Sunday, June 12, 2011

Hannah & Denise`s Manitoba Adventures - Part 1

Our flight to Manitoba didn`t go without a hitch unfortunately.  We were stuck on the tarmac in Yellowknife for an hour and half because the pilot was over his quota for his flight time and we had to wait for a new crew.  I guess poor Hannah was feeling stress as that night in Edmonton she had diarrhea which lasted until she got off the plane in Manitoba.  I was wondering why the cargo guy looked at me strange.   Thank goodness our friend Keith met me at the airport and that they live very close.  After some time at the car rental place Keith, Hannah and I headed over to the house to wash Hannah, her bed and her kennel.  Thank you Keith!

My second stop was very important as I didn`t bring the Nikon Beast with me.  I really wanted a Leica camera but I couldn`t hide that bill from my husband so with Craig`s dad`s help I bought the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5.  It has a Leica lens but is half the price of a Leica camera.  So my friend at Don`s Photo in downtown Winnipeg was happy to see me as I am one of those people that do their research first, go into a store and know exactly what they want.  It feels a little weird not having the huge camera to lug around with me and I am always trying to look through the viewfinder.  So far I really like the little camera, it`s a little power horse.  All the pictures in today`s post are taken with it.

Next Hannah and I headed over to our long time friends place Mike and Donna to get a much needed haircut.  I really enjoy the visits with them.  A little history....I used to get my haircut from Everybody`s Talkin` ( a place they owned) and when I needed a job Mike and Donna hired me.  I was with them for a few years and when I decided to move on they remained good friends to Craig & I.  We probably been friends close to 20 years!

After that we headed northeast to Lac du Bonnet, Craig`s parents place.  They live about 20 minutes northeast of Lac du Bonnet on Pinawa Bay.  I love staying here as it is so relaxing and we never have any plans except playing Scrabble in the evening.  The following day after mom`s golf game we drove to Lac du Bonnet to do some much needed grocery shopping.  I could of spent all day in the produce department smelling the fresh fruit and veggies.  Like the old saying goes, you don`t know what you got until it`s gone.

On Friday the three of us headed over to Pinawa.  We drove around town to see the sights and the many deer that have called Pinawa their home.   From there we headed over to Alice Chambers Trail to the suspension bridge and trails.  Manitoba has received alot of rain this season and some of the trails were too mucky to walk on, especially with sandals on.  After taking pictures I dropped mom and dad off at Black Bear Golf Club as they were meeting Auntie Margaret there, mom`s sister, for a round of golf.  I do not golf so I headed to Old Pinawa Dam.  It brings back memories of when Craig and I first started to go out.  His friend Craig and my hubby Craig used to swim down the rapids at the dam. Note the word swim and not the word raft.  Crazy you say?  The answer is yes. There are some cool photo opportunities there and I took advantage of them.  I had to cut my visit short as I was meeting everyone back at the golf course for a Bud, Spud and Steak dinner at 6pm.  It was just before 5:30 and I still had to go back to the house to feed and let Hannah out.  I arrived in time and spent the time waiting smelling the lilacs on the grounds, god I love that smell!

Saturday was a chick day.  For anyone that knows me I am not much of a girly girl so going to a Fashion Show was well....interesting.  It was actually great to spend some quality time with mom and Auntie Margaret.  We arrived at the venue about 11am and it finished about 3pm, we didn`t purchase anything but bought alot of raffle tickets as the proceeds were going to the Lac du Bonnet Food Bank.  We didn`t win any of the raffle prices but I came up a winner with one of the door prizes, a great bag that I can use when traveling. 

We had to head home as we were preparing a muskox and Arctic char dinner for family and neighbours, 11 of us in total.  Funny story about the cooler that I used to bring down the goodies.  It plugs in to keep things cold and what we found out the hard way it also keeps things warm.  Needless to say we had to cook the muskox on Thursday, we moved the char into the freezer when I arrived but left the muskox in the cooler.  Everything turned out great and dad set up the screen tent and a large table so that we could enjoy our dinner outside.

Craig`s sister Laura and family came out for dinner and spent the night.  They had to head back to Winnipeg around noon today as Spencer, their eldest son, had a piano recital in the afternoon.  Spencer and Reece had a good ball play with Hannah before they left and she is so tired tonight.  After a lunch of char sandwiches (yummy) today, Hannah was left looking after the house while mom, dad and I headed to Tulabi Falls.  I have been there before but it is such a nice place to revisit and take more pictures.

Tomorrow I head to Carman to see my mom.  Not sure when my next post will be as mom doesn`t have internet, I may have to drive around town to try to connect to someone`s wireless....shhhhhh.  This week I will plan to see friends and shop until I drop.

Enjoy all of the pictures tonight, there is a whack of them.

Talk soon!

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