A journey from the plains of Saskatchewan to the Aussie outback took one woman a whole lot of luck to get off the ground.
Mayfair resident Alice Grigor had been trying her luck for years in the lottery game. Each week, as she climbed back in the truck after checking her tickets, her husband would ask her: "Well, did you win enough to pay for this week's tickets?"
Last September, Grigor was able to say, "I think I can pay for a few weeks' tickets now," as she handed her husband a slip of paper showing she'd just won a little over $78,000.
Now, $78,000 isn't the life altering millions that some have won in the lottery and Grigor said winning the Super 7 hasn't affected her tremendously.
When asked if any previously unknown relatives came out of the woodwork, Grigor replied, "Oh, no, nothing like that."
In fact, winning the lottery hasn't changed Grigor's life much at all; she distributed some of the winnings among her three sons and the rest she tucked away for her and her husband's retirement fund.
But some of the winnings went towards something very special - Grigor was able to realize a life long dream of hers.
"I've wanted to go to Australia since I was 10 years old," she said.
Grigor explained seeing pictures of kangaroos and koalas in a science text book kindled a desire to see the land down under, but, since her husband isn't much of a traveler, Grigor was never able to justify the expense in her mind.
Until she came across a winning lottery ticket, that is.
"The kids were saying: 'Go, Mom, go!'," said Grigor.
When she finally started looking at brochures and planning out her dream vacation, around Christmas time, her 12-year-old grandson Kody said he wanted to go with her.
"I thought, well, I can't take him and not his Dad," said Grigor, who decided to take both her son, Guy, and her grandson, Kody.
The three left Aug. 5 and returned Aug. 23, spending 10 days in Australia and eight in New Zealand.
"We had an absolute marvelous time," said Grigor.
Her favourite part was, of course, finally getting to hold a Koala bear in her arms, but highlights of the trip included a trip to the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort in Australia and the Kiwi Wildlife Park in New Zealand, where they got to play with a six-month old lion cub.
Grigor said her son and grandson probably had their favourite moment riding in a Zorb, which is a large inflatable ball with water inside that is rolled down a hill, simulating a water slide.
"They'll never forget that day," said Grigor.
As for trying her luck at the lotto, Grigor said she still buys the same amount of tickets. She's heard of people winning the lottery twice, and either way, she can justify the expense.
