Atlantic Canada

I had a grand scheme to drive up to L'anse aux Meadows to see where the Vikings landed.  Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition.  That said, I managed to have a great week with my friend J exploring the Canadian Atlantic Coast, someplace not far away but where I'd never been before.

We started with Acadia National Park in Maine.  My parents took me as a baby but I had no memories of the trip.  J had never been.  We arrived just before sunset and then had the next morning to explore a little.  It was peak tourist season so the park was crowded.  We got up to Cadillac Mountain pretty early but by the time we started back down the roads were getting busy.  We drove down the coast for a ways and walked around Jordan Pond for a while before having to head north.

That night we arrived at Bay of Fundy.  We got there just after lowest tide and about an hour before the park closed.  Bay of Fundy has the most extreme tides of any place in the world.  When it's low-tide, you can walk on the ocean floor!  We spent about an hour exploring down at the bottom of Hopewell Rocks Park before being chased out at closing time.  We were staying right by the entrance but unfortunately had to drive a half hour away to find dinner.  Next time I'll plan better.

Our first full day in Canada we headed for Prince Edward Island.  I grew up on Anne of Green Gables and the Road to Avonlea series, so I was excited to see the place that inspired it all.  We stuck to the South Coast and Charlottetown.  Highlights included Cows Ice Cream, the red sand beaches, and gorgeous canola fields of bright yellow flowers.  We drove back to Nova Scotia that night, on our way to Cape Breton Island.

The next morning it was an early start to finish our drive across Nova Scotia and onto Cape Breton Island.  We had lunch by the water and then stopped to check in at our bed and breakfast.  Then it was a little more driving to get to the Middle Head Trail, which headed out along a peninsula.  The views were breathtaking.  I didn't see whales (I looked!  A lot) or moose but the trees and water were just gorgeous.  I really loved this hike- walk in the woods, climbing up and down rocks.  This was one of my favorite nature excursions ever.  We had dinner at the hotel near the trail head and then finished the night at the pebbled beach by the B&B.

In the morning, we drove around the island, stopped to take pictures and look for wildlife.  We did the bog trail, a boardwalk short walk through the swamp, and then the Skyline trail, a beautiful long hike along the cliff on the west side of the park.  It was busy, and we didn't see any animals which was disappointing, but it was definitely the wrong time of day.

The next day we headed back to do some genealogy research for J.  We visiting her ancestor's hometown, dug through the archives in the historical society, and even drove out to the middle of nowhere on dirt roads to see where the house once stood.  It was rainy and cold and miserable, so we didn't stay long. That night,the weather cleared as we arrived in Halifax and walked around a little before a great pub dinner.

Our last read vacation day was spent exploring the city in the morning.  The Maritime Museum was fantastic.  They had a cool exhibit on women in different nautical roles, including a lot of environmental workers.  I would have liked to see more of the city but it was drizzly and cold and just.  Miserable.  So we grabbed some donair (local shwarma speciality) for lunch and got on the road home.  We stayed in St. John's the night.

The last day was just a long drive.  We picked up some Canadian snacks before leaving the country and then just cruised back down to Massachusetts.

I can't believe I've lived in the Northeast almost 40 years but never done this trip before.  It was a perfect summer vacation. 

Road Trip to Ohio

So, I bought a house.  Which is great, but it means I'm grounded for a while until my disposable income rebuilds.  That means this is the year of the road trip.

I co-opted my cousin (also a teacher) and her children to drive across the northeast on the grand family road trip.  Along the way we visited her sister and parents, and our cousin a little further away.  It was low key, full of pretty scenery and great visits.

This was a route I've done before, so I was dedicated to finding new adventures along the way.  Some of the sites we visited were:

Serpent Mound

In college I learned about Native American sites in the US.  I'd seen Mesa Verde when I was a kid, but I became fascinated with the Eastern Mound Builders and their legacy.  Serpent Mound was one of those sites I'd been around several times but never managed to see.  It's a man-made mound shaped like a giant snake.  It doesn't look like much from the ground but climb the tower and you can see the full shape of the serpent.  It was a cool stop in the middle-of-farmland Ohio, a good chance to stretch legs and remember a bit of history.

Cincinnati Zoo

My cousin's family are members and always sharing photos of the zoo.  It's really well regarded as a place of education and conservation, so I was excited to see the animals there.  Their African Savannah exhibit brought back memories of Etosha National Park in Namibia, and I loved seeing the gorillas with my little cousins.

Niagara Falls

We stopped first at Poutine and Cream for the amazing poutine and freak shakes.  While not really going to Canada, it was a great taste of the land across the border.  The perfect dinner.  The best part was that they did milkshake flights, so you could get a little taste of several shakes.

Then it was off to the falls.  I was the only one with a passport, so I walked across the bridge to Canada.  Seriously, I walked to Canada! Who does that? It was pretty awesome, and you can stand on the bridge in the middle with one foot on each side of the border.