Doughnuts, Dog Park, and a Pinball League

 Winnipeg, MB

Donna and Francis navigate the gates of the dog park.

Doughnuts!

Today we walked to one of the closest doughnut shops to us to pick up some fancy doughnuts.  You can tell they are fancy doughnuts because the shop doesn't open until 8am.  We arrived right at 8am and they were still getting set up so we stood outside with another eager doughnut patron.  When they opened he told us to go in because we were there first and we said we had to decide what to get so he ordered and gave us advice on what to choose. We ordered our Bronuts or Not a Bronut as it says on the receipt (they might be in the process of changing their name?) and headed back to the condo to get some milk.

This was across the street while we waited for them to open.

Cool doughnut art / sign on the wall

Delicious!

Dog Park

After eating some of our doughnuts we grabbed Francis and drove to the closest dog park.  Bonnycastle Dog Park is described online as being covered in "mini golf grass", dainty, quaint, and they mention that the fence isn't that tall so when the snow is high dogs can easily get over the fence.  We didn't have that problem today.  Snow isn't expected for another 1-2 months.

Mini Golf Grass

Donna has the high ground but Francis is quick.

I posted this photo on facebook and made a ska joke.

 The dog park was fun for Francis.  He met 3 dogs.  It wasn't very busy at lunchtime on a Tuesday.  

The Manitoba Pinball League

This evening I got my pinball fix by playing in the Manitoba Pinball League.  It's a league so they wait until the end of the year to pass out points and prizes so I was there just for the fun and competition.  People remembered me from 2 weeks ago and we had some good talks about pinball during league play.  

I got there early to practice and when I felt warmed up I grabbed a beer.

Between rounds I went outside to get away from the noise and get some fresh air and saw this caboose.

They had just installed their Stern Leaderboard Monitors and were trying to get the aspect ratio correct to show the high scores correctly.

There I am, #2 on Godzilla for the time being.

The league has their own banners and T-Shirts

After league play I was talking to the director to see if they had any Manitoba Pinball League T-Shirts available.  He went into the back room to check and came out with one.  He said it was ordered by someone 4 months ago and wanted to just give it to me but checked with another person and they said they might be able to order me my own.  I am waiting to hear how this whole journey ends.  I will be back on September 7th for my last tournament here and may or may not have a t-shirt to show for it.

That's it for today.  If you missed It's So Money, check it out.  We (the royal we) went to the Royal Canadian Mint so see how coins are made. 

Kentucky State Park Mini Golf

 Falmouth, KY

Hanging with The Mini Golf Mascot (I don't really know what their name is or what kind of animal they are so I just made up the most generic name I could think of).

 A Hot Day In Cincinnati

We are down to our last few days in Cincinnati.  Summer is coming to the MidWest and it's getting hot.  We have been running both of the provided window AC Units but they are having trouble keeping up.  We decided we might as well get out since it is hot inside and out.  We started the day at the dog park in Washington Park where Francis enjoyed the sun.

Francis found his sunning spot on top of a little hill in the dog park.

Kincaid Lake State Park

After taking Francis out we went and got the van and Donna and I drove to Kincaid Lake State Park in Kentucky.  I had read that they offer mini golf and I wanted to mini golf in a state park.  It turns out Kentucky offers mini golf in 19 of its State Parks!  That's pretty cool!  Kincaid Lake State Park also offers Regular Size Golf, Disc Golf, Basketball, a swimming pool, shuffle board, horse shoes, as well as the normal things that State Parks offer.  We were there on a Wednesday and most people were enjoying the lake and the pool because it was hot.

Donna and I were going to have a Slam Dunk contest but rules and regulations put a stop to that.

This is how I keep my eye on the ball.  Look at that posture!  It's all of the Dorf On Golf videos I watched as a kid.

Kincaid Lake SP offers 9 holes of mini golf.  Most of the other parks have 18 holes.

Donna's ball got lift off on the lip of the loop de loop and rocketed into the sky landing in the perfect spot on the other side of the loop.

Donna took the conservative shot here and didn't quite make the downhill part of the spiral.

We might be back to Kentucky to "Catch Them All"

The Score Card features The Park Lark on the cover.

After golfing we walked around a bit and looked at birds and dangerous stairs.

Slush Puppy!

Oh this State Park also offers a cemetery.  Some of the dead are surprisingly recent.  The map shows this as Newkirk Cemetery.

On the way home we took the opportunity to pick up 2 more counties in Kentucky bringing our total to 31 or about 25% of counties in Kentucky.

That was it for today.  If you missed yesterday's post, Duckpin Bowling - Bowling with a Free Marionette Show, check it out.

We Took Francis to a Museum, Sort of

 St. Louis, MO

Sunning in the sculpture garden at SLU

SLU Sculpture Garden & Dog Park

Today Donna and I went to The Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis.  Dogs are not allowed here and many of the displays were videos so I don't have much content for that visit but I do have photos that we took afterwards when we took Francis to the St. Louis University Sculpture Garden and Dog Park.  Francis enjoyed his time in the sun and we got to see some public art.  It's the way everything should be.

It was close to 80 degrees and Francis just wanted to sit in the sun.

Just a quick one today.  If you missed Meeting The Budweiser Clydesdales check it out. 

Barks and Brews

 Baton Rouge, LA

Raising Cane's Dog Park

Today we took Francis out to get some exercise.  We went to The Raising Cane's Dog Park at City-Brooks Community Park.  Raising Cane's is the local and now the regional and even international go to place to buy chicken fingers.  It has expanded out of the US and is now serving up chicken fingers in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.  At one point I was buying southern food at a local grocery store hot bar and the checker was chatting with me.  She figured out I was visiting so I asked her if there was any place we should eat at and she said, "Ya'll been to Cain's?"  Now every time we drive by one we say that.  Maybe we will try it.  

Anyway,  Francis had a great time at the dog park getting mobbed by 2 dogs.  It was a rougher play date than Francis has had in a while.  

Francis showing the poodle puppy who is in charge.  When he pulls out his teeth he can look really mean.

The Boston Terrier was full of energy and a bit much for Francis but he held his own.

We finally found a place of solitude for Francis and he sniffed the grass and did a little running.

Like all of the parks, this one is full of giant beautiful Live Oaks.

Tin Roof Brewing

After the dog park we took Francis to Tin Roof Brewing.  We stopped in for a pint and had a good conversation with the bar tender.  She had moved from Boise 2 years prior so was still soaking up Baton Rouge.  When we told her we were here for a month she said, "Why? What about New Orleans?"  We told her we were going there for a month too and that made her happy.  The beer was great and Francis drew in all of the employees.  They came to pet him so they had to talk to us.  

When we left we grabbed 2 4 packs that weren't on tap.  They were the cheapest beers we have bought in a long time.  One was $5 and the other was $6.

That's it for today.  If you missed yesterday's post you can find it here.  I learned all about the Louisiana State Flag.