Trip across Canada (about 1993)

Somewhere around 1993, my still at home family took a road trip through the eastern half of Canada. I never wrote about it until I noticed I was missing any mention of this journey in my Canada page while writing about my trip to Maine and Eastern Canada in 2018.

Attaching a borrowed and small pop-up camper to the back of my conversion van should have been my first hint that this journey would not be one I would care to write about anyway.

With my youngest Son and Daughter and the two foster children we had at the time, we traveled up from our home in Fairmont MN, North through Minneapolis, then to Duluth, and further to Grand Portage, where we then headed east toward our ultimate destination, Niagara Falls. Stopping evenings at camp grounds along the way I quickly discovered that backing a trailer into a camping spot was not an easy task and setting up this old camper was even less fun. Other spots where we cared to stop to visit along the way required us to search for parking where I was sure to find my way out .

I “think” we enjoyed the trip together. No one complained and it was nice to offer foster kids the chance to travel, an activity not available to them when living with the conditions they had come from.

Canada Tour 2018

Nova Scotia

Halifax

A long days drive from Bar Harbor Main, while on a road tour that began in Minneaoplis, culminated at our evenings destination, Halifax, in Nova Scotia, Canada. Here, we stayed at the Chateau Bedford Hotel, a place I wish we could have had more opportunity to enjoy.

Next morning, after a nice breakfast, we met our Halifax guide, Lyle, who showed us the highlights of the area. We visited Peggy’s Cove, where we wandered this ocean side area. Then a walk along a rather touristy shore avenue, a beer, some, not so good onion rings, and then off to visit a casino where we would have our included buffet dinner. Mostly only pasta selections, the dinner was disappointing. Rather than gamble during our remaining time there, Ramona and I chose, instead, to stroll the boardwalk along the waters edge outside. Enjoyable and we sure needed the exercise after all the large meals we had been experiencing.

Then, back to the Bedford Hotel.

New Brunswick

Bay of Fundy

The Bay of Fundy, touching the upper corner of Maine, is found, primarily, in Canada between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It is known to have the highest tides in the world. We arrived at Hopewell Rocks Park on a rainy morning, walking the beach where, later that day, the water could be over 50 feet above our heads. Despite the dreary weather, we could see breathtaking cliffs, sea caves and gigantic and unusual rock formations.

Having walked a few flights of stairs down to reach this interesting shoreline, having completed our journey, we now had to climb back up in order to find shelter, dry off a bit, enjoy a meal at the locations rustic restaurant, and then climb back in our coach towards further adventures.

On our way to our next hotel we, unfortunately, we stopped to “enjoy?” three boring hours at the St. John Market Square. Very few stores of any interest. Fortunately, we found a nice little cellar pub in the lower level of this market where I could enjoy a good martini and Ramona a strange concoction of something she thoroughly enjoyed.

Then on to our evenings dinner at a tour included meal at a steak & rib house restaurant where our “special” menu offered no steak or ribs. We had fish & chips.

Kensington

Built in 1902, St Mary’s Church in Kensington, is an architectural and acoustical treasure. Our guide told us its style is “French Gothic” but it is the rib-vaulted ceiling and wood of fir, pine, spruce, maple, and birch used throughout the building, that achieves a wonderful acoustics that has now repurposed this beautiful structure as a music hall. This is the perfect setting for voice and instruments to celebrate wonderful music. It has been said that the natural acoustics of St. Mary’s rates as one of the top ten places to perform in the world.

Cavendish

Home of “Anne of Green Gables”, a novel written by Canadian Lucy Maud Montgomery, is a small town, whose primary industry is tourism.

Kings Landing

Although Kings Landing is not and never was a real village, it does represent an area where Anglo-American Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies, who were called the United Empire Loyalists in Canada; Scottish, Irish and English immigrants were early settlers. In the period houses that were moved to this area, employees welcome visitors, go about daily chores, cook period meals and create period crafts, all while in costumes appropriate to the time period of their area.

There are also "trades" buildings: these are the shops and businesses that the local men would have owned and operated, many of which would have required a period of apprenticeship/training for those employed there. Examples would be the Print Shop, a Sash and Door Factory, a Carpenter Shop, a Blacksmith Shop, etc.

Of course, any good historical site needs to have a dining hall as well. Not quite as authentically old looking as other structures, it had reasonably good food for our noon meal enjoyment. The molasses bread was excellent.

We were late to our reserved restaurant. Here we had a great steak and exceptional service.

And then, we left Canada and re-entered the United States. Still far from home, we, now only have to endure the long journey back to Minnesota.