Hello and welcome to the first Saturday in December here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is December 3rd.
Can I get a "Brrrrrrr?"
Last week, while Wannaska folk were carving turkeys, ladling gravy onto mashed potatoes, savoring the stuffing, relishing the relish, praising the pumpkin pie, and cheering on the Vikings, our family was touring the Royal Canadian Mint and Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg. The sky was blissfully blue and Mother Nature blessed us with just enough sunshine and warm temps to require only a light jacket or heavy sweater paired with a scarf, hat, and mittens - and even those weren't necessary.
If you've never been to either, well, let me take a moment to sing the praises of both.
Fun fact: Did you know that the Mint makes coins for other countries? If I remember correctly, they have contracts with 80 other countries including the United States and the Czech Republic. To date, Wannaska has no coinage although I'm sure Chairman Joe would be happy to lend his profile for a Wannaskan nickel.
Fun fact: Canada did away with the penny on February 4, 2013. It cost two cents to make one penny which didn't make sense. (Ba-dum-tss.)
Another fun fact: They are able to print up to 5 colors on a coin.
The Second Grader's favorite was learning about the most expensive coin the Mint had worth, "$99,99999... I can't remember the rest."
The Fifth Grader's favorite was learning how the coins were made. Unfortunately, there were no coins in production when we were there, but it was still fun to wave to the skeleton crew on staff that day.
All jokes and fun facts aside, I cannot say enough good things about the tour. Our guide was a young gentleman who knew how to work the crowd, appealing to the children as well as the engineers in our small group.
They don't know when the new money is coming out - just that it has to be in 2023 - or what it's going to look like. A Canadian friend shared that Charles is apparently having a difficult time picking his best look. Perhaps I should tweet the new king and offer the Chairman's regal looks.
After the Mint, we headed over to the airport to visit the aviation museum. In their own words taken from the website: "The museum possesses one of the most significant bush plane collections globally. It is also home to an extensive collection of aircraft ranging from bush flying, military, passenger, experimental aircraft, and thousands of aviation artifacts."
They didn't have a tour but they did have Dynavert Day. The crew who restored the Dynavert - one of only two remaining in the world—and the only one with a functioning wing - gave us a full rundown of the significance of this plane and all the work that went into restoring it. The plane at the museum was a test plane that never actually saw the sky.The most important feature of this airplane is its ability to rotate its wings so it can behave like a helicopter.
The kids didn't see much of that plane - except for the wing demonstration - because their favorite part of the museum was the play area. The museum had a McDonald's-worthy inside playground teeming with other kids whose dads were salivating over the aviation history and mechanical marvels as much as their dad was.
Yep, the one who was like a kid in a candy store at this museum was my husband. While the kids were gaining their second wind from the first museum with some play, my husband was already full sail with enthusiasm for all the history and innovation the museum had to offer.
I often tell students at school when working on college and career readiness that "you don't know what you don't know." That's how I felt going through the aviation museum. My biggest takeaway was learning that Canada was a pioneer in aviation innovation. This museum celebrates that beautifully with colorful, large signage with just enough verbiage to read without feeling overwhelmed. Hands down, my favorite exhibit was the FOKKER UNIVERSAL, G-CAJD “THE GHOST OF CHARRON LAKE.”
Until that day, I'd only thought about planes in terms of getting me from Point A to Point B. By the end of the day, I'd come to more fully appreciate the ingenuity behind all these aircraft. View the aircraft and artifact collections online by clicking the links.
We wrapped up the day with a homemade chili dinner with Canadian friends, homemade wine and another new experience for us - "Winnipeg Cake" by Jeanne's Bakery.
So, while we may not have gathered 'round for a traditional Thanksgiving celebration - Winnipeg filled our hearts, minds, and bellies with much gratitude. Talk about the "royal treatment."
Thank you, Winnipeg and friends!
On This Day
Historic Highlights (credits)
Happy Birthday to You!🎶
Remembering You
Fill today with gratitude for grand adventures and make it a great Saturday!
Kim
Don't take any Wannaskan nickels.
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