Travels in Canada: Friendly Winnipeg Is All About Fun And Great Food
Summer seems to go by faster each year. The trees in Drayton Valley are quickly changing color and for the first time in my R-pod adventure, the furnace is warming definitely chilly air before October. It’s time to head back to the island this week, and we’ll be on our way this week. In this post, I’ll sum up my amazing summer travels in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The next few posts will hopefully give you inspiration to explore great Canadian destinations in your own travels.
Winnipeg Has Amazing Vegan Food
As you know, I travelled out to Winnipeg where I did some serious explorations of the people, places, culture, and oh-so-plentiful and delicious vegan food with my daughter and sometimes the Arfpodlians (Annie and Jolene). Winnipeg has a wealth of dog-friendly patios where my dogs could lie on their portable Ruffwear sleeping pads and enjoy a drink of ice water followed by some tasty, vegan beyond poutine at Leopold’s Tavern or other tasty fare at Fion MacCool’s. We also enjoyed a lovely, creative, outdoor meal on the tree shaded patio at Roughage Eatery. Of course vegan pizza from Santa Lucia’s will be forever on my list of Winnipeg deliciousness.
Winnipeg Has The Best Dog Parks!
Absolutely amazing Oh! Doughnuts is conveniently located close to Brenda Leipsic Dog park, a 15 hectare, fenced dog park where the Arfpodlians could run and play and find and point birds in a secure environment. Winnipeg’s dog park designers have embraced the reality that having a lot of dogs together in one place safely requires lots of space and trails to keep owners walking. We didn’t see people bunched up in a group watching their dogs. Instead we saw dogs and people relaxing. There were no conflicts between dogs or people. Members of each species had space to get far enough away from each other when they needed to. Oh yeah, and the donuts were out of this world too. Certainly among the best I have ever had.
At the Winnipeg Tattoo Convention, we got tattooed by some of the best artists in Canada. I had settled on a tattoo I wanted and an artist months before. My first tattoo would be on my hand. My tattoo artist was Cheyenne Marie from CoyoteRose Studios in Calgary. I have to say, the pain was excruciating when Cheyenne started. But when you’re getting a tattoo, you can’t just say stop, or I need numbing. You have to just embrace the pain, which is predictable and becomes not bad after a while. As she kept going, I am sure I went into shock because I was wobbly and nauseous by the time she was done. Anyway, the tattoo turned out well. It’s like having pretty jewelry that I don’t have to take off (and this girl must have her pearls)
Great Campsite and Great Family Get-togethers
I decided to stay in Winnipeg longer than originally planned, partly due to being enamoured with the place and getting a great deal on my spot. Most RVers will know that It costs a lot more to travel than it does to stay in one spot. I have to say, my Aunt’s family get-togethers were part of my decision making process too. While it was great seeing all my cousins and their kids, the ambiance was always perfected by the presences of 6 or 8 poodles and one little doodle. Plus my pointers. I always brought along a lot of dog treats too. It all added up to an awful lot of fun.
Seeing The Sights Of Winnipeg
I readily admit that I am a sucker for a nice dog park. The girls and I have done a tour of the dog parks in Western Canada. There is no doubt that Winnipeg’s dog parks are the best we’ve seen anywhere. The ones we tried out (Maple Grove Park and Brenda Leipsic Dog Park) are completely fenced playground with many kilometers of beautiful trails to keep people and off leash dogs exercising together. Maple Grove Dog Park was dreamy with woodlands to explore and river frontage for hot dogs to take a dip in hot days.
By the way: The whole time we were there, we saw very few mosquitos, so the City of Winnipeg must be getting its mosquito control measures right. There are however, a lot of stable flies. These look like innocuous house flies. And then they bite you. Painfully. I discovered using my screen house and slathering on DEET insect repellent on my and citronella on the dogs kept the little demons at bay.
The Canadian Museum Of Human Rights
The Canadian Museum Of Human Rights is house in one of the most unique public buildings I have ever seen. The whole museum is so completely full of the way we humans violate each other and our rights, that it would take a few visits to see it all. Parts of it are heartbreaking and depressing. But other exhibits show the success we have had being decent to each other, and make you feel there’s hope. There are plenty of interactive activities that provoke thought and discussion. After a few hours here, I really felt inspired to be the change the world needs to see. After all, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love!” Be kind to every kind.
Assiniboine Park Is A Jewel In Winnipeg’s Crown
We spent an hour watching the Royal Winnipeg Ballet perform at Assiniboine Park in the heart of Winnipeg. The dancers did a Western themed show and we enjoyed a stroll through the gorgeous English garden as well as the many amazing lost wax sculptures in the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden.
Vikings!
We headed to Gimli to see the Viking festival where Viking culture was berserking everywhere. Modern Vikings celebrating their ancient heritage by dressing up in authentic period costumes. There were displays of Viking battles, and a museum that explained the important role the Icelandic people played in Canada’s history.
New Friends
Manitobans generally are really friendly. As I stayed longer at the campground, I met many new friends. Some were staying for the season. Others were on there way some distant location in North America. Surprisingly, Winnipeg is located in the absolute center of North America. All the friendly people I met there made it easy to stay in WInnipeg longer.
And then one day it was time to go back to the island. I had a few stops to make along the way.
