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Destinations Detours and Dreams September 2022

Behind The Scenes

A few local outings and lovely times with friends and family dominated the first part of August. A couple of those resulted in topics that showed up on the blog.

Unfortunately, after over two years of successfully avoiding it, COVID-19 caught up with us in the latter part of August. It affected me largely in the sinuses like a very bad cold. There was some fever and body aches at the beginning. As I write this, I am at day 10 and still testing positive, although I am feeling much better. I am thankful for my two vaccinations and two boosters.

My husband Rick showed no symptoms and initially tested negative, but five days after I tested positive so did he. He was asymptomatic at the time. As of today, he has still not experienced any symptoms.

I had been scheduled to see Beyond Van Gogh, an immersive exhibit featuring over 300 of Vincent Van Gogh's art pieces, but coming down with COVID cancelled that. It is the second time in two years COVID has stopped me from seeing an immersive Van Gogh exhibit. Imagine Van Gogh, a different Van Gogh exhibit featuring multi-projection and immersive audio, played in my home city of Winnipeg in fall 2020. I didn't purchase a ticket when it first opened. I wanted to wait until the number of COVID infections in our city dropped. Instead they went the other way. We wound up in lockdown and the exhibit shut down. By the way, friends who did see Beyond Van Gogh thoroughly enjoyed it.

A Peek Ahead

Rick and I have a four-day trip planned in September to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. That is just a little over a six-hour drive from home. This is the furthest we've travelled in over a year. In August we did our first overnight trip in a year, but that was only a hour or so from home.

This summer has been an experiment and learning experience as to what we feel comfortable with and what we can do given Rick's mobility issues, which involves minimal feeling in his legs, using a walker, and needing good support to get from a seated to standing position. We've both become more adept at investigating accessibility through use of online information, Google map images, and direct phone calls to places we'd like to visit. The map image for one restaurant we wanted to visit showed a couple of steps at the entrance that would have been difficult for Rick to manage. When he phoned the restaurant, he learned they had a side entrance (which was through a bit of an overgrown side alley) with a gentle ramp and no stairs.

In Moose Jaw, we will be staying at the Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa. So far, I've been impressed with what they will do to aid accessibility (including putting a grab bar in the bathroom). I'm looking forward to how the stay turns out. We will also see how well we manage with rest and bathroom stops along the drive. I still don't know how much I will try to plan them out ahead of time or whether we will "wing it." I've always been a planner, but I've never mapped out exact rest stops on a driving trip before.

August Destinations Detours and Dreams Stories

Nautical History At The Marine Museum Of Manitoba

Ships and exhibits at the Marine Museum of Manitoba in Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada, showcase the nautical history of the Red River and Lake Winnipeg from the 1850s to present day

Moon Gate Guest House In Southeastern Manitoba

A comfortable, eco-friendly guest house in a peaceful location along the river at Whitemouth, Manitoba, Canada

Local Brews And Eats At The Beer Can In Winnipeg

The Beer Can is an outdoor pub and restaurant in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

From The Archives

Tintern Abbey in the Wye Valley

I'm remembering a fantastic trip in fall 2015 to England and Wales. This post is about a Cistercian monastery ruins amid scenic countryside in south Wales.

Articles That Caught My Interest This Month

Here are links to a few articles I found of particular interest this week. Maybe one of them will be of interest to you too.

The True Origin of Sasquatch published on BBC Travel

'Colonial charm' - the cliche that hides the ugly history of many popular cities published on Traveller in Australia

The sacred 'sisters' of ancient America published on BBC World's Table
- The three sisters are the crops corn, squash and beans. The article provides an interesting look at the history and the reasons the companion planting technique of these crops has survived

Disappearing icons: How one Manitoban is documenting the province's grain elevators before they're gone forever published on CBC News
- I, too, am fascinated by the old grain elevators that were a common sight across the prairies when I was growing up. I've visited a few that are now museums and I've written a post about the Inglis Grain Elevators National Historic Site in Inglis, Manitoba.

Donna Janke is the author of Destinations Detours and Dreams, where you can find travel stories from near and far, the familiar and the obscure, the beautiful and the bizarre, with a focus on history, gardens, nature, art, architecture, culture and the snowbird life. She tells her stories through a combination of narrative, photos and personal reflection. Sign up for the monthly newsletter here.

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