SNOW DAY part deux

It has been a crazy last couple weeks!  Never did we think we would encounter a SNOW DAY on tour, nevermind TWO!!!

We were sad to hear our performance in Sagkeeng was cancelled today due to ANOTHER March snowfall.  We had to hit the road anyways to make sure we made it to Pine Falls so we'd be ready for our Tuesday shows.

Here is a bit of what our drive was like.



MVI 2580 from neutral on Vimeo.

We know how to have a good time...



MVI 2581 from neutral on Vimeo.

Things only got better from there!



MVI 2582 from neutral on Vimeo.

Here is what it looked like from the Batplane with Gord and Lisa.

When we finally made it to Pine Falls (safe and sound) the wind was still howling but we had a fantastic view from our hotel window!

Now we are headed to check out the pool AND waterslide!  See you soon!

-Alissa "Valerie"

Manitoba March Blizzard

We had a great week last week but have gotten a little behind in our blogging!  Stay tuned for more Munsch Road Adventures throughout the week!

In regards to the Manitoba March Blizzard, we are safe!  Currently we are bundled up in our hotel rooms in Virden.  Sadly we missed out on two shows today because of school closures and poor road conditions.  We will stay put until it is safe to travel again!

In the meantime, here are some pictures of the wonderful weather we have been having...

Batplane and Batmobile have seen better days.

SNOW DAY!!!

I'm from Winnipeg, what's a Snow Day?!

We lost Lisa in the snow for a bit...

Gord doing the real work.

 -Alissa "Valerie" & Heather "Rose"

This is the Road That Never Ends...

from Winnipeg to Grand Rapids

...yes it goes on and on my friends..

from Grand Rapids to Norway House

...some people started driving it, not knowing what it was..

from Norway House to Lynn Lake (with a quick stop-over in Thompson)

...and they'll continue driving it forever just because...

from Lynn Lake to Thompson

...this is the road that never ends...

from Thompson to Gillam

...it just goes on and on, my friend...

from Gillam to Snow Lake

...some people started driving it forever just because...

from Snow Lake to The Pas

...and they'll continue driving it not knowing what it was...

from The Pas to Swan River

...this is the road that never ends...

from Swan River to Dauphin

...it just goes on and on my friend... 

...to be continued...

-the Magical Mystery Munsch tour company

Catch Up Part 2

After a great show at Jack River School in Norway House, we had time for a bit of sight seeing before leaving for Thompson.  We visited the Archway Warehouse (which is the oldest surviving Red River frame warehouse in Western Canada), as well as the Jail and Powder Magazine remains.

In Thompson we stayed at the Lakeview Inn and Suites. After half a week of motel stays we were ready for a hotel with a few amenities. Lakeview had laundry (essential for washing stinky costumes), continental breakfast (waffle bar anyone?!) wifi (most importantly!), plus a hot tub; which we aptly named the "Scald Tub", for it was almost too hot to sit in.

Thompson was a brief stopover on Wednesday before we packed up again and hit the road for Lynn Lake on Thursday morning.

2 Hours Later...

Lynn Lake is pretty much the farthest North that you can drive by road in Manitoba. The people were friendly and the kids at the West Lynn Heights School were incredible. We felt very welcome there. The kids loved the show and we had a lot of fun performing for them!

On Friday morning we were able to sleep in and take our time driving back to Thompson (we didn't have a show that day).

We were looking forward to our day off on Saturday.

Saturday was a low key day for us all. We ate breakfast together, did some laundry, went thrift shopping and stocked up on some essentials for our next week of the trip.

We left our mark on Thompson.

But the "Scald Tub" at the hotel left its mark on us (it had gotten significantly hotter since Wednesday night!!).

Can you see the line above Lisa's ankles? Ouch!

We're off to the infamous Gillam, MB tomorrow morning (shout out to Arne, our director!!) for a public performance in the afternoon (if only the performance was at 9:00am...).



- Heather "Rose", Alissa "Valerie" and Lisa, Stage Manager

Oh Boy...Here We GO!!!

Sorry for the delay between posts!  Life on the road in the frozen Manitoba North means certain modern conveniences like wifi and cell signals are not always available.

The four of us are healthy, happy, staying warm and looking forward to a few days off in Thompson this weekend!

Here is a quick recap on what life has been like on the road since leaving Sunday!

These are only marking the places where we spend the night. We perform in many, many more than this!!

Sunday,  February 3, 2013 - Departure Day

A sunny Sunday afternoon greeted as we met at the Co-op Gas Station on Brookside Blvd in Winnipeg to gas up and ship out!  We had great clear road conditions as we hit Highway 6 and continued all the way to our first stop in Grand Rapids!

We settled into the Lodge across the street at The Northbrook Inn.

A BIG THANK YOU to our friends back at Prairie Theatre Exchange for our “Treasure Chest of Goodies”.  

After our first couple convienence store stops we are very thankful for hand sanitizer – “Hand Sanitizer for the Win”!

Monday, February 4, and Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Heather and Alissa had an exciting start to the morning after losing electricity to their hotel room during their morning routines!  Never fails, kettles and hair dryers - ALWAYS on the same circuit!  After regaining power we made our way to our morning performance at Grand Rapids School.

A four hour drive in the afternoon took us to Norway House where we settled in for a two night stay.  Normally you have to take a short ferry ride to Norway House, but in the winter months, you can drive there!

Ice Road Truckers!!

driving to Norway House

We performed two shows at Helen Betty Osborne School and one at Jack River School the next day.  

Monday Mascots on Friday anyone?

One of favourite things about our visit to Norway House was our incredible accommodations at Agnes and Terry's "West Island Cottages."  The cottages were beautiful, clean and had all the fixings we needed to settle in, including a full kitchen!  

Lisa is an AMAZING cook!

Having a full kitchen was a real luxury!  We ate all our meals at home, including two fancy dinners with Lisa as Head Chef and the rest of us as Prep Cooks!  The cottages really did prove to be our home away from home.  Thank you Terry and Agnes for a wonderful stay!

The view in the morning outside our cottages

The view at night.

Stay tuned for a report on the rest of this week's adventures is coming soon!  We are headed to Thompson tomorrow and they have wifi AND cell service!  Woo Hoo!

- Heather "Rose" and Alissa "Valerie" and Lisa, Stage Manager

White Out

On Saturday we had a public performance an the Steinbach Regional Secondary School, hosted by the Steinbach Arts Council.

I've driven to Steinbach on numerous occasions and this is one time I won't soon forget. The winds were blowing fiercely and on the prairies where there's nothing to stop  that wind it means low visibility.

You may be wondering why we went if the conditions weren't so good. Well, unless the road is closed or travel is incredibly dangerous, we drive. We leave early and drive slow. We never put ourselves in danger trying to make it to show, but we do try and make it if we can.

This is what the road looked like at the best of times. 

Gord said it was like driving through a white sea. There was no indication where the earth ended and the sky began. There were times when I could only see about 10 feet in front of the van.

Here I am white knuckling it as I drive. 

Thankfully the roads were not too icy (plus we have amazing winter tires on our vehicles!) and we made it to Steinbach safe and sound, not to mention early!

We had a great show and lucky for us the weather cleared up and we drove home under cold blue skies.

I would wager this won't be our last time driving through less than ideal conditions!


-Lisa, Stage Manager