Paths to Explore: Staycation

The running joke about the prairies, when you live in the east is that you can sit on your porch and watch the dog run away from home for three days. It really is spectacularly flat! And while we laugh at the difference of the landscape in the various areas of this vast country and share jokes for years there is no doubt thatythat the year 2020 will be talked about for a long time.

Each person will have a story to tell.

It is the year when people are encouraged to explore their own “neighbourhood” if you will. Others refer to it as stay at home year. My DH and I like to travel so we have had to do much adjusting. At the very least we like to visit our family, especially our aging parents who live in other provinces and who thus far have not been invited to our bubble. So with six weeks holidays to play with what does one do?

I decided that since we adopted Manitoba as our abode for the time being then perhaps it was time to actually visit a few of the places here. So my DH, dutifully went to CAA to acquire a road map for me and I sat down with my high lighter to mark where I have already been. It was a fun geography lesson.

So my staycation is very routine. Get up, then walk the dog. Breakfast. Decide what to do.

If it’s too hot, (yes I have deemed 37 C too hot for running around even in the car,) then the day gets spent on a crafty gift. So far (day 7 of the staycation). I have finished three cross stitch gifts for Christmas and have a fourth half done.(No they are not all the same, and some are personalized so no sneak peek)

My ever helpful DH decided I needed a lounge chair for the back yard. I’d work on my tan but so far I’m afraid I’d bake in the heat, (yes 37 C with no breeze is hot). I’m not complaining I know what’s coming and that number will, all too soon have a minus in front of it!

Sunday, being cooler, (it was only 27 C)my DH and I added a little variety to my mundane routine. We took the opportunity to go for brunch at a lovely little cafe. Near where we parked there was a small sculpture garden where we wandered for a short time and then we headed home.

My DH went off to do his thing and I picked up Aslan to go for a drive. We headed out of the city, not as far as I thought, and visited Grosse Isle. It is a little town a very short drive from home and it has a heritage museum and “town” but because of the pandemic nothing was open. Lesson number one, check the schedule of these little touristy places.

Not to be deterred Aslan and I continued on to the next little place, Warren, about ten minutes up the road and we had a little more fun. We found a little park with heritage pieces to explore. We saw water towers, wind mills and old farm equipment.