Back on the common trail I ended the day at a Super 8 in St.Cloud, Minnesota.
Being a guest with Ross and Darlene is quite an adventure. Friday afternoon we went shopping with Darlene's vehicle. It is not any common car she owns and I was allowed to drive it. It's a black monster of a Hummer pickup. After what I heard is Ross required to stay clear of it. Apparently, he has been trying to sell it a couple of times but that idea was not very well received by his wife. A truck for adult people.
A special treat was meeting their two super cute and nice Yorkies, Thelma & Louise.
And Ross, himself is a wonderful entertainer as he both sings and plays the guitar.
My hosts, Ross and Darlene did not forget to prepare a trucker-style breakfast before I left them. Also, Darlene had put together a big bag of sandwiches, Chips, Muffins and even easter-eggs and a bottle of apple juice, all for "on-the-road" supplies.
Ross had warned me against taking the Winnipeg perimeter Rd on the east-side, as construction areas would make traffic go slow there, so I followed his advice and took the better, though longer, west side around the city. Eventually, I got to Hwy 75 south heading to the Emerson border station. Having no license plates on the car, made me somewhat anxious as to what the procedure would be this time. But I shouldn't have worried, for after me handing over my passport, the officer asked whether I had the VIN# on some paper with me. Of course I had it on the bill of sale and the insurance papers. After checking it, he asked where I would exit the US and how many days it would take me to get there, and then I was free to go. Easy-Peasy border crossing!
Heading south through North Dakota I have done many times, but today I was on I-29, following it to Fargo. From there I took I-94 east and only a few miles later, I was in Minnesota. The sun came out and it was a great drive. The Mercedes drives just like a brand-new car. People in passing vehicles were craning their neck to get a glimpse of my car, and stopping at gas stations, I drew the curiosity of quite a guy. I stopped at a Walmart to take a break, bought bananas and donuts (Boston Cream is my all-time favorite) and joined the light traffic eastwards again.
I pulled off the road before dark and I am so stuffed from Darlene's "road supply" that I skipped a visit to a restaurant.
It was past 8pm and pitchdark when the turboprop finally started to taxi into start position. After spending most of the day at Fredericton airport, I was enroute to Toronto with a following connection to Winnipeg. But would I get to Toronto in time to catch the next flight? I did with a few minutes to spare. This was a much bigger airplane with 3 seats on each side of the aisle. I had booked a seat at the aisle and was surprised that the other 2 seats remained empty. So I could stretch my legs and had the luxury of lots of room.
We arrived Winnipeg International Airport just a few minutes shy of midnight.
I found Ross, the owner of the Mercedes, waiting at the bottom of the stairs holding a name sign. Ross lives 45 minutes north of Winnipeg and we were soon heading out of the city on Hwy 8. I was extremely tired and feeling drained, but Ross was eager to show me into his garage where he had his Mercedes, a large 560SEL, entirely in original condition.
But it was time to get to sleep, I felt like my eyes were burning out.
Next morning Ross and I went for breakfast to a nearby local diner. Eggs and bacon are doing wonders on a tired man,
and soon we were ready to start the day with various errands. First stop was a local garage where the car was put on a hoist. It was sure amazing to see that a 30-year old vehicle could be so entirely free of rust. Everything seemed to be in perfect condition. There was no reason not to buy this car, so next stop was the bank and then we got to an office of Manitoba Autopac, where I got a temporary registration and insurance sticker.
Driving a 560SEL is a special experience. The engine produces more than 300hp moving the 4000 pounds of the car down the highway and doing it with ease.
Ross and his wife Darlene are 2 extraordinary friendly people who are constantly thinking what else of good they can do for you.
After enjoying their boundless hospitality, It is time to start on the trail back home today. Next posting from the road.
The trip to Manitoba had been booked for weeks. But why would I go to Manitoba? Over the past 15 years I have been in Manitoba only once - for 2 days. And nothing would have tempted me to go back except that I discovered a 30-year old car, a well-kept Mercedes. We had previously sold our red convertible and I guess the garage needs to be filled again. So I booked a flight to Winnipeg for today. It's also my dad's birthday. At 93 he his doing alright in a nursing home. We always teased him with March 8th also being the International Women's Day. Knowing about snow moving into the area, Bea drove me to Frederiction yesterday. I had booked a stay in a motel which turned out to be in the middle of nowhere. The fact that it was "in nowhere's land" had been camouflaged by the name "Airport Inn". I guess it's just that anybody would assume that the thing is not somewhere along a lonely highway, far from modern amenities. But this is not New York or Toronto. It is a rural area that at some time acquired town or city status. Anyway, there I was waking up this morning to a light snowfall. Checking my emails, I saw one from WestJet, my airline. It showed my itinerary and then another one. The first one had been canceled, the second one running 7 hours later, needed my acceptance. But first I called WestJet. The agent told me the reason for the cancellation was WEATHER. A snow storm in Toronto she said and it'll be coming here to New Brunswick as well. Really too bad that I had to wait until 7pm for departure. What to do? I accepted the new departure and called Bea who was safely home with Dixie. She informed me about a blizzard going on at the coast and was fearing a power outage. Before she got home yesterday, she had picked up a new bigger crate for our fast-growing Dixie. (see difference in pictures below)
Since the motel is far from any eating place, I ordered a taxi for 11am to get me to the airport 2 miles away. Supposedly, they had a restaurant on-site. It's called Freddy's Bistro. Let me hurry and say it's not worth the ride, but they do have coffee and some sandwiches. The airport seemed entirely deserted. Only 2 more people hanging out there this morning. The windows were white of drifting snow. Shadows of snowplows passing along the airport building. I started by checking in - no wait lines there haha... Next stop was at Freddy's to get some breakfast. They brought it to my table and I wolfed it down. Breakfast at 11:30am is way behind my usual time. I found a receptacle to plug in my aging laptop, whose battery capacity is zero. The hours went by...one after one after one. Another coffee and a cookie, and then another coffee and a muffin, those came free as the keeper of Freddy's had abandoned the place and couldn't be found despite me hollering around. They make enough money there to compensate. Trust me on that one. The TV on the wall was alternating the news of the day in English and French. I sent out messages about my predicament but the reactions were sparse. Winnipeg got on the horizon for a midnight arrival. And then WestJet sent me another email. This time the delay was only 30 minutes. If they keep this promise it will not affect the connecting flight to Winnipeg. I have a neighbour here at the lounge. He has been keeping me company and has to wait even longer than me. We talked a bit before each of us dived back into the depths of our laptops. Halfway through the afternoon a guy from Toronto sent me a message saying that weather in Toronto had never been better than today. That makes me wonder what WestJet is up to? You gotta know that flights have been arriving and leaving here all morning - in drifting snow conditions though a security guy told me that the control guy on the runway had not seen the planes coming in before they actually hit the tarmac. So visibility wasn't at a prime, I assume. Once in a while prospective passengers are joining here in the lounge. It's 5:30 now. 2 more hours to go. Time to pack up. See ya later.
It is a well-known fact that storms are more common during spring and fall than during summer months, at least I think around our northern neck of the woods. Leaving February behind we got it a bit "breezy" around the island. Additional excitement is promised by the full moon which always causes the tides to rise and fall to the extremes. Yesterday's high tide was at 7.88m (26ft) and with the wind pushing waters up against the shore, the waves reached the top of the beach and washed into the outlet of Lake Glensevern.
Leading a conversation was difficult as we almost had to shout to each other, the crashing waves causing such a continuous thunder. The big nature show as we love it so much out here, had entered the grand stage, and it is far from being over yet. The "fresh breeze" (lol) as one could read in the German "Wetter.com" service is continuing throughout the day today. And I realize that we got off this storm the easy way, if we compare with f.e.x. Massachusetts, where the Boston harbour area is under water and many had to be evacuated. Over a million people have lost power along the eastern seaboard.
