Across and up the US........to Manitoba, Canada....and great friends....

Stu and I have formed a friendship with another Australian couple on exchange to Denver...Sharon and Lindsay Smith, who are from NSW, and I have really valued having Sharon around these past 6 months...always good to have an Aussie ear to listen to you when you are so far from family and friends. Sharon and Lindsay did an exchange to Manitoba, Canada (with 3 young kids) about 20 years ago and met a couple, Dwight and Monique Propp, from Manitoba who had just completed an exchange to Tasmania (with 3 young kids)....and a long friendship has evolved.
So when Monique and Dwight came to Denver to catch up with Sharon and Lindsay we met them and I immediately clicked with Monique.  We had a couple of meals together and both offered our homes in Steinbach, Manitoba and Australind for a visit.
After Morgan and Jakeb flew back to WA we hadn't really planned on where we were going and Monique had kept in contact asking us up to their place.  So we thought...why not?  We looked at the map and it was only a 2700km trip or 25 hrs driving straight through from Washington DC to Steinbach.  This is a walk in the park after living in the Kimberley so we decided to go.  You know when you are on exchange that you should grab any opportunity that comes your way and this was one of those.

So we left a very hot DC on the Monday morning and drove and drove...at some stage we didn't know what State we were in, or if indeed we were heading the right way......but we did pass through some lovely country on major roads....

We have been to Pennsylvania many times now, but this time we were blessed with an amazing, intense storm, where the road was barely visible.  The temperature dropped dramatically, there was thunder and lightning and loads of cars pulled over due to poor visibility.

When it cleared up and the sun started to go down, we were treated to this view....

We drove for 3 days, overnighting in cheap hotels,

passing through Chicago again.....

 Milwaukee in Wisconsin,

 and being really excited to see this.....one of my favourite shows growing up!

5 years ago we flew to Minnesota for Antonette and Tony's son, Daniel's wedding to Jessica. So it was with fondness that we drove into the State of Minnesota.....

and around the outskirts of St Paul/Minneapolis (where the wedding was held).  When I messaged Antonette that night, she told me it was 5 years to the day that we were there..Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be back there again!  The countryside was delightful....farms, green paddocks, lakes and the sun was going down....

Our last day of driving before we got to Monique and Dwight's was up through Minnesota, which of course has huge snowfall, so it was to be expected to see this type of vehicle being advertised...but still a little weird for us!

The border crossing at Tolstoi was simple...with really friendly Customs Officers...and before we knew it, we were in.....

Monique and Dwight have a cabin near Lake Winnipeg up at Victoria Beach, which was another couple of hours further than Steinbach, so our next challenge was to find their cabin. I was really, really excited to be travelling on this road,

as I always loved Gene Pitney's song..."Trans Canada Highway".....I think Catherine or Margaret had it on one of their "Ripper '76" records....remember the K Tel records, girls?

 Turns out it isn't well know in North America and maybe my family are the only ones who know it in Australia...(at least I hope they know it!)  Anyway...back to Manitoba......
With a little help from a lady in an office at the Victoria Beach Restricted Area (and not needing a taxi, paying parking or carting bags) we eventually found the Propp's place.  And how lovely was it to see them both again and to be made to feel so welcome.
After a few beers we wandered down to the Lake (Winnipeg) to see the sun go down. It was such a still night and the water looked glorious....dare I say, Leschenault Estuary came to mind....except we saw a beaver lodge......there's not too many of those in the estuary at home!

After a lovely meal and great conversation we went to bed in the gorgeous bunk house that they have added on to their place, along with a covered in verandah (that I look forward to seeing finished photos of). The cabin has the relaxed feel of Windy Harbour to it. After a big sleep in we spent the the next day sleeping, eating and drinking....with a quick visit to the shops and to try and get internet to get an Ashes score update.  Not sure why we bothered with that though. :(
That evening Monique and Dwight's son, Chris and daughter- in -law Erin came up from Winnipeg for the night.  It was really nice to meet them both and to see Erin's lovely baby bump.
We sat around the campfire...not only to keep warm but also as a deterrent for the hugest amount of mozzies and fishflies I have ever seen in my life.  It was unbelievable.

Our last full day at the cabin included sleeping in, chatting, bocce

and another game that was supposed to be football, but involved throwing what looked like bulls testicles attached with rope over a frame!!.....I think Josh won all the games!

and then a boat ride out onto the lake....which was just fantastic....

Joshuah came with us, but after Stuart stole his jumper, he was getting really cold, so Dwight took the boat back to shore, dropping Josh into the water, near the path to their cabin.

 There is a beach area that one of the owners has private ownership of...which can create a bit of an issue when people use it.....and they have erected this sign....

and you know how I like to spot Kath and Kel lookalikes...well....we dropped Josh off, away from people who were swimming, into the area where "the sign" is....but they don't own the water...just the sand on the beach.  Josh waded to shore and as he reached the shoreline, this Kath wannabee got out of her chair and started striding, furiously over to Joshuah....waving her arms at him.  Stu saw all this, so he's yelling to Josh'''run, run for your life"...and then waving hello at the Kath lookalike, who by this stage had stopped chasing him and was marching back to her chair and had her binoculars out.  It was such a shame to see it all...it must be exhausting for this woman, trying to enjoy "her beach", while keeping riffraff like Joshuah away....when would she get to relax? But it gave us all a good laugh.  As for Josh, he was totally oblivious to it all! (sadly I have no photo of said Kath lookalike).
When we got back to the cabin Dwight generously gave Stuart one of his Manitoba number plates to add to our collection...this one we will hang with pride.

That evening, Monique's nephew, Mark arrived with his wife Candice and their 2 delightful girls (who both attend a French speaking school and are fluent in French and English) and we all sat around the campfire...had lots of laughs and great conversation. Hey, my sisters, I told these girls I could speak another language too..."Irrigy"! (Is that how it's spelt?) They were impressed!

before we Aussies were introduced to cooking snags the Canadian way...on a stick over the fire....so easy....all those years of taking a hot plate up the Fitzroy River and cooking the snags for the boys that way...how much fun would it have been to do it like this.....

and had a taste of pierogi which Mark cooked for us.  It was the end to a great couple of days, spending time with wonderful people and being made to feel so very welcome.  We are so looking forward to Monique and Dwight coming to WA, hopefully next year and being able to return the favour...although I'm not too sure how we can compete with the bull's testicles!