Nelson
North Shore Inn
An older hotel that could use some updating, but the beds were amazingly comfortable, they had high speed internet, a complimentary computer, and a continental breakfast. About $80 for two queen beds for two adults, a baby, and two dogs.
Calgary
Dave & Amy's House
New home in a Calgary suburb. We had a futon mattress on their living room floor, but it was free and we got breakfast and good company.
Saskatoon
Lorraine & Esther's House
Great older house in a quiet area outside the city. 15 acres of property, home-cooked meals, and an in-house massage therapist. Free.
Winnipeg
Quality Inn (Pembina)
Very nice updated hotel and a nicely furnished room. Nice big TV and free wifi. Unfortunately, boys hockey teams were booked into the same hotel that night and were rather noisy. Scott also had no hot water for his shower in the morning, and their elevator door didn't open when something was in the doorway (ie. man, stroller, etc.). I was told the manager would be in touch, but I had to call several times the Monday after we stayed before I got her. She discounted 10% off the price because, she said, we already had quite a low rate. We paid $83 plus tax for two queen beds. I don't recall if there was a dog fee.
Thunder Bay
Victoria Inn
Nice hotel with pool, waterslide, and free internet (LAN). The staff was friendly and we had no problems, and they even sent a fax for us at no charge. I think we paid $90 for two queen beds.
Sault Ste Marie
Super 8
New, clean hotel with free internet. They waived the dog fee. It was $83 plus tax, government rate. We had some girls soccer teams who made some noise at night, but that was quickly resolved with a complaint to the manager.
Ottawa
Comfort Inn
Very nice night staff who waived the dog fee. Free wifi, but our TV didn't work and we lost wifi around 11. The next morning, the office ladies fawned all over Mary and the manager gave her a rubber duck. They discounted are stay by 50% for the lack of TV and internet, so we only paid $50.
Montreal (Laval)
Best Western
Two queen beds, TV that works, and wifi. Dogs stay free. It's further away than we'd like to be from downtown, but downtown was more expensive. Free breakfast that was hot and served at the table (we ordered eggs, bacon, and roast potatoes), and Mary got some fruit and yogurt!$100.
Showing posts with label Winnipeg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Winnipeg. Show all posts
Monday, June 11, 2007
Friday, June 8, 2007
Scott took a cold shower
Not intentionally. My shower last night was fine, and every time I try the taps now I can get hot, but he swears he tried every which way and got an occasional burst of hot but mostly just cold. I've told the front desk and we'll see what happens. Quality Inn has a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Today we'll stop and see the Louis Riel National Historic Site before we leave and head east towards Ontario.
Today we'll stop and see the Louis Riel National Historic Site before we leave and head east towards Ontario.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Finding my roots
Again I've left the notebook in the car. We did a LOT of driving today. It was a long haul from Saskatoon to Winnipeg.
In Saskatoon we made a brief detour to see the house my Grandma grew up in. My mom's directions had been "on 109th St., the smallest house on the street." Sure, Mom, thanks. We got there and 109th was only 3 blocks long, but there were tons of small houses. So I called my Grandma! She knew we were going on our trip but didn't know it was so soon. She gave us the address and we talked as Scott drove back along the street to the right house. Grandma talked all about the things we were passing - the school she apparently attending, the church she got married in (I'm pretty sure it's been rebuilt since the 40s, but I suppose I should have taken a picture).
Out of Saskatoon, we drove and drove and drove. Mary did pretty well again. Our goal was Yorkton for lunch, but she didn't make it. We stopped in a town called Wynyard (or something) for a Subway/diaper/pee and she slept into Yorkton, where we stopped at a park for a stretch and another diaper. It was a nice windy park and Mary had fun in the swing. The dogs had fun, too. Izzy ate some human feces she found. Yes, that's right. Human feces. We didn't discover until we got to the hotel in Winnipeg that Romeo ROLLED IN IT. They both got baths. Effing disgusting.
All through the drive we played "Shack Buggy," a modified version of Punch Buggy. We kept passing these random falling apart shacks in the middle of the prairie, so everytime one of us spotted one we'd called out "Shack!" and punch the other one in the arm. Except Scott wasn't allowed to punch hard because I have sensitive arms.
We crossed the border and I wasn't paying attention, so we didn't take the highway I wanted to so had to make a little detour later. I was heading towards Sandy Lake, the small hole-in-the-wall town where my grandfather was born and raised. We found it! First thing we passed when we turned towards the town was the cemetery, so we pulled over and walked in. Mary, as she's already written, was unusually happy and smily the entire time. I think the spirits were glad to have a baby visiting and entertained her. We were in the Catholic side first and did find a few Ellchuks. Apparently my branch of the family spells it wrong!
We crossed over to the Orthodox side (separated by a fence) and I can't describe the feeling when I found my great-grandparents graves. First I gloated. Until then Scott was being accomodating and walking through the cemetery with me, but he didn't think we'd find anything. I didn't know if we would either, as I assumed they moved to old age homes in Winnipeg or something and were buried there. When I got done gloating, we took pictures and I just felt this great confirmation of my place in the world, at least the Ukrainian side. I don't know much of anything at all about my Ukrainian roots because Grandpa never really talks about it and Dad never talks about his grandparents. Having this visual proof of where I come from, where my roots are, was pretty goddamn cool. I cried a little bit, and when I went to pick up Mary (I'd left her sitting by the gravestone "getting to know them"), she had a single tear running down her cheek. She hadn't been crying at all.
After the cemetery we drove into town and looked around. We saw both the Catholic and the Orthodox churches, passed at least three seniors centres or old age homes, the sinking boat dock, and then spotted the Ukrainian Cultural Centre Museum. They were open! The stars aligned to bring us here and I'm still processing how amazing it is that all this lined up. The museum doesn't open for the season until late June, but they were open that day only for a school group that went through in the morning. The museum attendent, a girl younger than me (she was a university student), had been bored out of her skull all day after that because no one else came in. Then this random chick from BC walks in.
We drove straight to Winnipeg after that. Got lost. Random taxi blocked the entire hotel entrance, so I bitched him out. I showered. We didn't get to eat real food and Mary took forever to fall asleep. Scott took his PoliSci test and we think he failed. We paid the extra to stay in this hotel because we needed the high speed internet for that test. Then Scott spent far too much money and made this huge order at a pizza place. It's good food, at least. It's 10pm Pacific time and midnight Winnipeg time.
I think we're going to slow down tomorrow and not go as far as we intended (Thunder Bay). We have no more hotel reservations or planned family visits until we get to the end. There's some Louis Riel stuff to see in Winnipeg, and we'll be more casual with the driving. Scott also wants to see if he can find some of his family's "stuff" he thinks exists in the area. I think he's jealous of my cool experience in Sandy Lake.
In Saskatoon we made a brief detour to see the house my Grandma grew up in. My mom's directions had been "on 109th St., the smallest house on the street." Sure, Mom, thanks. We got there and 109th was only 3 blocks long, but there were tons of small houses. So I called my Grandma! She knew we were going on our trip but didn't know it was so soon. She gave us the address and we talked as Scott drove back along the street to the right house. Grandma talked all about the things we were passing - the school she apparently attending, the church she got married in (I'm pretty sure it's been rebuilt since the 40s, but I suppose I should have taken a picture).
Out of Saskatoon, we drove and drove and drove. Mary did pretty well again. Our goal was Yorkton for lunch, but she didn't make it. We stopped in a town called Wynyard (or something) for a Subway/diaper/pee and she slept into Yorkton, where we stopped at a park for a stretch and another diaper. It was a nice windy park and Mary had fun in the swing. The dogs had fun, too. Izzy ate some human feces she found. Yes, that's right. Human feces. We didn't discover until we got to the hotel in Winnipeg that Romeo ROLLED IN IT. They both got baths. Effing disgusting.
All through the drive we played "Shack Buggy," a modified version of Punch Buggy. We kept passing these random falling apart shacks in the middle of the prairie, so everytime one of us spotted one we'd called out "Shack!" and punch the other one in the arm. Except Scott wasn't allowed to punch hard because I have sensitive arms.
We crossed the border and I wasn't paying attention, so we didn't take the highway I wanted to so had to make a little detour later. I was heading towards Sandy Lake, the small hole-in-the-wall town where my grandfather was born and raised. We found it! First thing we passed when we turned towards the town was the cemetery, so we pulled over and walked in. Mary, as she's already written, was unusually happy and smily the entire time. I think the spirits were glad to have a baby visiting and entertained her. We were in the Catholic side first and did find a few Ellchuks. Apparently my branch of the family spells it wrong!
We crossed over to the Orthodox side (separated by a fence) and I can't describe the feeling when I found my great-grandparents graves. First I gloated. Until then Scott was being accomodating and walking through the cemetery with me, but he didn't think we'd find anything. I didn't know if we would either, as I assumed they moved to old age homes in Winnipeg or something and were buried there. When I got done gloating, we took pictures and I just felt this great confirmation of my place in the world, at least the Ukrainian side. I don't know much of anything at all about my Ukrainian roots because Grandpa never really talks about it and Dad never talks about his grandparents. Having this visual proof of where I come from, where my roots are, was pretty goddamn cool. I cried a little bit, and when I went to pick up Mary (I'd left her sitting by the gravestone "getting to know them"), she had a single tear running down her cheek. She hadn't been crying at all.
After the cemetery we drove into town and looked around. We saw both the Catholic and the Orthodox churches, passed at least three seniors centres or old age homes, the sinking boat dock, and then spotted the Ukrainian Cultural Centre Museum. They were open! The stars aligned to bring us here and I'm still processing how amazing it is that all this lined up. The museum doesn't open for the season until late June, but they were open that day only for a school group that went through in the morning. The museum attendent, a girl younger than me (she was a university student), had been bored out of her skull all day after that because no one else came in. Then this random chick from BC walks in.
We drove straight to Winnipeg after that. Got lost. Random taxi blocked the entire hotel entrance, so I bitched him out. I showered. We didn't get to eat real food and Mary took forever to fall asleep. Scott took his PoliSci test and we think he failed. We paid the extra to stay in this hotel because we needed the high speed internet for that test. Then Scott spent far too much money and made this huge order at a pizza place. It's good food, at least. It's 10pm Pacific time and midnight Winnipeg time.
I think we're going to slow down tomorrow and not go as far as we intended (Thunder Bay). We have no more hotel reservations or planned family visits until we get to the end. There's some Louis Riel stuff to see in Winnipeg, and we'll be more casual with the driving. Scott also wants to see if he can find some of his family's "stuff" he thinks exists in the area. I think he's jealous of my cool experience in Sandy Lake.
Finally have working internet
After driving around Winnipeg for a half hour, we found the hotel and it's got high speed internet that works!
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