One lovely change form the last couple of days, was the return of the sun. There were still some clouds in the sky, but they didn’t threaten any rain. It was a fairly uneventful drive to Lethbridge, where we stopped for lunch at Arby’s. I realize that this is a Food Network trip and we are not supposed to be having meals at fast food restaurants, but we wanted something fast. It also turned out to be a good choice as we both enjoyed our meal.

After our quick bite to eat, we headed to Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump. Mum had visited before, but I had only stared longingly at the sign on my previous visits to the area – wishing that I would have time to visit one day. I also noticed that the number of wind turbines in the area had greatly increased. When I first came through Fort Macleod in 2002, there were only a couple of them. This time there looked to be well over a hundred and I was happy that the weather allowed me to get a picture of some of them.

I was also able to get a good picture of the Porcupine Hills as we were driving up the highway towards them.

I learned a lot about Blackfoot culture and the importance of the piskun (buffalo jump). For thousands of years, the Blackfoot drove the bison over this cliff as well as others like it. They would come together from far away to communally drive the bison over a precipice to kill them. When there was a successful hunt, they could feed their families in the coming winter, cover their tipis with the hides and use the bones for weapons.

Although it may seem cruel to us to kill bison this way, it wasn’t until the white man came in the late 1800’s and killed the bison indiscriminately for sport (or no reason at all) that the bison’s numbers dwindled to the point of near extinction.

Mum and I were lucky enough to see bison up close in Yellowstone, a few years ago. They are beautiful creatures and I am so glad that they were able to be saved. One day I hope to go to Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta and see even more close-up.

After HSIBJ, we headed back to Lethbridge and checked into the hotel. Not long afterwards, we went to dinner – I think the fresh air made us hungry.

We went to Two Guys and a Pizza Place which was featured on You Gotta Eat Here. Not only do they have great pizza, but they have a ridiculously large selection of craft beer. I had a Smashbomb Atomic IPA from Flying Monkeys, which is based out of Barrie, Ontario (my hometown for those who don’t know that). For food, Mum had a medium Greekus Veggius and I had a small Monterey Chicken. While we waited for our food to come (and also while we ate), we read each other Trivial Pursuit questions. Mum and I pride ourselves on our knowledge of useless trivia and always enjoy finding cards on the table in restaurants we visit. (I am planning on bringing a box with me next year so we will always have something to kill time in restaurants). The food was to die for and although I am not a big fan of pizza, yet again, Mum was right in her choice of a place to eat.

Tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us as we are heading to Castlegar – just over 500 km away. We are hoping that we won’t be delayed by the fire just west of Creston or the possibility of snow on the Crowsnest Pass. When we drove east at the end of May in 2010, we encountered snow there, so just because it is August doesn’t mean anything.

I would like to thank you all for reading and sharing our adventures with us.

I will check in tomorrow from Castlegar.

Arrived in Medicine Hat

8th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours No Responses »

Aug 272018

This morning we awoke at 6:30 and had breakfast at the hotel. Since the coffee wasn’t the greatest, I walked to Timmy’s to get us some real coffee. Although Google Maps said it was only 650m away, it turned out to be over 1km each way. Needless to say, I was regretting not taking the car by the time I got there. Thankfully the rain held off, other than the occasional drop here and there.

After our coffees, we headed west on the Trans-Canada until we reached Gull Lake, then went south towards Shaunavon. Just as we headed south, we got stopped at a railway tracks. The lights started flashing, just as we approached the tracks – 147 trains cars later, we were able to proceed. By this time, the rain had started. It wasn’t raining very hard, but it was enough to make it somewhat miserable.

We arrived in Shaunavon and found the Info Centre in the downtown. Although the stop had been mainly for a bathroom break, we decided to explore the small museum that was attached to the centre. They had several displays of animals and birds from the surrounding area. They had everything from badgers to pelicans to rattlesnakes and a bison. I was also able to verify my Western Meadowlark and Wilson’s Phalarope sighting from the day before and also determined that the non-descript brown bird I had seen was a Merlin. Three new birds for my life list :). We also learned that this is Hayley Wickenheiser’s hometown. Hayley was a member of the Canadian woman’s hockey team from 1994 to 2017.

Next on our list was Eastend. Eastend is a sleepy little town whose claim to fame is being where the first full T-Rex was discovered. There is also a small T-Rex museum there which we decided to explore – thankful for a respite from the rain.

After the museum, we continued west, hoping for clearer skies. The rain would occasionally stop, allowing us a nicer view of the Cypress Hills. We were also able to get some pictures of a pronghorn and a white-tailed deer.

Just beyond Robsart, we headed north toward the Cypress Hills Park. I was able to get a couple of pictures of the beautiful surroundings before we hit a wall of fog – and I mean a wall.The fog was so thick that I could only see a couple of hundred metres in front of me. It was also raining quite hard, which filled up the ruts on the road. It was like driving through one big puddle for twenty minutes.

We eventually arrived in Maple Creek and stopped for a quick bite to eat before we continued west on the Trans Canada. We arrived in Medicine Hat less than an hour later. Although it was still raining, there appeared to be an end in sight as small pockets of blue started showing through the clouds.

After relaxing at the hotel for an hour or so, we decided to go to a family restaurant just across the highway, for dinner. Mum got a pepper steak and I got a sirloin. Mum thoroughly enjoyed her dinner. I, however, had issues – my first steak was medium well, not medium rare and when I got the replacement steak, I found a hair on my second bite. By that time I just decided to give up and I ended up finishing up some other leftovers back at the hotel.

Mum and I watched So You Think You Can Dance and then she turned in for the night. I turned to my blog, but after getting disconnected several times and having to rewrite a few paragraphs, I gave it up as a bad joke and decided to wait until morning to finish.

Thank you for sharing our adventures with us and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Swift Current

8th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours No Responses »

Aug 262018

We awoke to temperatures in the single digits this morning. Although I am glad that we are out of the hot and humid weather, it was colder than I expected when I walked to get our morning coffee at Timmy’s. After our coffee, we drove downtown to get breakfast at Fresh & Sweet. This was our 80th Food Network stop. We arrived about a half hour after the place opened and it was already busy – luckily, we were still able to get a table. I had the Buffalo Benny Bowl and Mum had the Bacon Chipotle Breakfast Sandwich. We both thoroughly enjoyed our food and I think that I would have to rank their hollandaise sauce in the top 3 that I have had. I mentioned this to our waitress and when we went to pay our bill, they had two mini cupcakes waiting as a thank you for visiting. I don’t normally eat sweets like that, but I enjoyed that as well.

We decided to drive by Wascana Park and the Legislature on our way our of town, only to be blocked by a group of protesters. We have no idea what they were protesting, but we didn’t feel like hanging around to find out. We pulled a u-ey and found an alternate route out of town.

Our first stop was Crescent Park in Moose Jaw. Mum and I visited here in 2010, when we drove across Canada. It had started raining just before we got into town and by the time we arrived at the park, it was a fairly steady drizzle. As Islanders we are used to rain, so we decided to go for a walk around the park anyway. We were surprised to see so few birds. On our last visit, we saw numerous species of waterfowl – today there were only Mallards and Canada Geese.

After the walk, we went to the Info Centre to get a picture of Mac the Moose – the World’s Biggest Roadside Moose. We also picked up a couple of souvenirs and Mum got a t-shirt that says “Saskatchewan. Easy to Draw Hard to Spell”. I was looking for the same thing in a keychain, but it appears that they don’t make them. I grabbed a Mac the Moose keychain instead.

By this time, we were ready to eat to we headed to Deja Vu Cafe – Food Network Stop #81. Mum had a bowl of Broccoli Soup and a bun and I had a Special 22 (2 wings and 2 fingers with fries). They have an insane number of sauces and I chose Buffalo Dill for my wings, Dawn of the Raspberry (Raspberry & Chipotle) for my fingers and Garlic Inferno as a dip for my fries. Yet again, we were happy with our choice of restaurant and I think my waistline is happy that we don’t live closer, as I would be trying all of the sauces.

From Moose Jaw, we headed south so we could drive by the bird sanctuary at Old Wives Lake. We found out that you can’t get to the actual lake without the landowners’ permission, but that turned out to be moot. We saw more birds today, along the side of the road, than we have seen in the last week. Confirmed sightings include: Swainson’s Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Western Meadowlark, Mourning Dove, Purple Martins and American White Pelicans. I am fairly sure that we also saw Wilson’s Phalarope and an albino Great Blue Heron. There were scores of duck-like birds as well, but at a distance, it is next to impossible to discern the exact species. Two baby mule deer also hopped across the road in front of us.

This was one of our shortest days, distance-wise; however, we spent quite a long time poking along. Thankfully the road was quiet and we were able to stop every time we saw a bird that we wanted to identify. We are also pretty sure that we saw other species of hawks, both accipiters and buteos, but we weren’t easily able to confidently identify them.

We arrived in Swift Current around 6:30 and instead of going out to eat, I went to Humpty’s to pick up a couple of salads and we had that with our leftovers. After some intense wiki-research on our birds, and other random things, Mum turned in and I sat down to blog. I am posting the bird and other roadside pictures below.

Thank you for sharing our adventure with us and I will talk to you tomorrow.

Arrived in Regina

8th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours No Responses »

Aug 252018

This morning was like most of our mornings – up by seven. We went downstairs for a small breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Then, while Mum was getting ready, I walked to Timmy’s for coffee. It turns out that this particular Timmy’s is only open Monday to Friday – that’s just insane. I was forced to return to the room, empty-handed, and tell Mum that she would have to wait until we visited the Mint to get our coffee.

We arrived at the Mint, just in time to make the 10 a.m. tour. We learned about how the coins are made – from the sheets of steel that they punch the blanks from, to the electroplating and painting. We learned about the 75+ countries that the Mint makes coins for, how we are the only country in the world that can put colour on coins, and why we stopped minting the penny. Since we stopped minting the penny in 2012, we have saved $20 M a year. The docent also explained that coins made after 2000 have information in the copper, that tells vending machines what denomination they are. Before this, it was done by weight.

Normally the Mint only operates during the week, but since they were behind on an order of pesos for the Philippines, there were people working today. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, for obvious reasons, but I got some good shots of the outside of the building and also the rows of flags that signify each of the countries that the Mint makes coins for.

After the tour we looked in the gift shop, and I was able to get quite a few things – both gifts and mementos. I also went online to mint.ca as I was writing this blog to get a couple of things that weren’t available in the gift shop. I definitely recommend a visit to the Mint if you are ever in Winnipeg.

After leaving the Mint, we found the closest Timmy’s and satisfied our caffeine requirement, then jumped on the Perimeter Highway and left Winnipeg. It was a fairly nice day with temps in the low 20’s and clear skies. We drove to just before Brandon, where we stopped for a picnic of leftovers at a roadside rest area. Although the sun was shining, there was a light breeze blowing and it was a welcome respite from the recent weather that we have been having.

After lunch, we continued westward for the next four hours. It was fairly uneventful, save for a long-tailed weasel that ran across the road just ahead of us. Yet again, it was too quick to be able to photograph.

When we finally arrived in Regina, we needed a break. Although the drive was easy, it was still long, and we were grateful for the rest. I talked to my sister, M, who was up visiting my Dad, and she sent us pics of Mum’s dog – Chester Cheese Fries. He is the most adorable dog that you will ever see, and this is the longest that Mum has been away from him since she got him in the spring.

Then we took a look at restaurants that we could walk to and decided on the Perkins, just across the street. We haven’t been there for a while and it was a nice change from the heavy meals that we have been eating recently. As we were walking to the restaurant I noticed a Remax hot air balloon flying by – I have used it as the featured image.

Once we were done dinner, we came back to the hotel and did some wiki-research before Mum turned in and I turned to my blog. It is now way past my bedtime and it’s been a long day.

Tomorrow we are slowly making our way to Swift Current, with a stop in Moose Jaw. The weather calls for showers, so I hope that we are still able to walk around Crescent Park in Moose Jaw at lunch. We are also planning on visiting two Food Network restaurants tomorrow. One in Regina for breakfast and one in Moose Jaw for a late lunch.

Thank you for sharing our adventures and I will talk to you tomorrow.

Exploring Around Winnipeg

8th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours No Responses »

Aug 242018

We started the day at our normal time and I walked to Timmy’s to get coffee and breakfast. After eating in our room, we headed north to Gimli. The smoke that we had been able to avoid for the last couple of days, had made its way to Manitoba and we could smell it today.

We arrived mid-morning in Gimli and went straight to the Viking statue. We parked the car on the Main Street and walked towards the statue, deciding to stop at the New Icelandic Heritage Museum first. I picked up a Viking keychain in the gift shop for my daughter and then we decided to explore the museum. For a small town, it was a nice museum and we learned quite a bit about about what the Icelandic settlers had to weather when they first arrived at the end of the 1800’s.

We then took a picture of the world’s largest viking and I also attempted to take a picture of Lake Winnipeg. Because of the smoke hanging in the air, I was barely even able to show that there was a lake in the background – I have posted it here nonetheless.

Next up on our itinerary, was lunch. We ended up going to Beach Boy Restaurant, which boasts the best pickerel in town. Mum had the pickerel dinner and I had a pickerel burger with fries & gravy. Yes, I had fish…and I loved it.

After lunch, we found a local quilt shop for Mum and then we popped into the Gimli Glider Museum. We were running short of time, and Mum wasn’t as interested as I was, so I just bought a pin from the gift shop. Then I grabbed a coffee from Robin’s Donuts – a coffee chain that I haven’t seen for years – and we drove the hour back to Winnipeg.

After an hour rest at the hotel, we walked down Broadway towards the train station. We made a brief stop in the Fort Garry Hotel (another railway hotel in the Château style) and then continued across the street to the station. Mum had visited Winnipeg before when she was on the train, so that was the easiest place for her to orient herself.

We walked through the station and along a path behind the station until we reached the Red River. We didn’t have time to visit the Human Rights Museum, but I took a picture of the building, as well as the bronze statue of Gandhi just outside the museum.

We then crossed the pedestrian bridge over the Red River, to St. Boniface.

Our first stop was the St. Boniface Cathedral. We walked around the grounds of the St. Boniface Heritage Garden, reading about the nuns and other members of the church who helped establish both an education system and a hospital in the early 1800’s.

After the garden, we wandered around the cemetery and found Louis Riel‘s grave. In school, I learned about the Red River Rebellion and how Riel was found guilty of treason, but here, he is a folk hero. No matter how people felt about him at the time, he is still considered the Father of Manitoba.

The cathedral itself, is a facade of the 1906 cathedral, which was destroyed by fire in 1968. They have built a new church inside these walls, but not with the same grandeur as it previously had. The rose window, that adorned the front of the cathedral, is now just an empty circle, through which you can see the sky. At six o’clock, the bells rang out, echoing inside the stone walls. It was beautiful and alluded to what it would have been like fifty years ago, before the cathedral was destroyed.

Just behind the cathedral is Université de Saint-Boniface – another gorgeous building. I have to admit that living on the west coast, I don’t get to see architecture like this very much anymore, and I miss it.

By this time, Mum was getting a bit peckish, so we stopped for a snack before crossing back over the river to Winnipeg. As we crossed over the bridge, I took another picture of the museum, but this time from another angle. The sun was just dipping behind the building and it glowed pink through the glass.

We arrived back at the hotel and decided to stay in for dinner. Mum had a meal of leftovers – served to her in bed, by me. I went down to the café in the hotel’s lobby and had a bowl of french onion soup while I typed up my blog.

Tomorrow, we are visiting the Mint on our way out of town and will be driving to Regina.

Thank you for sharing our adventures and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Winnipeg

8th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours No Responses »

Aug 232018

We awoke before seven and went downstairs for breakfast at the hotel. The “coffee” that was offered was more of an Americano than a brewed coffee, so I decided on two glasses of orange juice. Mum was a bit braver and had a coffee with her orange juice. After we were done downstairs, Mum went up to the room while I walked across the street for Timmy’s. We drank our coffees while I broke down a cardboard beer case to make my Tragically Hip sign.

In my blog yesterday, I alluded to visiting 100°W. For those who didn’t understand my reference, I was referring to the hundredth meridian, which is where the Prairies officially begin. It is also a Tragically Hip song, hence the reason for my choice of t-shirt today (as seen in the featured image). Once I had finished my sign, we grabbed another coffee and were on our way. Since it was going to be a Hip day, I put on Yer Favourites (The Hip’s Greatest Hits).

Our first stop was in Shoal Lake for a much-needed pit stop. After driving around the village, we finally found an Info Centre/RCMP Museum and stopped to ask if they had a public restroom. The young girl at the centre informed us that we had to use the one at the attached campground. We walked through the campground and finally found them. They were in a building with a cute mural, next to the lake.

About 50 kilometres east of Shoal Lake, we stopped at 110 Road W, which is exactly at 100°W. I pulled off the highway onto the sideroad, just as At the Hundredth Meridian started playing. I guess Gordie was looking down at me, giving me his approval. I got my sign and set Mum up to take a picture with my iPhone. She took the first picture, only for me to realize that the letters weren’t dark enough to see in a photo. We went back to the car and I made the lettering darker. This time, it was legible, and after a few frustrated tries by Mum to take the picture, she finally was able to do a burst shot that I could crop. Mum is great with a camera, but pressing the button (both volume control and actual shutter button) lightly enough to take a single picture on my iPhone, still escapes her. The sun also made it difficult for her to see what she was actually taking a picture of. Regardless of her issues, she took a great pic and I wouldn’t have been able to get that shot without her.

We stopped for lunch at a rest area near Minnedosa and finished most of our leftovers. The temperature was in the low 30’s, so we were glad to find a picnic table in the shade. After lunch we detoured through Minnedosa, searching unsuccessfully for a Timmy’s. We continued on to Neepawa, the birthplace of Margaret Laurence, and found my coffee.

The rest of the drive down to Highway 1 was uneventful, but just after we left Portage La Prairie, we saw half a dozen pelicans flying above the highway. I wasn’t able to get pictures, but it was nice to see them regardless. Most of the sloughs have been devoid of birds, or there have just been a few ducks and geese. Compared to other trips we have had, this has been disappointing in the wildlife department.

We arrived in Winnipeg around six and settled into the hotel. After hemming and hawing about where to go – mainly because I was being picky and not sure if I wanted to try something new – we decided on Bistro Dansk. I credit Mum for being bitchy and forcing me to make a decision. Yes, I called her bitchy, and I know she’ll wear that proudly in this situation. We drove the couple of kilometres to the restaurant and I did an expert parallel parking job on a side street. It took me a few shunts, but once I was parked it looked great ;).

The restaurant wasn’t packed, but it was busy, which is always a good sign when we try a new restaurant. Mum decided on the Dansk Schnitzel (pork) with sweet & sour cabbage and I had the Chicken Schnitzel with veggies. After trying Mum’s cabbage, I was kicking myself for not getting it. I absolutely hate sauerkraut, and made the erroneous assumption that it would be the same. I will learn for next time.

After dinner we drove down to the river to investigate where we could explore tomorrow. I drove through the Portage & Main intersection, so I can finally say I’ve been there. We also drove across the river to the St. Boniface side. It’s been a while since I’ve been somewhere with French street signs, and I can’t wait to explore the area more tomorrow.

First on our to-do list tomorrow is to head to Gimli. Although we may visit one of the two museums (Icelandic Heritage and Gimli Glider), our main reasons are the giant Viking statue and pickerel for lunch. While researching Gimli, I also noticed that Crown Royal is solely produced there. Whatever we visit, I know it’s going to be fun. Then, we will be exploring downtown Winnipeg when we get back.

Thank you for sharing our adventure and I will talk to you soon.

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