The Canadian ladies arrived from British Columbia for their tour of Minnesota (MN) and North Dakota (ND).  This Daily Report (by Anne Vanic, Mayfield CC) summarizes the events from every day of the tour. 

Tomorrow is the day!  We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our guests from BC.

The day is here!

Our 15 guests representing 5 curling clubs in BC have arrived in MN. We had a welcoming gathering at the Hilton tonight.

Several guests who arrived earlier today had an opportunity to visit quilt shops & others took the shuttle to the Mall of America.  

After some rest we will head to the St Paul Curling club tomorrow morning. The 2015 Friendship Tour is underway!  

Welcome BC ladies!

It was a full, fun day. The Cairn Lassies/ St Paul Curling Club were fabulous hosts both on the ice and off.  After curling and lunch, the group headed across the Mississippi to Minneapolis.  We toured the Mill City museum where we learned about the rich history of flour milling  and its impact on the regions growth.  Dinner was at a classic St Paul neighborhood pub where many of us enjoyed their specialty the Juicy Nookie burger!  The final event was meeting up with their home hosts. 

Results - Cairn Lassies 5 Can 5, Cairn Lassies 8 Can 5, Cairn Lassies 1 Can 8, Cairn Lassies 9 Can 7.  2 games to the US.

Today our highlight was curling at the new USA Curling National Olympic Training Center in Blaine.  It is a beautiful 6 sheet facility.  Our BC women competed against 2 teams from the local  Four Seasons Curling club with some SPCC assistance  We were also fortunate & pleased to have 2 teams from Centerville, WI join the competition & comraderie.  A great time was had by all!  The day will also include a bus ride to Fargo, ND with a dinner stop in Alexandria, MN.  

 Our dinner stop was a real treat. We arrived in time to shop a bit on Broadway including a stop at the Sugar Shack which is reputed to have the best cookies in the state. Dinner was at La Ferme a gem of a French restaurant. We applauded the chef and everyone appeared happily full as they boarded our bus for the final leg to Fargo arriving after 9 PM.  We stayed across from the FM Curling Club but curling was finished for the evening.

Results - FSCC 6  Can 7, FSCC 0 Can 14, USA 7 Can 7, USA 1, Can 10.  3 games to Canada.

We spent the first half of the day in the Fargo Moorhead area.  Stops included the FM Visitors Center where the wood chipper from the movie Fargo is on display and available for photo ops!  We made a quick stop at the iconic Fargo Theater for another photo op. Next we ventured to Moorhead and visited the Hjemkomst Center which houses a full scale replica of a Viking ship. The ship was built in the area, sailed to Norway in 1982 & is now on permanent display.  An exact replica of a Norwegian Stave church is also on the grounds. A multicultural festival was occurring today also. We walked  a few blocks to Usher's House for a yummy lunch in a beautiful park like setting overlooking the river. In route to Grand Forks we saw mountains of local sugar beets awaiting processing. Donna Pearson USWCA president & the Grand ForksCC ladies welcomed us warmly., competitively curled & fed us extremely well.  The beer machines were a big hit!  We are especially appreciative of being hosted in homes tonight.

Results - Can 6 USA 4, Can 10 USA 1, Can 8 USA 5, Can 5 USA 7.

The day started with a three hour bus ride to Grand Rapids.  It was a beautiful sunny day. Sights included more mounds of sugar beets & several bald eagles.  Wow- what a welcome we had at Itasca Curling Club. Glenda, the Cowardly Lion, Auntie Em, the Wizard & a munchkin all met us in costume.  The great hospitality built from there.  Their keen ice made for great curling too. After curling we had a private tour at the Judy Garland museum followed by wine & snacks.  Home hosting commenced after the museum. 

Hump day today and the only day with two games.  The weather turned rainy so being inside most of the time worked out well.  We were welcomed to Chisholm CC and played against teams from Chisholm, Curl Mesabi, Hibbing & members of the 2012 Friendship Tour who came for a reunion & to help provide another team.  The ice was brand new & keen.  Score Canada 3 USA 1.  We were fed a local favorite - Porketta.  The pudding shot break after 4 ends was a big hit too!  The BC ladies entertained with song and the debute of their Friendship tour poem. 

Back on the bus for a 6 mile drive to Hibbing.  First stop was the unbelievably beautiful Hibbing High School.  Built in 1920 for 3.5 million its auditorium rivals many famous playhouses.  Next stop was the 102 year old, 7 sheet Hibbing Curling Club.  The 2012 Friendship tour team competed against us as well as 3 Hibbing teams.  Score Canada 3 & 1 tie.  The club went all out and fed us a full turkey dinner.  Happy early Thanksgiving to all!  The day ended with being hosted in homes once again.  Another super day!

Results, Chisholm - USA 8 Can 3, USA 3 Can 9, USA 2 Can 10, USA 3 Can 9

Results, Hibbing - USA 4 Can 9, USA 3 Can 11, USA 1 Can 9, USA 4 Can 4

We had another rainy, foggy, cloudy weather day, but we persevered. It didn't stop us from a photo op at the Iron Man statue in Chisholm before we headed to Eveleth.  Members from Curl Mesabi CC welcomed us for a coffee & sweets break on our way to Duluth. Curl Mesabi is a beautiful 8 sheet club and some serious shopping occurred at their pro-shop.  Unfortunately the weather interfered with the great views as we arrived in Duluth but we remain hopeful tomorrow will provide another opportunity. The Duluth curling club had a warm & enthusiastic welcome for us followed by a wonderful lunch & curling. It is another spectacular 8 sheet club.  The curling was competitive but friendly.  While the teams curled, reporters from 3 local TV stations filmed the action and interviewed Molly & me about the tour. It was great seeing all the interest in the Friendship Tour & curling in general.  The club also filmed several of the games and the action is available for viewing at DuluthCurlingClub.org. The curlers met their hosts and had time for a bit of touring before heading downtown to a private club - The Kitchi Gammi Club.  The finale of the day included a wonderful meal and another opportunity for the Canadians to perform their songs & poetry. It was another super day. Thank you - everyone who helped make it possible!

Results - Can 9 USA 2, Can 11 USA 2, Can 10 USA 2, Can 6 USA 3

For our morning game at Duluth CC we were surprised & pleased to be piped on to the ice. The ice was more challenging today due to weather related humidity.  The DCC members rebounded and handily won 2 games & came in a close second in the other two games.  Despite some moments of frustration with the play the opportunity to play & share the experience was appreciated.  The baked potato bar lunch was great. Olympian John Shuster (member of the 2006 Bronze medal winning team) stopped by with his 2 boys. He brought his medal and graciously visited with & had pictures taken with tour members. 

The rain stopped & fog lifted by the time we left Duluth and some sights were seen as we headed back to St. Paul to complete the travel circle.  By request, our bus driver drove us over the high bridge to Superior, WI to make this a tri-state tour!  Following a wood-fire pizza supper in St. Paul, tour members will once again be home hosted by St. Paul Curling Club members. It's hard to believe the final curling game is tomorrow morning. 

Results - Can 1 USA 10, Can 1 USA 9, Can 8 USA 6, Can 7 USA 4

The tour has come full circle and our final curling was back at St Paul CC, this time with the Bonnie Spielers.  We were piped on the ice and had competitive fun games, with one ending in a tie.  Final results over the 9 games Canada 27 wins 5 losses & 4 ties.  The win loss record is noted but the friendship, comraderie and overall fun is the most important!  We had a great time broom stacking and chef Nancee & her assistants served a delicious lunch.  The BC ladies entertained us one last time with song, demonstration of the many uses of a buff, and Caroline's completed poem.  It was hard to leave the curling club but it had to happen.  We stopped at the 100 year old St Paul Cathedral before our stop at the MN History Center for a team photo and shopping.  Dinner was "to go" from Brasa so we could eat and relax a bit at the hotel before heading to the Orpheum in downtown Minneapolis.  We saw Beautiful - the Carole King Musical.  The play was fantastic and enjoyed by all.  We said good bye to Mike our bus driver when we returned to the hotel  Yes things are winding down but not before some merriment tonight.  Tomorrow half the group will be heading home but not before some touring including the new Chaska Curling Club and a closing luncheon.  Thanks to everyone who helped make the USWCA Friendship Tour 2015 a success.  

Results - Can 11 USA 3, Can 7 USA 4, Can 7 USA 7, Can 7 USA 4

Today was pick your pleasure day. Several wonderful volunteer drivers from SPCC came to the hotel and took tour members to their choice of touring opportunities. Two groups went to the new Chaska Curling club which is opening in 10 days. They needed to wear hard hats for their tour.  Another car took the scenic drive past the Minneapolis city lakes on their way downtown to a shop with glass blowing.  The fourth car ventured to Anoka to a quilt shop and other shopping.  Several others decided to sleep in and relax at the hotel.   We all met a 1 PM for our closing luncheon (we missed Caroline who had a morning flight).  We had an opportunity to share one more great meal while sharing favorite memories of the tour, insights, suggestions and reflections.  Half the group had flights home Friday evening while the rest had one more night at the hotel and a chance to have dinner together at the Mall of America.  

Thanks again to the tour members for participating in the USWCA Sr. Friendship Tour 2015.  Thank you also to the many, many volunteers who helped make it such a success.  The Sr. Friendship Tour would not have been possible without all the support.  

To FRIENDSHIP....