What would I miss...?

Recently, a very good friend of mine left Winnipeg for the bright lights and opportunities of the nation's capital.

Jason and I have only known each other because we worked together for the past three and a half years. We became close friends perhaps because we were total opposites. I'm round while he struggles to keep weight on. He's got decades of work/life/family ahead of him, while the somewhat dreaded 'r' word is slowly creeping into my vocabulary.

I can't blame Jay - the opportunity to design video games for a growing company is fabulous ('sexy' is how another former colleague put it), Ottawa is across the river from his family home and there is so much opportunity for career advancement...

But his departure made me think of how comfortable I am in Winnipeg. It is my home, and I passed on the chance to move away three times. But if I ever decided to pull up stakes, what would I miss about the place? What would I do if I ever came back for a visit?

So here's an insider's view of some of the things to crave about Peg City:

• Salisbury House - most consistent burgers in town and their blueberry pancakes or sausage-and-egg breakfasts are to die for.
• Sargent Sundae - great soft ice cream, especially this time of year when you can get pumpkin pie flavour, with pumpkin puree mixed in.
• What commute? Getting to work on the bus in less than half an hour.
• Vic's Fruit Market - the finest fresh fruit and veggies for 1500 miles in any direction. The strawberries are so good all year long you'd swear there's a hot house in the basement.
• Winnipeg Goldeyes - few things in life more relaxing than spending a summer evening in the best place to watch baseball anywhere.
  
• Summer nights - don't buy all that garbage about this being the mosquito capital of the Universe. A sunny June night with a bit of a breeze is heavenly.
• The sky - this place should be called Big Sky Country. Most days (even in the winter) the sky is clear and reasonably smog-free. There's sunsets unlike anywhere else on earth when the sky is a million shades of orange/pink/peach/purple. And drive to the edge of town and you just might see the night sky lit up with the northern lights. One night we were lucky enough to catch the Aurora Borealis and a meteor shower together.
  
• Fude - my favourite funky restaurant in town. We have so many great restaurants here (going out for dinner is the number one winter recreation activity for Manitobans), but Fude is my upscale fave, with tasty Manitoban fare like pickerel or bison ribs. Mmmm.
• Store clerks and owners who remember your name and say hello, even if you see them away from their jobs.
• Dry cold - yeah right. Actually, I'll take a -20 day here over a -20 day in Ottawa or Montreal anytime. The trouble is, we have a lot more of them than Ottawa or Montreal in any given winter.
  
• My friends and family - you know who you are.