We are in Winnipeg

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Arieh here. We made it to Winterpeg after travelling "North of Superior". (See the picture above). The weather is beautiful here so I shouldn't disparage this grand old city. The trip north from Toronto was fantastic and I am simply amazed at my own brilliance. I refer to our "sleeping arrangements". We bought a battery-powered inflatable air mattress to be used in our Previan van. It worked perfectly. Inflated in less than 3 minutes and allowed us to camp in 3 Ontario provinical parks on lakes or rivers in Northern Ontario. The parks were virtually deserted except for a few hearty northerners squeezing out the last few camping nights of the season. The only downside to this mode of camping is that we go to bed at 8PM and get up pretty early. Takes about 10 minutes to set up for sleeping and prepare for departure. Showers are a luxury when it is not very warm!

Kudos to Robbie Rotin for telling us to walk around Cypress Lake in Bruce Pennisula National Park, Rhonda Wilansky for sending us to the best Finnish food in Thunder Bay (the pancakes were VERY good at Haito Restaurant), and Benita Friedlander for giving us a little picnic kit that has proved useful (sorry for "poopoo"ing it).

Val Writes:

We are in Winnipeg – and what a beautiful trip we’ve had so far! Manitoulin Island was very pleasant – but it was cold and rainy. Saw the beautiful First Nations round church that my friend Bea Wilson recommended. It was enhanced with colourful native paintings and sculptures – and the silence took your breath away. It is built like a bunker – into the earth and the sound quality was exquisite for its absence!

Tobermory and the Bruce Peninsula were lovely – had a wonderful dinner and lunch at Craigie’s famous for its whitefish – delish!

The national and provincial parks north of Lake Superior were even better than I remember! Lovely lakeside campsites and sandy beaches – almost empty at this time of year. To my great surprise sleeping in the van has been comfortable and an adventure. Arieh’s right again – but don’t tell him I said so.

Now, in Winnipeg good home cooking – great company and enjoyment of family and friends. And so the adventure continues…..

Have been using – Benita’s picnic packet, Vicki’s Kleenex, my Tilley hat, Sue and Yaron’s pillow, Avidan’s cosmetic bag, etc. You are all here with us in some way! Miss you all – but the world beckons!