Tow days after his last day at work, Vlad headed to Winnipeg to visit his friends and family. I joined him two weeks after since I continued working a bit longer and wanted to be in New York for my brother's 30th birthday. Vlad was very excited to go back to his hometown early and be able to see his cousin Joe who traveled from Calgary with his lovely wife Michelle and their three boys.
It was a bit hard to be apart from Vlad for two weeks and we were looking forward to our reunion. Vlad surprised me at the airport with his new look: a mustache. He proudly grew it for me for over a week. It made him look like an old school samurai or that guy from Super Troopers hehe. I entertained this new look for a day and a half and after a very thorough photo shoot of "the stach" from all possible angles, I encouraged Vlad to go back to his normal look and become super handsome again. Thankfully he did.
Now a bit about Winnipeg; just as a reminder, because I'm sure all my readers are really good at geography, Winnipeg is located in the province of Manitoba, which boarders North Dakota and Minnesota. It has a population of about 670 thousand people and is Canada's seventh largest city. In terms of demographics, there is a lot of people of English, Scottish and German, and Ukrainian descent. Also, Filipinos make up 9% of the population while those of polish descent a whopping 7.8%!
This was my third time to Winnipeg but first in the summer. Summertime in Winnipeg can get very hot. Because of its location, summer days are very long. I was pretty shocked when it was still bright out at 10pm. It made me a bit confused the first few nights because I kept assuming it was about 6-7pm while it was really 9pm.
We spent most of our days visiting family and friends and meeting quite a few new babies. I always love to see how happy Vlad gets when he is reunited with his loved ones whether he's going out with them or simply chilling on a couch and watching TV. We spent some very relaxing days with Vlad's parents and ate some delicious meals made by Mom. A daily treat that we had was waking up to different genres of music played by Dad; from the Jersey Boys era to traditional polish Polka music. A few days after my arrival we went to Assinboine park with Vlad's cousin Jonas, his wife Reba and baby Jordan. The park is very spacious and green. Baby Jordan enjoyed it very much, except for the swing which he was not a fan of. We also went to Regent Casino one night and had lots of fun playing slot machines. Vlad was the only one who had some luck this time but I am pretty sure that Mom had the best time playing. It was a great evening finished with dinner of some local pickerel fish. On the weekend, Vlad's parents hosted a BBQ at their house to gather friends and family together. Before the fun evening started, Vlad, Auntie Tessie and I worked on putting pork on skewers which Vlad's mom marinated in her special sauce the day before. We must have made over a hundred of them and they were all gone by the end of the day. I heard they were delicious.
Here is Winnipeg on the map. Driving not recommended.
Prudhome Bay Prudhome Bay
Neighborhood where Vlad's parents live
10pm in Winnipeg10pm in Winnipeg
10pm on a June night in Winnipeg
CasinoCasino
Vlad and his parents Sally and Eddie in the aquarium tunnel at Regent Casino.
New Canadian $5New Canadian $5
New $5 bill, made of plastic.
Family time on the porchFamily time on the porch
Vlad's stach having coffee with the family.
Vlad and baby LoganVlad and baby Logan
Visiting Gerald and his family - Vlad with baby Logan.
Vlad, Jonas, Gerald at Earl'sVlad, Jonas, Gerald at Earl's
Boys reunion over beers at Vlad's favorite bar/restaurant Earl's
Ate Lina, Chantal and Charmaine brought us this delicious traditional filipino ube cake with coconut filling. Ube is a purple vegetable similar to a yam.
Ube cakeUbe cake
What a beautiful cake
Auntie TessieAuntie Tessie
Auntie Tessie prepping for the family BBQ
Mom and Reba prepping for the BBQ.
Vlad's dadVlad's dad
Dad relaxing during the BBQ
Jared and baby JackJared and baby Jack
Vlad's friend Jared and his cute son Jack
Vlad and Baby JordanVlad and Baby Jordan
Baby Jordan in his favorite outfit
Cameron and JackCameron and Jack
Jared's kids Camryn and Jack
Cousin Joan and baby Sheridan Cousin Joan and baby Sheridan
Cousin Joan and baby Sheridan
Vlad and uncle FloydVlad and uncle Floyd
Vlad and uncle Floyd
AuntiesAunties
Aunties enjoying the food
Family shot at the BBQ. Vlad's apron is about 22 years old, from his first job at Sbarro. Still in such good shape! (both apron and Vlad).
Vlad's high school friend reunionVlad's high school friend reunion
Vlad's high school friends reunion
Cool bathrooms in Assiniboine ParkCool bathrooms in Assiniboine Park
Cool bathrooms in Assiniboine Park. Because the front was made of mirrors, these bathrooms reflected the greenery and were a lot less noticeable.
Family timeFamily time
Family time: Reba, baby Jordan and Jonas at Assiniboine Park
Vlad and JordanVlad and Jordan
Vlad and Jordan playing a game of "open, close" which Jordan loved.
Happy BabyHappy Baby
Happy Baby
Sour faceSour face
Jordan was not too pleased about the sour strawberry
Neal, Vlad, and RyanNeal, Vlad, and Ryan
Sushi with friends: Neal, Vlad and Ryan
Dinner with friendsDinner with friends
Dinner with friends: Vlad, Ryan, Vanessa, Edyta, and Neal
Workouts with RyanWorkouts with Ryan
We workout with Ryan a few times and it was no joke. Squats in 50lb vest and sprints with parachutte are some of his favorites methods of torture. It was great though!
