Tuesday, March 14
Getting to the airport in plenty of time is critical for me, and so when Debbie and I arrived at YVR on Tuesday we had about a 4 hour wait before we needed to go through security and I chose to spend some time napping in the backseat of her car before going inside
. Meanwhile, Debbie checked with Air Canada and was advised that our flight was delayed by 2 hours! However, if we hustled, we could perhaps go stand-by on a flight leaving 2 hours earlier than the flight we had booked. Well, we hustled … and we got on the earlier flight and arrived in Winnipeg, 4 hours earlier than we would have, had we waited. Nice! In the meantime, we hadn’t managed a proper supper so, we figured a sandwich at Timmy’s, at the airport, would get us through until breakfast. It was the slowest Timmy’s I’ve ever encountered and the donut for dessert was dried and crusty, but so it goes. It was an easy thing to catch a cab from there to take us directly to our hotel, The Fort Garry, in downtown Winnipeg.
It’s a beautiful, old hotel very near The Forks and a short walk from the ViaRail station. The room was nicely made up and looked very comfortable, and then we got into bed; feather beds. Ever tried one? Took a bit of getting used to as it felt like it wanted to toss me out until I made a nest in the middle so it couldn’t
. Somewhat disconcerting. Anyway, it felt like a short night as we arrived after midnight and we’d lost an hour before leaving home to Daylight Savings time and another 2 hours in flying east.
Wednesday - Lots to do in Winnipeg - except rent a car
Got up and made our way to The Don, a diner with a great reputation for Mennonite food. We both had an excellent breakfast (the food tasted just like it should), but chances of striking up a ‘plautdietsch’ conversation were minimal as the serving staff was definitely not of that ancestory. From there it was just a few blocks to Avis where we thought we would rent a car and go exploring outside of Winnipeg. There was not a car to be had!
What to do? We caught a bus in the general direction of the Royal Canadian Mint, were dropped off near a bicycle path that would take us there without having to walk along a busy highway, and walked for about half an hour in sunshine but also a cold, biting wind. The Mint is very interesting
. We followed an excellent self-guiding tour. You can see the whole process through glass from above. They were stamping out and bundling Canadian quarters when we were there but they produce nearly as many coins for foreign countries as they do for Canada.
Not willing to spend anymore time walking in the wind, we called for a cab to take us to the Manitoba Museum. Spent a few hours there, going through their exhibits. They’ve done a great job! I particularly liked the diorama’s of the wildlife in Manitoba.
When we were done there we caught a city bus to The Forks and explored around there for awhile. The Forks is at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers and has been developed into a big gathering place for city activities. We watched someone try their luck at crokicurl, a game combining crokinole and curling rules, wandered down to the bridge over the Assiniboine River, watched some people skating on the outdoor rink and checked out the Forks Market. Had a late lunch (pickerel fish and chips for me), bought some rhubarb desserts for later and went back to the hotel for a reasonably early night.
Vancouver to Winnipeg
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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2025-02-11
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Jane Degnan
2017-03-26
What are you doing traveling 'round Canada this time of year, Judy? Surely there's a bluegrass camp somewhere in the itinerary? Lovely photos, as usual.
minnieandme
2017-03-28
Hey a Jane,
Good to hear from you. ... and Thanks. The trip was kind of a spurt of the moment thing. Certainly a unique Canadian experience. As for BG camp, I'm on my way to Green Lake next week for what's morphed from the 108 camp. It's at the Flying U (never been there) and is called Mountain Fever Bluegrass Camp. Check it out!
Judy
"When there is a huge solar spill, it's just called a "nice day" ð