The Muse and Views

Nova Scotia. Check

Prince Edward Island. Check.

In September, our family vacation brought us two steps closer to my bucket list entry of visiting every part of Canada. In the waning days of 2017, Canada’s sesquicentennial, I’ve been thinking of what a magical holiday this was.

Having been to many areas of the country, I’m well aware of the vastness of our great land. The fact that people march to a different pace on the east and west coasts is well documented. There are distinct accents from east to west.

What made this trip particularly special was the realization of just how connected we are.

The Airbnb we stayed at Ingonish Ferry on Cape Breton Island was recommended to us by a contact here in Grande Prairie who stayed there as a child. Her family is friend with the owner.

Seafoam Lavender Farm in Nova Scotia was suggested to us by a friend from that province who is now a neighbour.

We stopped at a cidery in the Malagash area. The owner’s mom is a friend here in Grande Prairie.

A colleague at work from Prince Edward Island had asked me to find rhubarb wine when we were at the Jost Vineyards in Nova Scotia. They didn’t stock that flavour but through the ability to text, it was determined blueberry wine would be a suitable alternative.

We made a random stop at gas station in Bethune, Saskatchewan and the attendant was from an area of Ontario we’d just driven through so we enjoyed comparing notes for a few minutes.

Even where there are differences, we can figure out how to connect, especially when there’s a mutual interest.

We stopped at a fromagerie in Quebec. The clerk did not speak English. My limited French was last practised in the mid-1990s when I took some college classes to keep up with our son who was enrolled in French immersion. Well, I’m also a lifelong, diehard Montreal Canadiens fan so picking up some of Canada’s official second language is bound to occur (not all the words I’ve picked up can be printed here).

Joyce had sent me on a mission to get curds and I’ve yet to meet a piece of cheese I don’t like so after I stocked up, the lady behind the counter and I figured out how to complete my transaction effectively and I was on my way.

Spending a few days in Sault Ste. Marie, visiting friends and former colleagues we hadn’t seen in a few years was another highlight. We’ve been back to the Sault once since returning to Grande Prairie in 2007 after living there for 20 years.

You always know your true-blue friends when you can be apart for several years and when you reconnect, it’s like time had not stopped.

We took furkid Mica along on this cross-country venture. It was truly special to stop at Pancake Bay Provincial Park, just north of the Sault. This campground remains one of our favourite spots and it was a pure joy to see her frolicking along the spectacular beach and splashing in Lake Superior, much like our son had done as a child.

Northern Ontario features some of the most breath-taking scenery in the country. There are also vast distances between communities and large expanses where there is no cell phone service, something most urban dwellers take for granted.

A fatal accident just east of Ignace, Ontario closed the highway for several hours on our way east. We had the choice of staying overnight or taking a long, circuitous route to next targeted stop of Thunder Bay.

We opted to stay the night at a lodging by picturesque Lake Agimac. This was a reminder not long into our vacation to slow down, live one day at a time and enjoy the moment.

It truly was a year of Canadian travel when I add in our trip to Victoria in March to connect with family making a stopover on their way to New Zealand. We got to share some of our favourite spots in B.C.’s capital with them as well as a few locations up Island. On the May long weekend, we had a mini-vacation to the Okanagan.

Canada 150 was an excellent time to celebrate our country by travelling to the west and east coasts. It was wonderful to appreciate even more what Canada offers its citizens and visitors.

Now, I just have to complete the rest of that bucket list by visiting areas yet to be checked off – Newfoundland, the Yukon and Nunavut. Still so much to see and do!

So much more to look forward to!