#142 Nomad Diary. 8 July 2023. Arriving to Huggybears B&B in Manitoba, Canada. Surprize Connection to Belgium and New Friends.
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| Deck at Huggybears Bed and Breakfast in Manitoba, Canada near Virden. |
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| View from the Garden at Huggybears in Manitoba, Canada |
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| Cute Sign |
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| A Vibrant Yellow Field of Rapeseed for Making Canola Oil. Taken in Either North Dakota or Manitoba, Canada |
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| Pretty Birch Trees at Kenosee Lake Stop in Saskatchiwan, Canada |
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| Kenosee Lake Stop |
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| Going Local at a North Dakota Small Town Cafe |
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| Vast Yellow Flowering Fields. July Scenery in Manitoba, Canada. Trans-Canada Highway. Saturday 8. Today we woke up in Williston, North Dakota. We slept comfortably in a lovely two bedroom airbnb house. We were able to get our laundry done here too. For breakfast we have cereal and coffee. We are heading north to cross into Canada in Saskatchewan. On our way we stopped for lunch at a very small town diner. It’s unremarkable and we lived! Lol. When we get to the border, we are the only ones there. It’s a very slow gate. We get interviewed by the guard and then go on in. The views on our drive to Huggybears bed and breakfast are fields of yellow flowers. They are growing rapeseed that produces canola oil. There is also dark green and blue, but it is the massive yellow fields that are attention-getting. We see beaver houses on ponds. I see a couple of porcupines that are roadkill. We also see a black bear crossing the highway somewhere while we were driving in Manitoba. We have dinner at a hotel restaurant so that we time arriving at Huggybears after our evening meal. We arrive to a farmhouse from another era and there are our hosts to greet us, a dog and a couple of cats too. We booked here because about 4 or 5 years ago, our son Jeremy and his wife stayed here on their way driving west. Our kids knew their kids through church in Washington state. So now we are stopping by on a Saturday night and staying to go to church on Sunday morning with our hosts LaDean and Luc. LaDean offers to have a visit together and we say yes. We all sit together on the deck and find out that they used to live in Belgium. Luc’s family is from there and LaDean went there during college and stayed after meeting Luc. At least that’s my version of their story! Lol. We were in Belgium this past October for a couple of nights. We happened to be at Luc’s hometown, met his 99 year old mother and one of his brothers at church there! So, then we were more than friends now! We chatted for a couple hours into the night. The sunset is late around 10pm. I enjoyed picking a few raspberries in the garden. On Sunday morning LaDean and Luc made us a delicious breakfast with Belgian waffles being the centerpiece topped with yogurt, fresh whipped cream and berries. Luc asked Darrell if he would like to preach today, and he said yes. We enjoyed more visiting during a relaxed breakfast. We packed up our truck to be ready to head east right after worship. We had made a reservation to stay at an airbnb in Dryden which was quite a long drive, more than 5 hours. Our original plan was to be a couple hours closer to Dryden in Winnipeg, but we added driving time when we decided to come farther west to Saskatchiwan. As we were leaving Huggybear’s I realized that this business name is a play on Luc and LaDean’s last name that is Belgian and hard for English people to say! Lol! Below I copied and pasted LaDean’s facebook post about our visit to their B&B "Some people believe in coincidence, I for one believe in God-incidences! There are things that are just too incredible to brush off as something that happens by chance! Get ready to get chills, folks! The couple pictured below, booked into Huggybears B&B on the weekend. We knew they were the parents and parents-in-law of a young couple who had stayed with us previously. Their kids knew our daughter and son-in-law in Washington and had attended the same church. Before our guests arrived they also had requested to attend our church with us the following day, as we also had the same church background. After they arrived and we were getting acquainted on the front deck, our guests mentioned that they had understood Luc to be originally from Belgium. They had just been to Belgium in the fall. To one place. Where they met up with a friend from the Netherlands. This one place wasn't Brussels, Brugge, Liege, Gent or Antwerp, it was Roeselare. Roeselare! Where Luc was born, our children were born, and where his Mom, brother and sister-in-law still live! Of course we then were curious as to why they had been to Roeselare, of all places? It's not touristy! They told us their friend preaches for the church of Christ in Roeselare once a month, so they arranged to meet there. And who did they meet but José Huyghebaert, Johan and Ludwin Huyghebaert, (Luc's mom, brother and sister-in-law), plus our nephew and his family, and all the other folks from our old congregation. They even went out for a meal with everyone, and had pictures to prove it! It's a small, small world folks! God brings us all together when we least expect it, and we are blessed by these God- incidences!! Thank you, Darrell and Sherry for your visit and for all the nice photos! Your names have been submitted in the Memorable Visits Hall of Fame!   " |
July 9-14 Road Trip on Trans-Canadian Highway. Highlights:
Sunday. 9. Darrell preached at the church in Elkhorn where Luc and LaDean worship. Luc usually preaches and asked Darrell if he would. We enjoyed meeting with the group there and singing and studying and having communion together. We left right after services. Drive from Elkhorn to Dryden. It was a long drive. We had a wonderful airbnb waiting for us in Dryden. We slept great!
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| Looking Down River from Kakabeka Falls |
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| Kakabeka Falls, Canada |
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| Making Veggie Soup in Our Instapot at Kakabeka Falls Airbnb |
Monday and Tuesday nights. 10-11. We stayed at an airbnb at Kakabeka Falls. We enjoyed walking to the falls and also doing a hike in the woods. We made soup in our instapot one night. Another rare occasion of cooking for ourselves on this trip! lol.
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| View of Our Airbnb on Lake Superior at Gurney, Ontario. |
Wednesday. 12. We drove to Thunder Bay and had Finnish pancakes at a breakfast place. We went to Mt. Mckay and climbed straight up to the top! It's a challenge and a fabulous view. We drove to our next airbnb in Guerney in Nipignon Bay. This place was a neat rustic find. A third generation family vacation camp right on Lake Superior! They have a few rooms to rent through the summer. The owners Tracy and Eric spend their winters in Granada. While here we enjoyed the sunset at the small beach. We sat around the campfire with Tracy, Eric and one of their sons, Greg trading life stories. In the morning we slept in and Darrell made pancakes! Then we got on the road and headed for Wawa.
Thursday and Friday nights 13-14. we Stayed in Wawa at a nicely remodeled Motel. We drove to some waterfalls and beaches for sight seeing. We ate in the local restaurants and read some of the local history that is on display.
Notes: The scenery was enjoyable. Ontario and the north shore of Lake Superior are spectacular. The Canadians are very friendly and looking to have a conversation often. I so enjoyed the sparse population along our way. The cool weather was just right most of the time at 60-70 degrees. I'm so glad that we decided to do this trip. I would love to come again and see some of the sights, falls and beaches that we bypassed this time. I have warm fuzzies as I think about our good time together.
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