Day 106 August 20, 2011 Day off Winnipeg – Mike’s View

I hadn't slept that late in a long time.

This morning was the first time I had been able to sleep in for a while.  Even though we weren't running yesterday, we were still up at 5am to be on Breakfast Television for 6am.  I took full advantage of this opportunity. 

The greatest part was not just waking up late, but being awake and just laying in bed for another hour, just relaxing, dreaming and checking emails, Facebook and Twitter.

I walked into the kitchen for breakfast at about 11:30am, where the rest of the Senft family met me.  After eating, I joined Rod, Jeannie and Derek for a walk through Assiniboine Park.  It was a hot, sunny and windy Saturday afternoon and the park was full of people.  With this being my first time in Winnipeg, Rod and Jeannie were excellent tour guides, making sure I didn't miss anything, including the beautiful new duck pond (which turns into a skating rink in the winter of course) and the natural kids playground.  I have never seen so many children in one place before!  Had I still been small enough to fit on the swings (and not looked at oddly by the parents for running around with their children) I would have been all over it.

After returning to Riley's house, I decided to go for a dip in his pool on this very hot day.  After splashing about, I lay down on the lawn chairs and quickly fell asleep for about an hour.  No sunburn as far as I can tell so far, but man, did I ever need it.  Even though I had slept in, I was still catching up on sleep.

My good friend from high school, Ben, moved to Winnipeg on the first of May and I was eager to reconnect with him.  He picked me up and took me out for dinner at a restaurant called Confusion Corner Bar and Grill. From there, we met up with a few of his nice co-worker friends and they took me to a bar that had an outdoor beach.  This was incredible!  A beach in Winnipeg, and it was still warm at night.  I loved it!  Thanks for a great time today guys.  Everyone.  Ben, the Senfts, you have changed my opinion of Winnipeg.  It really is a beautiful and fun city!

-Michael Downie