I have gotten so many letters over the past week from readers who have suggested places to eat, see and generally visit throughout Canada - You guys ROCK! I have saved all those e-mails and private messages so that when I do finally get to visit Canada I will have the ultimate travel guide that includes not only all the "must-see" places to visit, but also the great places that only the locals know about. Thank you for taking the time to share with me and don't worry...your secrets are safe with me ;)
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Earlier last week, I was notified of the Minnesota Wild's annual Road Tour sponsored by Wells Fargo. Hockey and travel...two of my favorite things. Why am I not on this trip?!
The past few years the Wild have partnered with Wells Fargo to reach out to their fans beyond the Twin Cities and raise money for local hockey associations along the way. Last year they visited North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. This year, the trip was contained within the State of Hockey with 18 stops divided between three legs including big towns like Bemidji, Duluth and St. Cloud as well as small towns like Ely, New Ulm and Crookston.
Wild players Derek Boogaard, Todd Fedoruk, Josh Harding, James Sheppard, Stephane Veilleux and Aaron Voros dispersed across the state armed with autograph cards and Coca-Cola products in an effort to say thanks and lend their support to the development of youth hockey in Minnesota.
I was able to catch up with Stephane Veilleux and Todd Fedoruk along their journey and, beyond the sentiment that they were really excited to reach out to fans and help raise money for local programs, I found out a few more things...
1) Aaron Voros eats A LOT.
2) Even though the ladies on this trip were outnumbered 4 or 5-1, the movies of choice to help pass time on the road were ultimately chick flicks - Way to go ladies!
3) Traveling on the road reminded both players of the minors, but as Fedoruk said, "It's not like we're roughing it...It is a limo bus!" - "As in a party bus?" - "It is a bit of a party-like atmosphere. We're having a great time!" he said laughing, which he did throughout most of our chat.
4) Along the way they saw lakes and trees and more lakes and then even more lakes (it is the land of a thousand lakes!) and...a cow on top of a building? As Fedoruk tells it, they were driving through Austin and he saw this HUGE cow on top of a building and yelled to the driver to stop the bus because he wanted to take a picture. They came to a screeching halt and hopped out to snap a few. He and Derek Boogaard also thought it would be fun to climb the building to really get a good close up picture of the cow, but that got vetoed.
5) Boogaard doesn't play golf...won't even drive the cart just to hangout with the boys...wants nothing to do with it.
6) Veilleux is a bit of a tennis nut, even brought his own rackets on the trip. Creamed Voros one night 8-2, but was impressed with his backhand - "He's actually not half bad!"
7) The strangest thing they were asked to sign was an over-sized goalie glove - and by over-sized I mean 5-feet tall.
8) At the start of the trip, Fedoruk went in search of a garden gnome (think travelocity) to take on the rest of the trip. The thought was that he would find one on someone's lawn, borrow it for a few days while they traveled, take pictures with it at every stop and then return it along with pictures of where it had been (think traveling Stanley). Problem was...they couldn't find one!! Turns out garden gnomes aren't as popular in Minnesota as he thought.
For more information about the Wells Fargo Wild Road Tour including a daily diary from each leg of the tour, pictures (including the cow) and audio clips, click here.
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Be sure to tune into the Hockey Chicks tonight 9pm eastern.
We're talking about the NHL Awards and comparing them to our own mid-season predictions and talking about hockey in the main stream media.
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