Ghosts & Gobblers

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Geo: 49.8994, -97.1407

Since train arrival times in Canada are apparently something of a guessing game involving wegee boards and a healthy dose of 'blind mans bluff', we decided to overnight in the capital of Manitoba, Winnipeg (home of the windiest street corner in the world- Portage & Main- and it's usually a bone chilling Arctic wind at that!!). DH was positively giddy that not only had we booked into the historic Fort Gary Hotel (previous visits had us in the Lincoln Motel- somewhat unfairly referred to as the Stinkin Lincoln) but she was also able to secure us Room 202. The Fort Gary Hotel is one of those grand old hotels built by the railroads at the turn of the century and as such, it has seen its share of tragedy and turmoil- there are a number of stories of ghosts, spirits, and apparitions that apparently wander the corridors looking for the weaker members of today's guest crowd. Room 202 is particularly haunted although it was slightly unclear as to who this resident was in their past life and whether or not we'd be dealing with Casper or Freddy Kruger. Once she was past the obligations of our early dating life, DH had made it clear that horror movies was not something we would be doing as a couple ever again so it was something of a surprise that she seemed so eager to share our room with the undead. And to be honest, I'm not sure that being terrified in our bedroom environment has ever ranked real high on my bucket list but she-must-be-obeyed was not looking for my input.
Before settling in for an evening of ghost busting, we hit the streets looking for a restaurant that might be offering a traditional Cdn Thanksgiving meal of turkey and stuffing (as a heads-up to our American friends, in Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving at the proper time- the third Monday in Oct). We were somewhat saddened to learn that apparently the turkeys of Manitoba are hanging out with the polar bears of Manitoba and as such, the best we could do was a plate of spaghetti and a loaf of bread that we crumbled up to look like stuffing.
Having missed yet another turkey dinner, we retreated to the hotel and set up a pillow fort on the bed to buffer any bad intentions our see-through friends might have (not sure that having a pillow fight with a ghost is part of any textbook exorcism but since those Korean authorities had never given back my diving knife, it was the best we could come up with). we managed to stay awake until about midnight but the spookiest thing we heard was either the panicky sound of another guest who had locked themselves in their bathroom or the volume of snoring coming from the room next door. In some hidden corner of Manitoba, a ghoul or ghost was chilling with some turkeys and white bears (seen by no one).

Winnipeg probably doesn't show up on too many travel bucket lists but I have some fond memories of this somewhat lonely outpost (balanced by some not so fond memories of long cold winters and eagle-sized mosquitoes) probably because of spending my alcohol-fueled university years here- I suspect that even Tunisia would seem like a hopping place if you attended university there. You really have to admire a city that lays claim to the title of 'Slurpee Capital of the World' with a staggering 400k consumed each month (and that includes the frigid winter months- it averages -23C in the winter). And what symbols do you choose in a place this cold- what about the Golden Boy which tops the legislative buildings- a fully exposed, fully nude male statue (and just to anticipate Sherri P- I have no intention of determining whether or not the statue is anatomically correct given the frosty conditions).

We spent the next day wandering the downtown area exploring the some of the sites that weren't here when I was knee deep in studies and debauchery. We really wanted to see the very controversial Human Rights Museum that was scheduled to open in 2012 but, as with all things government, it is now well over budget ($360M at last count) and isn't opening until September 2014. We did wander through The Forks, a section of the underground shopping complex, and the MTS Centre, the new home of the new Winnipeg Jets. We also did a bit of a side-trip to the Winnipeg Zoo- we normally don't do zoos because of the whole animals-in-captivity thing but given that we didn't get a closeup look at a polar bear in Churchill, we thought we'd try for a look at a zoo bear that recently came from Churchill (saved from a needle because he had clawed a locals backside within town limits). Our mini streak of bad luck continued however, as the Churchill bear, Storm, was not on display, and given that a new enclosure was being built, the resident bear, Hudson, was in a smaller set of cages which didn't make for a great viewing experience.

No bears, wolves, ghosts, turkeys, or even human rights museums, but we did have a great Canadian train journey, dipped our fingers in Hudson Bay, saw the aurora borealis, made some new friends, and got to spend a couple of days in the Slurpee Capital of the World. It's starting to cool dramatically so it's time to join the Canadian Snowbirds and head for warmer climes.

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Comments

[Carol C]

Well you may not have had a ghostly visit, but this would not make for a good nights sleep!!