Puzzles
Doing jig-saw puzzles is a tradition in our family. We always had stacks of them and used to do them over and over again. When we were young Dad and Mum used to do the large colorful 500 - 1000 piece puzzles and let us help. They'd leave them out for awhile after they were put together and Wendy and I would take a corner of the puzzle apart and re-do it. We both enjoy the challenge of putting puzzles together. So, when I went to Winnipeg this time, I took Wendy what was billed as the world's smallest 1000 piece jig-saw puzzle. Each piece was no larger than my thumbnail - and my nails are not very long.
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| We spent my last morning there finishing it off |
Money
Winnipeg has a license to print money. As we were driving to someplace else, we stopped in at the Winnipeg Mint, where coins for over 62 countries including the US, Mexico, Australia and Great Britain are minted, with a production rate of 750 coins per second and four billion coins annually. In front of the Mint complex wave the flags of all the countries that have contracted to have coins printed there.
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| It was a very windy day so the flags are snapping straight out. |
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| The Mint from the parking lot |
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| Inside the foyer of the Mint. |
We didn't take the official tour because we were on our way someplace else. It would have been interesting though. We couldn't figure out why the foyer was decorated with tropical palm trees. Winnipeg is anything but tropical.
Goats
Our destination on the day we stopped in at the Winnipeg Mint was a place just half an hour from the city, called Pineridge Hollow. It was a beautiful spot out in the country - a restaurant and large gift shop, beautiful grounds and a small petting zoo. It's a favorite spot for weddings, we were told.
Our first stop out there was the petting zoo where we saw some pygmy goats playing 'king of the castle' on their shed.
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| Nanny Goat was successful in keeping Billy Goat on the ground where he belonged. |
Food
Our main reason for going to Pineridge Hollow was to have lunch at their famous restaurant. A reservation was required, even for a mid-week lunch, as the restaurant's reputation had spread far and wide.
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| Wendy on the steps of the restaurant |
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| I had the most delicious fresh chicken and tomato quesadilla with farm fresh vegetable salad. I had already eaten one portion of the quesadilla before I remembered to take a picture of it. |
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| Wendy had a Reuben sandwich with home fries and...for dessert... |
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| the most enormous brownie imaginable, with ice cream, strawberries, blueberries and nuts on top. Of course I had to help her eat it and even then we had some to take home. |
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| My dessert was a lovely creme brulee, which was all I needed, but then I had to help Wendy with her 'little brownie' too, so we really overate. |
Forks
In the middle of Winnipeg there's a lovely park called The Forks. There's a Children's Museum, playground, picnic areas, railroad cars, restaurants, and a beautiful river walk. It's called The Forks because it's where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers meet and flow together northward to Hudsons Bay.
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| Visiting with the Canada geese at the Forks |
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| A CN train crossing the Canadian National bridge over the Assiniboine River |
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| Part of the river walk - Assiniboine River. The last time we were here, we took one of the boat tours. It was quite beautiful. |
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| The water at the front of the picture is the Assiniboine River and in the middle where the water appears smoother is the Red River. They join up here and head north to the Hudson's Bay |
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| The city rises above the Forks. |
Games
It wouldn't be a visit to Wendy and Randy without at least one night of playing games. One of our favorites is Hand and Foot Canasta. I can only play it when I'm with Wendy and Randy because Lloyd doesn't like playing cards (although he will when pressed) and neither do any of my kids who live close enough to me.
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| Randy, Me, Angelo (Wendy and Randy's son-in-law), and Wendy. Meredith (their daughter) took the picture. She and Wendy took turns sitting in as my partner, working on the puzzle when they weren't playing. The men still beat us. |
And that wraps up my adventures in Winnipeg...a good trip...I'm glad I went.
10 comments:
That was fun!
I wanna visit too. That food! Yum!
I am so glad you got so many pictures. I'm sure I'll never get to Winnepeg so it's nice to see it through your eyes. I'm a game player and puzzler putter togetherer too.
I used to love to play cards. Haven't done so in a long time though and afraid I've forgotten how now. Glad you got to see so many nice places and had such a good visit with your sister too.
Wonderful weather you had for all your adventures (compared to the foggy, damp, wet days we're having now. I always liked going to Wpg. each summer when my Grandmother was alive. However, alot of those places you went to are new to me. My favorite of your trip are the ones of you both with your Mom!
That was a wonderful tour of Winnipeg. I really enjoyed it. The Palm Trees at the Mint were curious, I agree. Back in the day we did puzzles, but the pieces were much bigger than yours. My goodness however did you finsh it. I wouldn't have been able to see the pieces. By the same token we eat brownie bites for dessert here and they are gone in two bites. The one you had was HUGE. All those strawberries, blueberries and nuts on top looked YUMMY! Glad you had such a wonderful visit. Thanks for sharing.
Enjoyed reading about your trip!!
Your husband n some of your childrn dont like to play cards? We too love Head n Foot!
What a fabulous trip! It was worth it just for that lovely lunch - the brownie looked amazing! I used to do jigsaws, but I no longer have the patience - I feel that I should be doing something else!
Although I had my doubts about it at the time, I'm glad I ordered that brownie - it made a good conversation piece!
Sounds like you had a great time. Good for you. The pictures are amazing and that food was making me drool. Glad you enjoyed yourself! Hugs.
Thank you for the tour around Winnipeg. It looks like you had a good time and that food - all I can say is yummy. :))
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