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Day 6 (9 Jan 99) Odometer 112553 kms. We got up the next morning to a home cooked breakfast (forgot what that smelled, looked and tasted like). Gary and myself went sightseeing in the old neighborhood (Fort Osborne Barracks), went to the Assiniboine Park Zoo to see the buffalo, and then went to the "Forks" (Red and Assiniboine rivers meet), bad flood there in the spring of 1997. Left Gary's place at 1500 hrs (CST) and made a bolt for Gladstone, Manitoba, the home of some of the most hospitible people on the planet. I walked into the Gladstone Legion at 1645 hrs (CST) and was met my Joe Fraser and his wife Bea. They took me over to another table where Power Mowatt and Jeff Mowatt and his wife were seated, along with Craig & Sheila Douglas and Patty Ferguson. There were also some other fine folks there to make me feel real welcome. Dwight Ferguson and Gordon and Betty Cogar could not be there. Now let me explain --- During March 1998 the Chester Legion (of which I am a member) hosted the 1998 Dominion of Canada Curling Championships. Teams representing every province in Canada (except Newfoundland) flocked to the tiny village of Chester for a week of fierce competition for the coveted National title. In the end PEI was victorious. But to me the highlights were meeting all of the new people from afar and trying to make their stay enjoyable. I had the honour of transporting the team from Manitoba and Northwest Ontario, the Gladstone Gang. We went whenever and whereever they wanted to go. And we had a ball. Well, when I walked into that Legion in Gladstone on 9 Jan 99, it was as if everyone there knew me. So if you ever find yourself driving across Canada and as you are going through Manitoba, you'd better stop in Gladstone! Believe me, you have to experience this to appreciate it. My car was placed in a heated garage overnight and I was swept away to the Mowatt Estate, where everyone followed and we dined on venison sausage and drank CLUB beer (brought back memories). |