We went to Canada to see Elliott BROOD. First we saw them in Thunder Bay on Saturday night and then we drove to Winnipeg to see them on Monday. There was a lot of driving, but it was a fun trip and Elliott BROOD was great.

Saturday, September 23 – Drove to Winnipeg stopping in Grand Marais. Grand Marais was crazy busy. We wanted to go to the Angry Trout but the wait was an hour. We walked around in the rain and drizzle looking for another place and we ended up at the Gun Flint Tavern. We got a couple beers and some good food. No problems going across the boarder. We drove to The Courthouse Hotel, our hotel in Thunder Bay. We changed to Eastern time so by the time we got settled it was after 5:00pm. On our drive we listened to our Oh Canada playlist on Spotify. Some good songs and a lot left for more driving. We did a little walking and went to Lakehead Beer Company. Nice place and a good selection of beer. We then walked across the street to the Prospector Brewpub. One side is a steakhouse and the other is a brewpub. The beer was not good, but the food was great. I got the BBQ beef poutine that was huge and delicious. We walked a few blocks to the Royal Canadian Legion, Port Arthur, Branch No. 5, the venue for Elliott BROOD. Because we had paid for reserved seats, we could chose a spot at a table. it wasn’t too busy yet so we got a spot close to the stage.  It was like a legion in the US. Big open space with a stage on one end, an open floor, some tables around the floor, and bathroom and a place to get drinks in the back. I went back to get drinks and asked if they had an IPA. The server did not know what I was talkin about. So I said India Pale Ale, something with hops. She said they had Keith’s. So I got one of those and I got Karla a chardonnay. Keith’s was Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale. An English IPA. They did not take credit and I did not have Canadian currency. They would take US currency, but they would not do the conversion. Oh well. The difference is the tip. I got some Canadian change and used some of it to buy a sticker. We sat and listened to the first performer, Mike Fraser. Solo acoustic. The sound was not great but it was enjoyable. Next was Nick Sherman. About the same as the first guy. Solo acoustic but he added a stomp box to parts of some songs. I don’t think it added much. When Elliott BROOD started we stood up and moved toward the stage. Good crowd but it was not too crowded. Elliott BROOD started with a few new songs that I did not recognize. But they played all of the favorites and it was a lot of fun. They were loud and the crowd was jumping up and down. Towards the end they handed out pie plates and wooden spoons and the crowd joined in. They went off for a minute and came back for an encore. The first song was the theme to Cheers and the second was Fat Bottom Girls. Cheers was a little weird and I really had fun during Fat Bottom Girls. Karla later told me she does not think that is a song that should be celebrated. Elliott BROOD finished with Miss You Now. That was great. It was a really fun show it has been a long time since we saw a show like that. Smallish venue, good crowd, awesome songs. We stopped at the merch table and bought the vinyl of the last record and a CD of the new album that is coming out in November. It had been a long day so we walked back to the hotel and went to bed.

Sunday, September 25 – Woke up to a nice sunrise. Had some hotel breakfast. We headed out on the Trans-Canada highway towards Kenora. Listened to more of the Oh Canada playlist on Spotify. It was rainy off and on all day. I was not sure how fast to drive and there were a lot of trucks and other traffic. Every 10-20 km there were passing lanes so that was nice. We stopped once for a bathroom break in Ignace and we bought some Humpty Dumpty party mix. It was pretty good. We went to Lake of the Woods Brewing in Kenora. The brewery wasn’t open but the shop was. We went in the shop and I bought some beer, some socks, a can koozie, and a sticker. We had lunch at the Boathouse and it was good stuff. Back on the road, we drove to Winnipeg. Checked into the Humphry Inn and brought our stuff in. It was Sunday evening so there wasn’t a lot open. I drove to One Great City Brewing. Not too busy but we waited a few minutes to get some spots at the bar. We tried some beer and got some small plates. Good beer and really good food. I got a six pack to go. We went back to the hotel and tried to watch soccer but there was a weather delay. We tried to stay awake but the weather delay went on for a while. We called it a night and went to sleep.

Monday, September 25  – Slept in a just a little. Skipped the hotel breakfast went a few doors down to Modern Electric Lunch. Not too busy. Karla got eggs benedict that was good with asparagus and dill. I got the avocado toast that was very good. After breakfast we walked around Winnipeg.

There were a lot of parks, public art, and shops. We walked past the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (cool building) but it is not open on Mondays. We walked across the Esplanade Riel foot bridge (cool bridge) and over to St Boniface. St. Boniface had a fire and just the shell of the original church remains. They built a new church in the back part but the front is all open. Very interesting and picture worthy. We walked back across the bridge and checked out the Orientation Circle and Oodena Celebration Circle. From there we checked out some of the shops. The Forks Market has lots of restaurants and shops. We looked around for a long time and I think we visited every shop. By this time I was hungry so we looked around at the restaurants. Lots of places with counter service where you take your food to a common area. Karla picked a place with a Mediterranean salad and I got a pizza sandwich.  They also had a drink place that had beer and wine. It was a good selection of beer and I had two. After lunch we walked down to the river and went on a Splash Dash boat tour. It was just a pontoon but it was fun and informative. Then we went to check out the Millennium Library because John K Sampson wrote a song about it. It was about a 20 minute walk and it was turning out to be a really nice day. We went into the library and walked around a bit. We left and took some pictures of the outside. Not too far away was Lake of the Woods Brewing. We walked over and had a few beers. It was just a small counter but they brewed everything on the floor above. We talked with the people working there and it was a nice stop. Karla got a crowler to go. We walked back to the hotel and relaxed a bit. I suggested we walk over to Earl’s Kitchen + Bar to get something to eat. Nice place that was kind of busy but we got a seat right away and the service was really good. We started with a crab cake and some drinks. Karla got the Earls Chicken Biryani and I got Chicken Hunan Kung Pao. Both were very good. We still had some time before the show, so after dinner we walked to The Devil May Care Brewing. Not busy at all. We may have been the only customers. We sat at the bar and talked with the employees and tried a couple beers. I would have liked to stay longer but it was time to go to Blue Note Park. At the entrance they just asked for my name and they stamped our hands and let us in. We found a place to sit at a picnic table near the stage. They had a much better beer selection than Thunder Bay and I got a round. They also took credit card payments. Over the course of the night I had a few Kilter Juicii IPAs. The opener was an old blues guy. We were not too impressed. I did get a chance to talk to Casey and told him we saw them in Thunder Bay and drove over to this show. We also talked with Mark and he said there was another couple from Minnesota there. We found them and talked with them a while. We also talked with the people who joined us at our picnic table. When Elliott BROOD started we moved towards the stage. It was not as crowded as Saturday night. The set list was a lot the same but it was still fun. Casey gave us a shout out from the stage saying something about how it was great to have our friends from Minnesota here. When they handed out the pie plates and wooden spoons I was sure that Karla and I got some. We didn’t have them Saturday, but I was feeling much more loose and it was fun to make some noise. After the show we hung out for a bit and talked. We went into the Times Change(d) & High & Lonesome to use the bathroom one more time (that’s was the bathroom option for the night and we had been in there a few times). Casey was at the bar and we said hi but he took off. We stayed and talked to the bartender for a while. Her only drink option were shots. So Karla and I got a shot of Maker’s Mark and sipped on them while we talked. Looked like a fun place and we may be back again. We walked back to the hotel and stopped in the lobby and bough a bag of snack popcorn. We turned on the tv and ate popcorn and I opened a beer. It was not long before I was falling asleep.

Tuesday, September 26 – Got up, cleaned up and went down for some hotel breakfast. Bacon and scrambled eggs. Someone saw that my Replacements t-shirt was from Minnesota and asked where we were from. They had a place on Webb Lake. Wow. We told them the things we had seen and they said we must all be from Minnesota because that is what they are going to do. Checked out and hit the road. Decided to go to the Northwest Angle. After about an hour on the highway, we went off on a dirt road. Then we had over an hour on gravel. Most of it wasn’t too bad but there were some spots with potholes and bad washboard. Saw a few trucks and a couple cars. Crossed the boarder and took some photos. Went to the end of the road to Jerry’s Restaurant. Around the restaurant there were lots of cars, campers and boats. People were loading up their boats to go fishing on the Lake of the Woods. In the restaurant there was only one other table with people at it. We sat at the bar and got a couple beers. Karla got a patty melt that was really good. I got a chicken wrap that was ok. After lunch we walked around a little and took some more pictures.

We headed back to Canada. Back on the gravel road it seemed worse in places. We turned south and before too long there was blacktop. I liked that. Went though customs and headed towards home. We stopped at the Super One in Walker and got some groceries and a frozen pizza. Went home and unpacked. Cooked the pizza and watched Gophers football. We did not know what happened in their Saturday game and we had it on the DVR so we watched. The Gophers were up by 21 in the 4th quarter and lost in overtime. What a bummer. I was tired and went to bed.