Day 18 A Little Bad Luck in Winnipeg

Today we traveled from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay. We started off with a little bad luck. Our bus had the GPS stolen. We’re not sure when but we think between load in and the show. Sometimes people are really desperate this time of year. Rob mentioned that it was only a month old.
After we started driving down the road our coffee pot full of hot coffee flew out of the maker and onto the floor. Glass and hot coffee went everywhere. Nobody was hurt. That's the main thing.
We’ve been watching a few Christmas movies and everyone is generally enjoying the travel days. All is good!

Day 17 Winnipeg A Little Cold Today

Winnipeg…or some call it Winterpeg. It was cold today, but I would think that locals get tired of hearing it. I wonder how it affects tourism?
We did an overnight drive last night and had breakfast before checking in. Rob said visibility was bad due to fog.
Before the show, we watched some of the Grey Cup. Winnipeg’s Bachman Turner played the half time show. Lots of excitement!
Scotiabank was there in full force tonight. Nice meeting people from the local branch.
Some familiar faces in the audience tonight. Thanks for your continuous support. We’ll have to play here again soon!

Day 16 Next Stop Saskatoon

Breakfast at 6:00am.Bus moving at 7:00am. Our next few days are going to be a little crazy. Canada is a big country to travel across which means there’s bound to be a few long travel days.
We arrived in Saskatoon around 2:00pm. After sound check this left 2 hours to be in the hotel to shower and pack for the show and our overnight drive. The shortest stay at a hotel on record for the Barra MacNeils.
Saskatoon was filled with people wearing green to support the Roughriders. Lots of spirit here!
After the show we talked to fans that traveled two hours to attend the concert. Thanks so much for making the long trip! We also met another Lucy who has a boyfriend from Sydney Mines named Greg MacNeil.

Day 15 Grey Cup In Alberta

Today we played a second show in Spruce Grove. This gave us a day to stay in one place and not move too much. Some of us did laundry, some went to the mall, some got haircuts and some bought socks.
The city is extremely busy and is only going to get busier because of the Grey Cup. Hotels are sold out all weekend. People are booking their rooms as far away as Red Deer! The weather is warmer now so it should be a great game for all involved.
The concert was really fun. This show was actually the first of two sold out concerts on sale. There were many die hard fans. One lady had three of our cassettes that she brought to get signed. Very exciting! Hope to do it again!

Day 14 Two Days in Spruce Groove

Today we played our first of two sold out shows in Spruce Groove. It’s just outside of Edmonton. The temperature has finally gone back to around 0 degrees Celsius. Surprisingly, it feels much warmer.
Sheumas had an interesting conversation in a Taxi Cab in the afternoon. The driver was from Newfoundland and loves Celtic music. He said that the music is in his blood because his great grandfather Arthur Scammell wrote the famous folk song, "Squid Jigging Ground". Below I posted a version played by one of our favorite groups “Ryan’s Fancy”.
It’s amazing the people you meet while on the road!
After being away 13 days and talking only on the phone, Lucy finally got to see her girls on Skype. The girls were excited to see Mommy and their dolls on tour. They gave great encouragement for us all!!!

Day 13 - It's a lucky day in Calgary!

Calgary was a concert filled with people from the East Coast. Cousins, friends and fans were enthusiastic through the entire show. Hector MacKenzie’s “On the Very First Christmas” got a huge applause before we even started. Keep cranking out the hits Hector! As a side note, Hector’s birthday is on Jan. 6th (Old Christmas). It’s fitting that he wrote such a heart felt Christmas Carol.
Special thanks to the Riep family. Dustin, Lora, Eric and Ian made a wonderful bag of baked goods and treats for the Barras. Eric and Ian gave us some snowflakes that will help decorate the bus and keep us in the Christmas spirit. Thanks guys!

Day 12 Bringing Brooks Christmas

We’re bringing Christmas to Brooks today! Today was the first day we watched any T.V. on the bus. It’s almost been two weeks and everyone has been so busy that it was the first opportunity to do so. We watched some Big Bang Theory Season 2 and a movie Jamie bought at the gas station, “Doctor Detroit”. It’s an old Dan Aykroyd movie.
We had a visit from our cousin John MacNeil and his wife and sister-in-law. Thanks for driving the hour from Medicine Hat.
Brooks certainly is a friendly place. We broke a record in shaking hands with the audience after the show. The Christmas spirit was in full swing!
We added an extra video today. This was an amazing food court event worth checking out!