Thursday afternoon, 07JUN, set up camp on Ed & Elaine’s after the “wonderful” drive we had thru the oil field activity of North Dakota detailed in our previous BLOG. Every couple of years we visit Corrie’s relatives in & around Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Usually this is tied into a reunion or special event (like a wedding). This time its Corrie’s brother & wife’s, Ed & Elaine, marriage of son Jason Riesmeyer to Katelyn Miller. See below BLOG entries for our last visit to the Canadian side of the family back in SEP09.
http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.ca/2009/09/04-18sep09-sprucewoods-mb-via-swift.html
http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.ca/2009/09/19sep09-clear-lake-mb.html
http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.ca/2009/09/20-26sep09-sprucewoods-mb.html
Since Ed is now fully retired, he was available the next day, Friday, to help Dan make some repairs to the RV. First up was a more “permanent” temporary repair to the engine exhaust which almost caused the RV to catch on fire when we left Rebecca & Raymond’s back in MAR12. First they discovered the muffler shops in Brandon could not bend four inch exhaust pipe. Eventually they found a four inch tip that Ed could weld to a piece of four inch pipe he had in his shop. The last step was to attach both exhaust pieces with stainless steel pipe clamps that will outlast the engine. Next up was fixing the generator exhaust hanger that we fixed three years ago.
Later that evening the four of us headed to a neighbors house for impromptu party. Just like in the states there was plenty of good food & drink, along with good company. One thing that was different was the launching of fireworks after the sun set. Seems fireworks are sold all year in Manitoba, & it is not unusual to fire them off at parties, receptions, etc.
Saturday was a family surprise party for Alie, Corrie’s half sister. Most of the Riesmeyer family was there, including a couple of “new” nieces/nephews we hadn’t met previously. Again there was good food, drink & company; but since this was a daytime affair, there was no fireworks.
In between parties we assisted Ed & Elaine with preparations for the wedding on Saturday, 16JAN. On Tuesday, 12JUN, Tuesday, Ed took Dan to Shilo the Canadian Armed Forces base where Ed used to work to visit the RCA Museum, Canada’s National Artillery Museum. This is a very nice museum tracing the history of artillery corps in Canadian History from the first royal British units sent to Canada, to today’s modern mechanized Canadian units.
Trivia – what country had the third largest navy in the world at the end of WWII? What does the poppy flower & the poem “The Flanders Field” have to do with Canadian “Gunners”?
http://www.rcamuseum.com/English/eng_home.htm
Meanwhile Corrie was running-around visiting various relatives who we hadn’t seen at Alie’s party and/or weren’t going to see at the wedding. Dan kept himself busy by helping Ed by trying to stay out of Ed’s way as he worked in his shop (more like a small industrial facility measuring 20ft by 40ft!).
Friday, 15JUN, was the wedding rehearsal, which we did not attend but Ed & Elaine had to. Since Ed & Elaine were hosting the wedding party for food & drink after the rehearsal, we assisted by heating & preparing the food, setting out drinks, setting up the buffet, etc, right before everyone arrived after rehearsal; more good food, drink & company; but no fireworks.
We forgot to mention the wedding was going to be an outdoor affair. The entire week since our arrival the weather had been pretty “iffy” for any outdoor event. Saturday, the day of the wedding, we awoke to a moderate rain; but one hour before the wedding the weather broke & the rain did not return until one hour after the wedding. The wedding was in the small town of Wawanesa, Manitoba, overlooking the Assiniboine River. Turns out Wawanesa was the birthplace of one of the largest Canadian insurance companies; & once a year there is a corporate meeting in town in the company’s old building.
http://www.wawanesa.com/index.html
The reception, dinner & dance were held at the Junior Ranks Club on the Shilo base. It was a great day & evening with lots more good food, drink & company; but again no fireworks! One interesting thing at the reception/dance was the serving of a midnight meal right before the party broke up. Apparently this is a Manitoba (Canadian?) law that requires the serving of food & coffee for late night functions that involved the serving of alcohol. We know food & coffee will not sober-up someone who is already drunk, but it can’t hurt. Besides you know Dan, he is always ready for more food!
Sunday, Father’s Day, we all recovered from the wedding & preparing for the wedding! But there was one more event – the opening of wedding gifts by Jason & Katelyn. So it was back to Wawanesa for the event; & more food, drink & good company, but still no fireworks. Finally it was back to Ed & Elaine’s to just relax & slowly get the RV ready for tomorrow’s departure.
http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.ca/2009/09/04-18sep09-sprucewoods-mb-via-swift.html
http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.ca/2009/09/19sep09-clear-lake-mb.html
http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.ca/2009/09/20-26sep09-sprucewoods-mb.html
Since Ed is now fully retired, he was available the next day, Friday, to help Dan make some repairs to the RV. First up was a more “permanent” temporary repair to the engine exhaust which almost caused the RV to catch on fire when we left Rebecca & Raymond’s back in MAR12. First they discovered the muffler shops in Brandon could not bend four inch exhaust pipe. Eventually they found a four inch tip that Ed could weld to a piece of four inch pipe he had in his shop. The last step was to attach both exhaust pieces with stainless steel pipe clamps that will outlast the engine. Next up was fixing the generator exhaust hanger that we fixed three years ago.
Later that evening the four of us headed to a neighbors house for impromptu party. Just like in the states there was plenty of good food & drink, along with good company. One thing that was different was the launching of fireworks after the sun set. Seems fireworks are sold all year in Manitoba, & it is not unusual to fire them off at parties, receptions, etc.
Saturday was a family surprise party for Alie, Corrie’s half sister. Most of the Riesmeyer family was there, including a couple of “new” nieces/nephews we hadn’t met previously. Again there was good food, drink & company; but since this was a daytime affair, there was no fireworks.
In between parties we assisted Ed & Elaine with preparations for the wedding on Saturday, 16JAN. On Tuesday, 12JUN, Tuesday, Ed took Dan to Shilo the Canadian Armed Forces base where Ed used to work to visit the RCA Museum, Canada’s National Artillery Museum. This is a very nice museum tracing the history of artillery corps in Canadian History from the first royal British units sent to Canada, to today’s modern mechanized Canadian units.
Trivia – what country had the third largest navy in the world at the end of WWII? What does the poppy flower & the poem “The Flanders Field” have to do with Canadian “Gunners”?
http://www.rcamuseum.com/English/eng_home.htm
Meanwhile Corrie was running-around visiting various relatives who we hadn’t seen at Alie’s party and/or weren’t going to see at the wedding. Dan kept himself busy by helping Ed by trying to stay out of Ed’s way as he worked in his shop (more like a small industrial facility measuring 20ft by 40ft!).
Friday, 15JUN, was the wedding rehearsal, which we did not attend but Ed & Elaine had to. Since Ed & Elaine were hosting the wedding party for food & drink after the rehearsal, we assisted by heating & preparing the food, setting out drinks, setting up the buffet, etc, right before everyone arrived after rehearsal; more good food, drink & company; but no fireworks.
We forgot to mention the wedding was going to be an outdoor affair. The entire week since our arrival the weather had been pretty “iffy” for any outdoor event. Saturday, the day of the wedding, we awoke to a moderate rain; but one hour before the wedding the weather broke & the rain did not return until one hour after the wedding. The wedding was in the small town of Wawanesa, Manitoba, overlooking the Assiniboine River. Turns out Wawanesa was the birthplace of one of the largest Canadian insurance companies; & once a year there is a corporate meeting in town in the company’s old building.
http://www.wawanesa.com/index.htmlThe reception, dinner & dance were held at the Junior Ranks Club on the Shilo base. It was a great day & evening with lots more good food, drink & company; but again no fireworks! One interesting thing at the reception/dance was the serving of a midnight meal right before the party broke up. Apparently this is a Manitoba (Canadian?) law that requires the serving of food & coffee for late night functions that involved the serving of alcohol. We know food & coffee will not sober-up someone who is already drunk, but it can’t hurt. Besides you know Dan, he is always ready for more food!
Sunday, Father’s Day, we all recovered from the wedding & preparing for the wedding! But there was one more event – the opening of wedding gifts by Jason & Katelyn. So it was back to Wawanesa for the event; & more food, drink & good company, but still no fireworks. Finally it was back to Ed & Elaine’s to just relax & slowly get the RV ready for tomorrow’s departure.
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