Winnipeg, the Center of It All

The alarm clocked buzzed early and I was unusually cheerful.  When Kim asked why, I responded by saying that we were leaving Thunder Bay!  Unfortunately, we still had a full day's driving before completely cleared of Northern Ontario.

We kept hoping for a coffee that morning, but every time we seemed to be approaching a town, we would blink and miss it, much like we did with Wawa the day before.  Finally, we happened upon Dryden, a fairly large centre.  After picking up some crazy glue to fix a chip in the windshield, we were scoping the area for a park.  I was bound and determined to have a picnic that day.

Just at the edge of town, Kim spotted a park, and what a treasure it turned out to be! After 28 days on the road, we finally used the Coleman stove!  There was a mosaic tiled gazebo just behind the picnic area, created with tiny colored glass tiles and mixed with tiled names of patrons that had donated towards the park.  It was really quite beautiful.  The trails led down to a suspension bridge, which the boys enjoyed jumping on as their mother clung nervously to the ropes.    Levi came running back after exploring a bit and told us that this park was better than a playground!   I was once again reminded how so many great times could be had if you just scratched the surface a bit.  How many travellers had passed by this park without realizing its offerings?  On the other hand, how many parks were out there that we had missed?  We truly have a great and wonderful country.

Such an artistic structure for the park

We drove passed the Manitoba border and I was now able to say that I had been to all of the provinces and territories in Canada.  Full disclosure:  I haven't actually been to Nunavut, but I had lived in the Northwest Territories before it had separated into two, so I am somewhat giving myself a freebie.

I had a hard time keeping my foot off the gas as we neared Winnipeg.  I had wanted to come to Winnipeg for several years.  I had heard about the beautiful B & B's located along the river, and had reserved one instead of a hotel.  Prior to having our boys, Kim and I had loved B & B's.  However, these accommodations are often quite elaborate homes, which do no lend well to two rambunctious boys.  I decided to throw caution to the wind, though, and book the house of my dreams..

Whatever Thunder Bay lacked in accommodations, our mansion in Winnipeg made up for!  It was called The Columns, and we understood immediately as we pulled into the driveway.  Nestled amongst the mature trees and sprawling yards, the white columns regally gated the brick estate. The owner was also an interior decorator, and her talents were obvious.  While not new and pristine by any means, the grandeur was still exciting.  We had the family suite on the top floor.

A cute story about the rivalry between Winnipeg and Ottawa.  On our cruise in Ottawa, the guide had bragged that the skating rink on the Rideau Canal was the longest in Canada.  Our B&B host explained how that stat could be debatable.   The City of Winnipeg cleared the Assiniboine River with the Zamboni for 8.54 kms.  Apparently the City of Ottawa used square meters for their calculations, and took into account the full width of the canal.  Our fellow guests at the B&B, all from the United States, laughed at the thought that our great competition was over the length of our skating rinks, and not the size of some stealth bomber.

Our mansion by the river.

                                                                      The Columns

                                                        Posing by the gargoyles

Supper that night was at a local hangout, Mitzi's Chicken Fingers.  It felt more like a Chinese food restaurant than anything else, but the boys enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.  They ate well and behaved well; what more could I ask for?  Everyone walked away happy.

                                                              A Winnipeg Classic

Another reason that I had wanted to visit Winnipeg was for the Holt Renfrew Last Call outlet store.  Having never the desire nor means to plunk down the dollars at a regular Holt Renfrew, I had been for years curious about the discount store.  Kim took the boys back to the B&B and I hurried off, thrilled to finally be off shopping without the three downers. 

I knew something was amiss as soon as I pulled up to the mall.  It was in a scratchy part of downtown, and looked its age.  The inside was the perfect match.  Still, I pursued.  Holt Renfrew was listed on the directory, after all.  The store was so small that I walked right past it at first.  I peeked in, and the store seemed to be mainly makeup; not a dress to be found.  When I inquired, I was told that yes, it was only makeup.  No, there was no other Holt in Winnipeg, and sorry, Last Call closed down in 2007.

Six years too late.  Bummer.

We packed the itinerary for the following day; with the Royal Canadian Mint our starting point.  While the actual tour lost the boys' interest somewhat, they enjoyed the interactive displays afterwards.  Ninety percent of the coins made at the Mint are for other countries.  Outside, there was a parade of flags representing the 75 customers that the Mint proudly serves.  20 millions coins are  produced each and every day; 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.   So much for government hours!

After the tour, the boys attempted to lift a solid bar of gold. (approx. 30 lbs) I should clarify; they had wanted to pick up the bar, not lift as in steal.  They would have had a difficult time walking off with the bar, anyway... it was chained to the table plus guarded by a security officer.

                                     I don't care what the scale says, these boys are priceless!!

                                                   Attempting to "lift" the gold bar

We parked ourselves for the rest of the day at Assiniboine Park.  This park was enormous!  I am still nursing sore feet after spending the day walking.  I think we did a respectable job on touring, though: Nature Playground, Children's Garden, Lyric Stage, (we missed the free Ballet in the Park by one day) Park Café, Steam Engine, and the Zoo.  One of the highlights for me, though, was the Winnie statue. 

By now some of you might have figured out that I have quirky little travel interests.  Saying hello to the Winnie the bear statue, the inspiration behind the Winnie the Pooh books, was on my list of must-dos.  We were able to greet Winnie twice:  once at the famous Winnie statue, and again at the Winnie topiary display, which much more resembled the fabled character.

My little robins!

Theo becoming quite the artist

A topiary lane of musicians

 Through the eyes of a child:  Levi found it so interesting that the grass would grow through the road!

Zoos....designed to torment parents, I'm sure.  They require walking miles upon miles with a rented stroller that doesn't push well.  The poor boys had to lean to the far left in order to make their wagon go.  Plus all the rules: no climbing, no feeding.  Sore feet just to watch some animals sleep, basically.





Both boys crashed in the van after supper, and remained sleeping even after we carried them up all of those flights of stairs.  I suppose they were missing those long drive naps!  Winnipeg, I think you're great....even if there is no Last Call.

Northern Ontario, aka The Never Ending Story

We were about 400 km east of the Manitoba, and were all itching to be through Northern Ontario.  After three days of driving, we had experienced the good, the bad, the ugly, and just about everything in between.  A good friend of mine had forewarned us that there was nothing to be found in those long stretches, and she hadn’t been far off.  Mile after mile passed by  without any towns or even rest stops.   As we neared our stop for the evening, however, we came across a sweet yet quirky ice cream shop in a little town called Bruce Mines.  Across the street, the waters of the North Channel sparkled and we were beckoned to explore.

Levi kissing the ice cream cow

What a lovely spot to enjoy!  The boys threw rocks into the lake, only for us to read later a sign forbidding such activity.  Theo chased a group of Canadian geese, probably also frowned upon.  We ended up at the playground; surprise, surprise.  Both boys perfected their slide down the fire pole, and Theo braved walking over the monkey bars.  I grew several new grey hairs watching him.  These moments have been my favorite; when we have happened upon little gems tucked away and enjoyed spontaneous fun.

                                                                               
                                                                                   Stunning waters

Rest time is over, birds

The perfect tree

Sault Ste. Marie was a decent enough city.  It would have been neat to drive across the bridge that connected to its sister city in the States, but another time.

Disaster struck in the Soo!  I was enjoying a glass of wine and was starting on the day’s blog, when along came a spider (named Kim) who sat down beside me and frightened the wine straight over the laptop.   Try as he might, Kim was not able to salvage the computer.  I went to bed grieving the end of the blog, hoping that at least the downloaded pictures from the lost camera would be able to be retrieved.

Kim surprised me early the next morning with a new laptop!   Thank you, sweetie!  The blog would make it after all!

Day 2:

The drive to Sault Ste. Marie had been a piece of cake compared to Thunder Bay.  The weather had turned cooler and wetter, and construction was everywhere.  The day dragged.

It seemed like the type of day for a hot lunch.  We had brought a Coleman stove along and it seemed like the right time to use it finally.  We found a rest stop beside the river and were ready to heat up some soup.

Until we stepped out of the van.

I have lived in the far north and also in rural Alberta for several years.  However, three cushy years in the Okanagan have dulled my memory of mosquitos.  We were swarmed!   Poor Levi had had an accident in the car and had to change his clothes outside.  Half naked, he stood there screaming at the top of his lungs, panicked by the sheer number of buzzing, biting insects.  Lunch was forgotten.  We all scrambled back in the van, only to discover that an army of mosquitos had already found their way inside.   The boys shrieked, cried, and swatted away as we pulled out of the rest stop.  As we were leaving, I noticed Levi’s one and only pair of sandals still on the ground outside.  I debated for a moment about just leaving them, but decided to make a quick dash for them.  Robyn’s Donuts didn’t sound so bad after all.

Theo totally not impressed

Mosquito Haven

The mosquitos followed us into the van, much to Levi's horror.

And we drove.

We were finally close to Thunder Bay when we noticed signs for the Terry Fox Lookout Memorial.  Having grown up in Vancouver, Terry Fox was a legend and a hero in our school.  Even to this day, I consider him to be one of the greatest Canadians ever.  Naturally, I was thrilled to be able to pay tribute to him at his memorial, and was very pleased with the excellent job that our country had done in honoring him.  Terry Fox had been forced to abandon his Marathon of Hope just slightly east of the spot chosen for his memorial. The walkway up to the scenic lookout was beautiful, and lined with a canopy of trees.   The statue that had been created of him was very realistic, right down to the beads of sweat on his face.   Kim and I were exhausted after only driving the route that Terry ran.  I couldn’t even begin to fathom running that distance, let alone with a prosthetic leg.  There were picnic tables surrounding the area, encouraging people to linger amidst Terry’s promise of hope.  I felt more patriotic at this rest stop than even at our parliament buildings in Ottawa. 

The approach

   All of Canada pays tribute

Lifelike detail, right down to the beads of sweat

The scenic lookout

Tranquil rest area

Levi pretends to be Terry Fox

Then came Thunder Bay.  While I don’t like to speak ill of any place, this is a place worth avoiding.   We stopped at a motel recommended by Tripadvisor, only to be completely creeped out by the owner.  We continued looking for another place to stay  and finally settled on an overpriced and slightly run down hotel.  Still, I felt safe there.  After a shoddy supper at McDonald’s, we set our alarms early so we could get the heck out of Thunder Bay.  See you later….NOT!

                                                            An odd experience to say the least

Capital City

Today was a reminder that this trip has been more about the journey than the destination.  As we left Sherbrooke, we debated about whether or not we would stop in Montreal.  We had a tradition of lighting a candle in the Notre Dame cathedral in memory of Kim’s father, John Ducs.  It seemed like such a shame to drive right by Montreal and not take the time to do this symbolic lighting. I had my own candle to light this time, as my father had passed away the previous August.

 

We first stopped on Rue St. Catharines, well known for excellent shopping.  The city had painted large red polka dots along the sidewalks.  I’m sure there was a reason for this artwork, but its relevance was lost on us.  Instead, my boys freely enjoyed hopping from dot to dot, zigzagging their way through the pedestrians.  The eyes of the child truly sees what’s important.  Surrounded by expensive clothes, handbags, and other treasures, the boys only cared about the fun they were having hopping on red dots.  Thank you, Montreal, for proving that the best things in life are indeed free, even on St. Catharines.

Next stop was Notre Dame.   Levi John was old enough this time to light his own candle in memory of his Papa, whom he was named after. Theo and I lit a candle for my father, and Kim lit a candle for his mother.  I wandered away a bit to the depiction of a shepherd holding a lamb.  Struck by the innocence of the scene, I said a prayer for little Paige. There had been no word from her family since the start of this trip, and the dark cloud of worry and sorrow has never been far from my thoughts.

The boys helping to say a prayer for Paige

                                                        Notre Dame, as beautiful as always

Whose kids are these, anyway?

As we loaded back into the van, I noticed an espresso café across the street; a proper coffee shop at last!  Kim couldn’t resist snapping a photo of me coming out java laden.  Finally a picture of a coffee shop for the blog!

We continued on to our final destination for the day, Ottawa.  Our hotel was within walking distance to Parliament Hill, so after a brief rest and an oil change, (only my Kim would do this on holidays) we parked the van and headed out on foot.  While of great interest to Kim and me, the parliament buildings weren’t that stimulating  to the boys.  They did enjoy the large grassed grounds to run through.  Our itinerary was: visit Parliament Hill, have supper, take a boat ride along the canal, come back for the light show at Parliament Hill at 10pm.

The lush grass, perfect for a game of chase

                                                         Hard to tell, but they're hugging

                                              

                             Iceberg in the City, also a cover for the renovations at the National Art Gallery

The boys were interested in the locks at Rideau Canal.  Try as they might, they couldn’t budge.  We spent a bit too much time at the locks, and supper was postponed. 

The locks of the Rideau Canal

Our little friend

We were making our way underneath the tunnel by the canal when the first bolt of lightening crackled and a drop of rain fell.  Thirty seconds later, the downpour came.  Our tunnel became the perfect shelter, for those that wanted to stay dry, anyway.  Levi and Theo danced until they were soaked, but had beaming smiles.  Throughout the evening we would see many impressive buildings and homes.  None of those sights would hold a candle to watching my boys play in the rain underneath the canal bridges.

Our rain shelter

                                 

                         

The rain lessened enough for us to attempt to crawl out from our shelter to see if the boats would still be going.  On the top of the bridge, the salesman assured us that the boats would indeed run, however, once we had paid and arrived at the bottom of the stairs, the crew informed us that they were waiting to hear from head office if they would be going out.  They were not allowed to run the boats if there was lightening, and there had been lots of that in the past twenty minutes.  We lingered around playfully, though.  The sky was clearing and our hopes lifted. When I went back to see if they   had heard confirmation, they were quite snarky and said they would know at 7:30, which was our departure time.    I didn’t think the attitude was necessary, so suggested that we just cancel the boat ride and request a refund.  We went upstairs with this intention, but the salesman recommended that we take the river cruise instead of the canal.  The Ottawa River cruise was leaving right away and I had figured we would miss it, but the man called ahead and they held the boat for us.  

I think we ended up with the better of the cruises.  This was a bi-level, open aired boat.  We had an excellent guide, who pointed out all of the historic sites:  the parliament buildings, of course, the Supreme Court of Canada, the National Art Gallery, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, 24 Sussex, and others.  She also gave us additional information that we would not have discovered on our own, such as that the Hotel Fairmont Chateau Laurier's grand opening  was delayed because its furniture had been shipped on the ill-fated Titanic.  Our cruise stopped for some time in front of Rideau Falls, and we were able to watch the sunset over the city.  The captain came by and caught Theo napping, and told our poor guide to step it up a bit, she was boring the customers!

                                                                 Supreme Court of Canada

                                                                          Harper's House

                                                                          Rideau Falls

                                                                       Chateau Laurier

We also cruised by Rockcliffe Park, an exclusive neighborhood with an average price tag of 2.5 million.  Many of the ambassadors from around the world have their Canadian residences here, including the ambassador from Indonesia and the Papal representative. Both Kim and I were struck by the opulence, considering the poverty of Indonesia.  Also,  Dieppe, NB and Antigonish, NS (and probably others ) had recently  been forced to sell properties in order to help pay for the settlements for the victims of residential schools.  Interesting that this posh Papal residence was left untouched.

We disembarked back at the locks and had supper at a brew house, enjoying a sampling of six of local beers.  The boys, as tired as they were, colored happily.  We were all beat, though.  The lights of Parliament Hill were added to the list of things to see next time.  Ottawa was another city that we did not do justice to.  There were many more sites and activities that would have been great to explore.

Although this was not the evening nor the day that we had expected, it turned out far better than we could have planned for.