Wow, Manitoba. I almost left this post blank, which would sum up our MB drive pretty well. The province is 500 km across the south, or a 5 hour drive without stops. The first thing I noticed when we crossed the border was how bad the roads are compared to all 22 of the previous hours. Most of the roads have that unfinished gritty surface that makes the whole car feel like it’s vibrating.
We drove straight through to Winnipeg and apparently took zero pictures. Manitoba is a province that perfectly blends the least attractive parts of both Saskatchewan (flat and boring) and Ontario (trees and boring). This is our first time in the province – which, by the way, checks the 10th box in our list of 10 provinces to visit!!! – and I can’t think of any reason why we would come back. Looking for some Manitobans to help me out here? *
We stayed at the luxurious Super 8 on the east side of town, right off the highway. Excellent for a fast morning get-away. Dinner was at a pub in Sage Creek, an eastern suburb of Winnipeg, where we learned that this weekend is Winnipeg’s first of post-covid reopening, including our hotel, so how (typically) fortunate for us!
Before escaping from MB completely, we stopped for coffee at Falcon Lake which seems like a place I’d want to vacation if I lived in Winnipeg. If you’ve never heard of Falcon Lake, it is infamous for Canada’s most famous and as-of-yet-unexplained UFO story.
Friends we wish we could have visited along the way: Nobody. I know quite a few people originally from Manitoba, but nobody who still lives here. Hmmmmm…….
* I apologize, Manitoba. Maybe I’ll come back and visit Churchill, try to see some polar bears.
My dad’s family lived in Manitoba for seven generations until the 1960s, when they moved west and never went back. However, this is the second summer that my son has gone there for training. He loves it, except for the mosquitos.