Gimli

I had a lovely time at Gimli. Didn't do a whole lot but it was nice to relax in the shade.

Friday morning I had a back cracking session and then headed to SF to kill some time since Hrodir wasn't able to get off work until 3ish so there was no need to rush up to Fargo. Made it to Fargo right about 3. Hrodir had talked about riding along with Camille, Robert and Zanni's husband (I cannot remember his name, GAH) but there was no way my stuff and Hrodir's was going to fit in their van with all of their stuff. Hrodir threw his stuff in my van and off we went. We got north of Grand Forks and my car started to act up when we had to slow down through the construction but once we got to Canada it seemed fine. Well until we got close to site. It was late so we figured we would deal with it later. Hrodir thought maybe one of the tires was unbalanced.

Got to site and everyone was enjoying themselves on the porch of the big cabin. Got unloaded and settled. Drink soon in hand. I didn't sleep overly great that night due to new surroundings and people arriving late in the night. No fault of theirs, I just tend to sleep lighter when I am in a new place. Good excuse to run to the bathroom and visit with people a bit and go back to bed.

Saturday was spent relaxing under the trees watching Landra play and Tarrach and co try to make glass out of sand. They were eventually successful. They ended up with a cloudy green bead. Very cool. I should have gotten a picture of it but the camera never made it out of the bag all weekend.

Sunday my cabin had dishwashing duty but we had many hands so that made it go quick and add to the fun. It was cloudy that day and kind of chilly. Watched the archery some but was distracted by Aineleah's cup and ball tourney and Khadijah's bubble machine. When the rain started we decided to have a porch party. It only sprinkled so we didn't really need to move. After supper I played Perudo and learned how to play cribbage with Johann, Marwen and Vidi.

Monday morning packed up to go home but it started to pore before most could get loaded up. Hrodir and I basically threw stuff in and took off. We ate breakfast in Gimli, got some Canadian crack (i.e. pop and candy) and drove around town for a bit since neither of us had ever done that. There is a giant statue of a viking near the lake so I think next year I would like to stop again and take pictures.
We headed on down the road and the rain stopped. We got to the boarder and got asked the usual questions. They were also asking people to open their back hatches so we pulled forward and then we saw Ia and Landra waving at us in the window. Hrodir made an oh no noise. The boarder guards pulled out the moose antler that Kol had given him and they asked us to pull over and come inside. Tarrach, Fina, Ia and Landra were there too since Tarrach had the other half. I think it made it a little easier to explain after we showed up with the other half. We spent about a half hour there and the antlers got confiscated. We had the option to take them back to Canada but no one really wanted to drive back to Winnipeg.

On the way home my car got more jerky and the vibration got more and more. Hrodir suggested that I stop at a garage in Fargo but we got there around 4 and most things were closed or closing due to the holiday. I decided to press on and see if I could make it home. Driving was crap because it was hot and windy but eventually made it home with no extra problems.

Tuesday I had off so was able to take the van to my mechanic. Turns out the boot under the rim was worn out. Ironically this is the same part that got a rock stuck in it, smoked and melted the hubcap on last year's trip to Gimli. I think next year I am going to have my tires checked out before I go.

Thanks to everyone up in Castel Rouge for putting the event on. I think it is one of the most relaxing events around.