A carol to my King;
And Jesus, listening, can hear
The song I cannot sing.”
~Lyrics By Eliza E. Hewitt
Dad put on a favorite hymn and when the strings and piano joined in with the pipes he started to tear up… his face took on a very serious but soft look to it and I could tell he was drawn into his own mind and his own memories. He simply said “This reminds me of my Grandpa, Robert Munro.” His voice cracked as he said his grand-dad’s name and he switch to his Scottish accent to give the family name flare and, I imagine, respect as well.
The music had stirred a pressure up in my chest and the sight of my father fighting with emotion threw my heart up into my throat. I couldn’t respond. I simply nodded and stayed quiet.
The verse mentioned above crashed into my consciousness and I just about cried. I don’t know if I can explain the relation but I felt like I understood that verse so much more.
The moment was just that, a moment, and then he had to fly. This is such a busy season for him and Mom.
… will not be my last.How often is the actual traveling part of a trip so relaxing and nice that you can hardly wait to get back
I traveled down with my older brother and his family but
Took in the dining on the way home and I was seated with a couple from the states and a woman my age from Manitoba. I had the duck and it came with garlic roasted potatoes, plenty of veggies, blue cheese and pear salad (MY FAV), onion soup, fresh bread and coffee and a BIG piece of cream cheese iced carrot cake, phew, it was FAB!
There are many reasons for me to sing the praises of the train and many reasons to be sad that it appears to be dying in this lovely country of ours. We have one of the most famous train routes in the world (cross Canada and through the mountains) and yet we are kissing it good bye:( Riding the train was a childhood dream of mine and now that I have done it I realise it is easily with in reach and will do it again!
P.S. More to come about my actual time in Winnipeg, it was really quick but lovely. Took in as much as I could with only a bit of time Friday morning and Saturday morning but enjoyed it all!
TTFN
Breakfast in the hotel again and then lunch at the ‘Olive Garden’. We had been told we HAD TO check it out by a few people and it was all they said! Bread sticks and salad and fresh made mushroom ravioli in cheese sauce made us both very happy!
We stopped in a Vegreville, not to just get these pictures but to also see Mirelle’s brother and sister in law as well as aunt and uncle. Some great coffee and cake and we where on our way home. We made a few stops but both of us where pretty happy to be heading back to our men and our kids.
It was ALMOST an uneventful drive home… but… we stopped for coffee and Mirelle spilled hers all over the drivers seat. Jokingly she said it was now my turn to drive and for a second I thought she was serious. Well off to the near by Walmart we went on a hunt for towels. While she found a deal I managed to find each of my kids a toy! PHEW! It was nice to have something for them! Who knew Mirelle would end up with some nice new towels this trip? He he he, she sure didn’t plan on spending money on that!
Our big adventure ended with rain and us trying to get everything inside quickly. A hug and a smile and Mirelle had dropped me off and was heading home to her family. Reality hit quickly and hard as I soon found out my littlest baby was sick and needed surgery on Monday… It just made me realized how relaxed I had really managed to be on my trip… a big accomplishment for me as I am not the relaxed type.
Mirelle and I are already talking about next time… no surprise there:)
TTFN
We found a treasure right at the end of the day. After trying to find a sit down restaurant with no wait time (due to wanting to make it to a movie on time) we decided to check out the food court. I was so thankful we did! There was a CREPE place! Any of you who know me well know I have a thing for crepes but I had never had them this way before and will have to go back every time we visit this city in the future! Mine was full of bananas and strawberries, whipping cream and chocolate, YUMMMMMMMM! We where all very happy with this kind of supper and even the next day we where still talking about them!
There was time to explore some more before the movie.
We spent the buck each and had a walk through the ship we had spotted at the start of the day and it was worth it:)
Oriana meet up with her husband and we said good bye:(
Earlier in the day we had gotten tickets at the famous DRAGON theater in the mall. We stayed to watch the dragon and I found it amazing how hot the flames really where, a little much for me.
Mirelle and I made it to the movie… a good end to a busy day, sitting for two hours! Made sure to rub it in to our men that we saw Iron Man2 first. I enjoyed it a lot and the popcorn and root beer Mirelle got me as well! We where both pretty tired when we left the mall but we found the umph to dress up a bit and check out the hotels pub. A couple of nice drinks and we where happy to head to bed. This was a late night for us so we would for sure sleep in before heading home the next day. I got my tea before bed once again and sat thinking about the day long after Mirelle was out for the night. It was amazing how much we accomplished because we didn’t have kids. You sure can do a lot without kids when you are used to doing much with them:)
TTFN
I really liked the rink. It was calm and pretty with the sky light over head. If I had thought more about the day I wouldn’t of ware a dress, that way I could have partaken in the skating and the bumper boats with spray guns (now that looked fun).
We rushed through the rides area for a couple reasons, first we had hopes of making it to the last sea lion show of the day, and two I think Mirelle knew there was little chance of me wanting to actually go on any rides anyhow.
I tried to take more pictures of the interesting rides but the rest are very very blurry. The sounds kept startling me and I felt like some of the rides where gonna mow me over even though I was supposedly in the safe walk way. At one point a roller coaster roared over my head as I tried to take a picture of something else and as I stifled my scream I realised I am talented enough to through up without even going on the ride so why pay for that experience?
Well we rushed back for nothing really… some how we managed to miss all three shows! We watched a bit from the bridge but it wasn’t that interesting when you can’t hear what is being said. The animals where cute though:)FOOD COURT! So we where almost disappointed about missing the sea lion show for a minute but then we spotted an Orange Julius and all was well again as we explored the malls BIG food court.
I really liked the rink. It was calm and pretty with the sky light over head. If I had thought more about the day I wouldn’t of ware a dress, that way I could have partaken in the skating and the bumper boats with spray guns (now that looked fun).
We rushed through the rides area for a couple reasons, first we had hopes of making it to the last sea lion show of the day, and two I think Mirelle knew there was little chance of me wanting to actually go on any rides anyhow.
I tried to take more pictures of the interesting rides but the rest are very very blurry. The sounds kept startling me and I felt like some of the rides where gonna mow me over even though I was supposedly in the safe walk way. At one point a roller coaster roared over my head as I tried to take a picture of something else and as I stifled my scream I realised I am talented enough to through up without even going on the ride so why pay for that experience?
Well we rushed back for nothing really… some how we managed to miss all three shows! We watched a bit from the bridge but it wasn’t that interesting when you can’t hear what is being said. The animals where cute though:)FOOD COURT! So we where almost disappointed about missing the sea lion show for a minute but then we spotted an Orange Julius and all was well again as we explored the malls BIG food court.
We walked in and I had to start taking pictures! Even before we had looked at the menu I was snapping away on the camera. It was so pretty! At one point a waitress said I could go closer to the piano for a picture if I wanted and I had to giggle and say ‘Oh I know, I was actually taking a picture of the wall paper.’ It was that nice! And we hadn’t even seen the bathroom yet (wink)!(This picture directly above was my lunch, OH YUM! A vinaigrette dressed salad with blue cheese, bacon and avocado. Blackened chicken on the side!)
(Mirelle and Oriana enjoying our visit and our meal!)
(Mirelle had the above meal. A vegetarian sandwich that looked amazing, with home fries made from an assortment of different potatoes and served with two dips! Oh yummy!)
After lunch I chuckled when Oriana insisted I come look at the bathroom! Seriously the most beautiful bathroom we have ever seen (see below two pictures)!I love this above picture! There we are! The three of us! I have never had a weekend away with girl friends before and I will forever value this adventure we had together!
P.s. More to come:)
TTFN
We got up on our own time and it was lovely. Had breakfast in our room and once we looked amazing we headed to the mall with plans to meet our gal pal Oriana (a friend who had just recently moved out to Alberta).
(I was impressed by these trees and all the fountains! I am a very easy to please tourist!)
I don’t think we stopped talking all weekend. From the time we got in the car we kept chatting without need to pause until we where again ten minutes away from home! Ori didn’t seem to mind either! She has mostly horses for neighbors so I think she was just as happy as us to have girl time (or TALKATIVE time). It was funny how much the conversation was about our men; how we love them, met them and plans we have with them for the future… ah Garnet and Garrison where never very far from our hearts and minds:)
TTFN