Roasting Marshmallows in Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba

We arrived in Winnipeg maybe between two and three, and so we seemed to be making good time. 

Two things, however. 

First, I needed to exchange some currency. None of the towns that we had passed through in Manitoba were big enough to have currency exchange places,  or apparently even banks. So we had to go into Winnipeg itself in hopes of finding just such a place. But it proved almost shockingly difficult to find one, even with GPS. Also, the traffic lights were very long, which I remember from other trips north of the border. Guess that it's a Canadian thing. 

So all of that was one. 

Then the other thing was that I wanted to avoid what happened the previous evening, when we arrived at the International Peace Garden very late,  and had a surprisingly tough time even finding directions to the campground on any signs once we actually got there. Very strange. Then, finding our specific tent site also proved to be a bit of a fiasco. 

The place where we were going to camp on this night  - actually it was a cabin - was still the better part of an hour away. And going into the city, with the traffic and especially those very long traffic lights, made us lose even more time. So what I had initially expected to be most of the afternoon suddenly was growing later and later. 

As it turns out, the campground was actually just a small room in some guy's backyard. Not deluxe accommodations,  to be sure. But it was more than adequate for our purposes. Also, he was really cool and relaxed and helpful. Probably, I should have called him from Winnipeg and arranged something over the phone, so we could stay in the city and visit. 

Then again, I wanted to do this in the daylight. Yes, it was a cabin, but we still had to find the place  - there was no exact street address,  which I didn't understand until actually seeing the place  - and then bring in our stuff. All of that would just be much easier with the benefit of daylight. 

So we did all of that. Then, back to the city for a visit. 

Once we got there, though, we both wanted to eat. And we both chowed down on poutine, one of our favorite dishes whenever we come up to Canada. 

Finally, we started to visit Winnipeg, after all of that.  In truth, there were several things that seemed the most attractive options. The Legislative Building was easily the most famous and iconic image of this city,  even from seeing pictures of it as a kid. But there were also some other places of interest, including two beautiful gardens. 

We visited the gardens and the Legislative Building. But my son had wanted to build a campfire. We were both tired, and it was getting late. Originally, I had wanted to stay in the city until dark, and see it all lit up. 

Suddenly, though, the idea of sitting by a campfire with my son and roasting Marshmallows was very attractive. Almost irresistible. He agreed. And so we headed back to our cabin in Winnipeg Beach. 

Again, the guy was super helpful. We needed kindling,  and he got us some. We were able to get a good fire going. 

Well, my son was. He said that it was the first really decent campfire that he had built without the benefit of lighter fluid. 

And so we sat and ended a very busy and, frankly, tiring day with a beautiful campfire. Roasting Marshmallows and exchanged stories and laughed at some jokes. A perfect way, really, to end what had been a really long day. 

I went to bed far earlier than he did. Once I was ready for sleep, I don't remember five minutes passing before conking out. 

Indeed, we had gone through a long and busy day,  but had another one coming up,  as well. 

Below is the one picture that I took of my son and the campfire that he built, with very little help,  last night.