Winnipeg, my favorite city!

We stayed in the Pine Tree campground last night, which would have been perfect except it had no internet. I've become addicted to web access, between watching weather, playing games, and now blogging.

"Woke last night to the sound of thunder. How far us I sat and wondered." Russ poked me around 5:30 in the morning when he heard the rumbles. Better walk dogs before it became a thing. It did -- a wonderful thing. I love a good thunderstorm.

Peach Waffle

We drank our coffees, listened to the rain, then headed to Winnipeg for shopping. Tummies growling as we entered the city we decided to stop for breakfast rather than do cereal in a parking lot. We discovered Clementine's, a small restaurant downtown that Googled 4.6 stars on over 500 reviews. Sounded promising. We split the Belgium waffle (with Earl Gray whipped cream, peaches, and frosted pine nuts), the braised bacon benedict (cider hollandaise, dill, poached eggs, black pepper biscuit), and a side of potatoes (red baby potatoes, honey, lemon aioli). GOOD GRAVY, it was amazing.

Russ ranked the #1 reason to come to Canada: Clementine's in Winnipeg...

Clementine's Menu -- click to make it bigger

Bellies full we headed out to do our shopping; a trip to Costco for some soymilk (a fail, no soy here) and Petsmart for dog food. Once complete we ventured toward our Harvest Host destination for the night, Farmery Estate Brewery. Since the farm was an estimated 2 hour drive away we thought it would be an easy day.

There is an old saying in India: Make plans. God laughs.

Farmery Estate Brewery

We left Winnipeg around 12:30, just as the winds kicked up. And man! Did they kick up. Gusts made it hard to keep the coach moving in a straight line. Due to frequent travels across west Texas we  knew how to drive a vehicle that acts more like a kite those conditions. But it still made us move at lower speeds. Keep in mind the speed limit here is 100 kph (roughly 62).

Then came the "optimization." Since I drove, Russ googled our route to Neepawa (home of the Farmery). It suggested a road that cut off a significant part of the highway, promising our journey would be (I'm no making this up) three minutes shorter.

It was dirt. For 60 kilometers we blazed down a bumpy, gravely, sometimes muddy road, all the while battling 25 mph winds. The google people will get an earful once we're stateside.

Fish and chips at the Farmery

We arrived 15 minutes later (so much for optimizations) and exhausted. But safe and sound. We drank some beer and got some food from the truck outside, while enjoying a breezy (!), sunny day.

Note: The fish and chips (made with pike) will give Ivar's a run for his money.