Saturday, September 25, 2010

From Dryden to Brandon

We left Dryden on Wednesday September 15th and travelled through Kenora, skirted Winnipeg and arrived in to Brandon after a 600 KM ride. 

Weather at Brandon
The weather was cool and over cast but it wasn't raining - yet. Along the way we were gifted with many scenes of prairie showers like this one...but they stayed off in the distance
.
Hotel at Brandon
We arrived at our hotel and were pleasantly surprised by the airplane out front. 
It was to be one of a few very pleasant surprises.

 honours those who died at the Aerodrome in Paulson
The Bolingbroke Mk IV that honours those who died at the Aerodrome in Paulson MN in 1943 - it was restored as part of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum.

The great lobby of Hotel at Brandon
The gorgeous lobby made the first impression of this hotel even stronger - this was going to be a fabulous place to stay...


The service awards for customer service that this property proudly displays as a reminder to the staff and the customer why they are here - CUSTOMER SERVICE!
act for the tourist.in Brandon
Although all of the hotels had visitor information - the information here was of slightly superior quality to some - obviously the tourism bureau here understands the value of hotels as points of contact for the tourist.




Many of the Comfort Inns have BBQ areas with grills and seating - this one just has a really stellar one and had it not been so cold I think I could have enjoyed a BBQ and a gab outside.

The service and the atmosphere here was amazing and I am deeply grateful for the staff and management here - they were wonderful. Please make sure you give this location of the Comfort Inn a shot if you are in the region...they are really great at customer service and the hotel is wonderful!

Comfort Inn Brandon
925 Middleton Ave
Brandon MB R7C 1A8
(204) 727-6232
Toll Free: 1-866-958-9898

Brandon is a pretty city it is too bad that it was so over cast when we rode around the city!

Off to Cycle Boyz - Brent and Derrick Law are busier than ever at their shop - they along with a core group of rider owned businesses are the hosts of the Stoney Creek Smoker in Neepawa.










incredibly different bikes
They do some incredibly different bikes - a good volume of service work  and they play as hard as they work!

The show room is filled with all kinds of memorabilia - most of it celebrating the 40's and 50's









The unique bathroom door in the show room
CYCLE BOYZ CUSTOMS INC.
 358 Park Avenue East.
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

R7A 7A7

ph: 204-726-4641
http://www.cycleboyz.com/




Just another taste of the eccentric sense of humour and creativity of the Boyz...To stop in see what these creative and innovative thinkers do...It was great seeing Brent & Derrick - but now in the pouring, driving rain we are off to Saskatoon...

Until later...ride safe

From Yorkton to Kenora

In order to get to Kenora ON from Yorkton  SK we travelled through Manitoba. We would not be stopping much as our schedule was tight.  We stopped in Minnedosa for fuel and asked for a recommendation as to where to eat. We were told Maushies Family Restaurant, but when we got there they had just closed so we decided to try the Lorelei Restaurant at the Valley Motor Lodge.

The town of Minnedosa has changed a lot since I was a young girl - or maybe my memories are fuzzy. The town seemed shabby, unloved with uncared for streets - the town I remember seemed so alive and vibrant.
While the town may have changed some, the valley with the Little Saskatchewan river was as pretty as I remembered it to be.
The Duck at the rest stop
The Valley at Kenora
The Valley
The food at the restaurant we very affordable and very tasty. The decor of the restaurant amazed me. It was beautiful - very different in fact from the outdoor appeal of the hotel.


From Minnedosa we headed east to Winnipeg where we fuelled up at the Flying J on the West side. 
Our stop was brief - fuel and bathroom as we needed to get to Kenora and our room for the night. The next morning was to be a big morning for me. We were hooking up with the Motorcycle Ride for Dad National Cross Canada Run!

Next stop, Kenora, until later...ride safe

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Looking forward to going through my home province!

I was born in Fort Churchill Manitoba. I lived in Winnipeg as a kid - both mom and dad were in the Armed Forces back in the day when it was the RCAF. This summer I am supposed to be riding to Digby Nova Scotia and on the way I am spending a couple of days in the Brandon and Winnipeg area!

I hope to have some of my friends help me to research the places to stop and things to see while on my trip.