The next stop on our road trip was Regina, Saskatchewan which was about 250km from Saskatoon. The skies were pretty smoky that day due to the fires in Colorado, casting an eerie red hue over the prairie landscape. We arrived into town mid afternoon and located a laundromat to do some much needed laundry. Sometimes waiting for your laundry is entertainment in itself, watching the characters that stroll in and out. In our case, it was the cranky woman who was working at the laundry mat and running it like a military. Not only was it laundry day in Regina, but it was also my finaces' birthday! What an exciting birthday activity, isn't that what everyone wants to do? Luckily there was a little pizza joint down the street where I was able to take him for some birthday pizza while our laundry was in the dryer.
Later that evening we ventured to the movie theatre to relax and watch a movie of Matt's choice and I must say, it was very nice to sit and relax. I really think that is something we will have to remember and do this year; take the time to occasionally sit and relax and do things you like to do in your everyday life. I think sometimes it can become overwhelming moving around everyday and being a tourist all day without taking that little break and watching or movie or spending the day lounging in bed.
After having such a nice experience at the last family's home, my friend decided to contact another third cousin she had in Regina and once again we had a fabulous evening chatting with our gracious host about her travels and admiring her clothing she had acquired abroad. We were once again served a bowl of icecream and given a comfortable bed for the night.
Our last drive through the prairies to Winnipeg flew by, and we stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the side of the road called 'Mum's Family Restaurant'. Good, home cooked food at a good price except the menu was slightly creepy...
We arrived into Winnipeg in the early afternoon and parked the van for the day. It was very hot that day and after walking around for half an hour we decided to treat ourselves to a hostel for the night rather than camping. Since we only had one night planned in Winnipeg we figured that leaving that evening to go to a campsite would waste precious time in the city. So we booked a room in the HI Winnipeg hostel for $90 total and explored the city.
Winnipeg reminded me of an American city, like New York. I think it was because there were many buildings made of stained bricks with large advertisements on the sides like in New York. Many buildings had the fire escape staircases as well winding down the sides of the buildings.
I really liked Winnipeg. There seemed to be a balance between big city and small town feel, meaning that the people, although living in a city, still were very friendly to one another and still had the time of day to talk to one another. I found this very refreshing, being from a city where conversation among strangers is rare. There were arts and culture around the city as well, with a Reggae festival happening and small art studios dotting the city. We enjoyed some beer and scotch eggs at 'Kings Head Pub' while listening to the Reggae festival across the street. My only negative on Winnipeg was the large amount of people wandering around inebriated, but what city doesn't have either drug or alcohol related problems in the streets. I definitely think Winnipeg is a city you could spend three days in exploring hidden gems.
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