Wandering In Winnipeg

 I am off on my next adventure, and while it doesn’t sound too exiting yet, soon I will be staying at a luxurious all inclusive lodge on the beautiful shores of Hudson’s Bay!

Yes, I am headed north to see the polar bears in the Polar Bear Capital of Churchill, Manitoba!   While I cannot wait to get there, few adventures start so dramatically off the hop.  So last night I flew in to Winnipeg to meet my tour group and get geared up to go.  

So that gave me a day to explore.  Winnipeg is not overall a terribly exciting place, but my family on my mother’s side lived here for a few decades after immigrating from England.  My mother was also born here, which is a bit ironic as today it’s her birthday too.

Last night i got in late afternoon and was struggling as I was going with out sleep after a night shift.  I went down to the Forks along the Red River for a bit of a walk and for dinner.  It wasn’t terribly exciting but it was a pretty spot.

Today, with a bit more time, I took the bus to Valour Rd to walk along the street a bit.  Now for those who don’t remember your heritage minutes, it was originally called Pine St until shortly after WWI.  Three men who had won the Victoria Cross in that conflict had lived along the same street at some point, so it was renamed Valour Rd in their honour.  One of those men was my grandmothers Uncle, so I went to honour him.  I had a look at the little monuments and a mural painted along the street.

Then I walled along till I found the house my great grandparents had lived in when they were in Winnipeg.  The houses here don’t seem to have changed much.  A new facade, but still small little homes with no driveways.  But it was neat to see a place my grandma had lived when she was young.

I went back down to the shores of the Red River, walking along I saw the Canadian Human Rights Museum, explored the banks of the river, and saw some one I would have expected to murder me if there weren’t so many families out enjoying the weather.  A man just riding his bike along the river wearing an old style hockey mask like something out of Friday the 13th!  He stopped for a little break, and never took the mask off!

Surviving my brush with the weird, I walked up to the Market at the Forks where there was a little beer market, and I ended up taking my drink to sit outside.  It was about 7° out, but no wind and the sun was glorious so I joined a number of people taking advantage of the lovely day.

Tonight is meeting up with the group, I have met my roommate who is a professional photographer and seems really friendly.  We got kitted out in cold weather gear for our trip, and soon will be the meet and greet dinner.

Hopefully the next time I write I will have seen some polar bears, northern lights and many more amazing Arctic things!