October 9 to 15, 2008

October 9 to 15, 2008 ; Grenfell, Saskatchewan to Fargo, North Dakota

Thursday ; Grenfell, Saskatchewan to Winnipeg / Lorette, Manitoba

This morning we departed Grenfell continuing east on Trans-Canada Highway 1. It was still bitterly cold, with a strong wind. By the time we got to Lorette at supper time, the wind had diminished, and it was a bit warmer. We crossed from Saskatchewan into Manitoba, from Saskatchewan's Central Standard Time Zone into Manitoba's Central Daylight Time Zone. Saskatchewan doesn't switch to Daylight Savings Time, so for half the year they're on Manitoba time and for half the year they're on Alberta time. We stopped for lunch near Brandon. Joanne drove after lunch, from Brandon to Portage La Prairie while I napped. We stopped at Wal-Mart in Portage La Prairie for a few items.

At Headingley, just on the west side of Winnipeg we stopped at Flying J to refill with diesel, refill a propane tank, and dump our waste holding tanks. As Flying J's go, this one was pathetic ! The water at their trailer dump station wasn't working, so we could dump the waste holding tanks ( by gravity ) but couldn't flush them out with the flusher attachment function. Good thing I had refilled the fresh water holding tank this morning in Grenfell before leaving. And Flying J didn't have a licensed propane filler on duty, so I couldn't get an empty propane tank refilled.

As we drove around the south side of Winnipeg on the Perimeter Highway, Lanoire's odometer rolled over 100,000 km.. Way to go, girl ! One hundred thousand kilometres ( 62,500 miles ) without a problem ! The campground on the east side of Winnipeg we were planning to stay at was closed for the season ( sigh ). We drove to my sister's in Lorette and parked in her yard. She and her husband were out visiting. We visited briefly with my niece, Andrea. We had supper, and then after Sharon and Bud returned home, we visited with them in the evening for awhile.

Our yard in Keremeos, B.C. to my sister's yard in Lorette, Manitoba, on the east side of Winnipeg, was a drive of 2100 km. / 1300 miles in 4 days. No wonder I'm tired tonight !

Friday ; Happy 54th Birthday to me !

Today was cloudy and cool. This morning while I was walking Bo around the Danelak's back yard, he chased something ( a chipmunk ? ) up onto their back deck. Bo leaped up over what he thought was the wood border of the deck. It was the border to the pond. SPLASH ! ! ! Nice going, Bo ! I spent most of the morning visiting with my sister Sharon. After lunch I drove into the village of Lorette and refilled an empty propane tank. I read and napped. We and Sharon took Bo for a long walk and romp around the Danelak's 7 acre property. Bud has created a walking path around the periphery of their property. Bo had a very good time running and exploring in the tall grass and forest.

Late in the afternoon we drove into Winnipeg to visit Joanne's sister and her family. We had dinner and visited with Joanne's sister Lorraine, her husband Doug, and their two girls, Madeleine, age 9 and Amelia, age 7. After dinner they presented me with a birthday cake, cards made by the girls, a birthday gift for me ( a couple of books that I will really enjoy reading ), and an early Christmas gift for both of us. Lorraine made us a quilt, with a Mariner's Compass design, a quilt design for travellers. Thank you to all the Carlsons for dinner, the cake, the cards, and the gifts.

Saturday ; Today was cloudy and cold, raining in the evening. I spent the morning visiting with Sharon and Bud. We took Bo for another long walk and romp around the Danelak's property.

Late in the afternoon Joanne wanted to visit her family again. We drove into Winnipeg and visited with the Carlsons for the evening. While there I got online and transferred my blog to its new location. We stopped at Wal-Mart on the way back to Lorette to buy a printer ink cartridge. Hopefully, our last Canadian Wal-Martin' until next spring.

Sunday ; Happy 34th Anniversary to us !

Today was cloudy and raining. YUCK ! ! ! I hate cold rain ! This morning Sharon prepared our Kirby family traditional waffle brunch. We spent the morning and early afternoon visiting with Sharon and Bud. The rest of the afternoon I spent reading, napping, and working on investment analyses. Joanne baked.

This afternoon my niece Andrea and her boyfriend Kevin took Bo for a long walk and romp around the Danelak’s property. Bo enjoyed being walked by someone “new” even though he doesn’t much like rain. Last night while Joanne and I visited the Carlsons, Sharon and Bud took Bo for a long walk. He lost his new bandanna. Poor Bo ... now a bandannaless Redneck Terrier !

At supper time we drove into Winnipeg to meet our friends Shirley, Darcy, and their 14 year old son Erik for dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory at The Forks. Shirley and Joanne have been friends since high school. Shirley was Joanne's Maid Of Honour at our wedding, 34 years ago today, so she and Darcy treated us to an anniversary dinner. The Old Spaghetti Factory is a Winnipeg restaurant which has existed since our high school days. The Forks is a commercial development at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. We had a very enjoyable evening visiting with our dear old friends. Thank you, Darcy & Shirley, for dinner, the anniversary card and gift, and a wonderful evening of visiting.

On the way to the restaurant we drove down St. Jean Baptiste Street to see our first home, a little house we purchased in 1976 and lived in until we relocated to Ottawa in 1988.

Monday ; Happy ( Canadian ) Thanksgiving

I haven't really wanted to admit it to anyone other than Joanne ( and myself ) but I've been really sick the last few days with a flare up of ulcerative colitis. As much as I enjoy eating, every meal since we've arrived in Winnipeg leaves me feeling ill for a few hours after eating while the digestion process is under way. By the time I start to feel better, it's time for the next meal. Tough choice ... be hungry or be sick. For much of the time it's both !

Again today was cold, cloudy and raining. Again I spent the morning visiting with Sharon and Bud. Sharon prepared me a breakfast of toasted Pahska, Ukrainian Easter bread. Again I spent the afternoon reading and napping. Sharon prepared Thanksgiving dinner. A full traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner, and all the traditional Ukrainian "supplements" ; perogies, holupchis, even peepanky in cream. Peepanky is the Ukrainian name for a type of wild mushroom found in Manitoba. I don't know the English name for them. We contributed a couple of bottles of Perle Of Csaba white wine from St. Laszlo Vineyards in Keremeos.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and evening of chatting. Thank you very much, Sharon and Bud.

Tuesday ; Canada’s Federal Election Day

Today was cold but sunny. Finally the rain has stopped. Sharon and Bud were gone all day, working about 14 hours at a local electoral polling station. Joanne and I worked on errands, preparing for departure tomorrow morning. Joanne did laundry. I refilled our fresh water tank and did some pre-departure maintenance. After lunch we went into Winnipeg to do some last minute Canadian shopping and refill an empty propane tank. We've used a lot of propane since arriving here 5 days ago. It's been very cold, the furnace has been on a lot, and I've been running the fridge and water heater on propane instead of electricity, since we're plugged into only 15 amps at Danelak's. The last few items we wanted to purchase in Canada included Christmas fruit cake and wild rice. In the past we have been unable to find satisfactory Christmas fruit cake in the southern United States. WOW ... wild rice is expensive ! But it's another item we have been unable to find in the United States. As a matter of fact, it's not available in much of Canada either. But we knew that it is readily available in and around Winnipeg. We drove to the Carlson's and said goodbye to Joanne's family.

I spent the evening watching the election results unfold on the big screen TV in the Danelak's family room. As expected, the Conservative Party won the election, forming a minority government.

Wednesday ; Lorette / Winnipeg, Manitoba to Fargo, North Dakota

Today started cold and cloudy. Mid-afternoon the sky began to clear and it got warmer. This morning we prepared for departure, then had a cup of tea with Sharon and Andrea. Just as we were about to leave, Bud returned home from his half morning of substitute teaching. We said our goodbyes and departed the Danelak's yard at 10:30 A.M.. We refilled with diesel and went to an RV dealer in Winnipeg to dump our waste holding tanks at their RV dump station.

We left Winnipeg heading south on Hwy. 59. Just before the U.S. border we stopped for lunch. Crossing the border at Tolstoi, Manitoba was relatively quick and painless. With politeness and apologies the border guard confiscated the eight pieces of firewood I had in the back of the truck. We entered the northwest corner of Minnesota. We went to the Post Office in Lancaster and picked up our Passport America membership renewal package. I had ordered it sent to General Delivery in Lancaster to avoid the additional charges for shipping to Canada. We drove south on Hwy. 5, then west on Hwy. 11, crossing over the Red River into the northeast corner of North Dakota at Drayton. We got onto Interstate 29 heading south. Nice road ! Over the next few days we will travel quite a distance south on I-29. We made it to Fargo, and stopped at Flying J to refill with diesel and boondock for the night. I remember staying at this same Flying J in September, 2004.

DSK