Trip Highlights

In Quebec City we wandered cobbled streets

Admired centuries of history

Dined at an authentic Italian restaurant

Where a French waiter and two significantly Anglo Ontarians tried to find common ground

Stayed at a hotel on a lake that we never had time to see

And picnicked on cheese and baguette while the Vinyl Café played on the radio

 

In New Brunswick we hopped into inner tubes

Strapped to one another, and also to our cooler

We cracked a cold beer as our feet dangled in the cold river

And floated peacefully down the Miramichi

I definitely crashed into the trees hanging over the riverbank at one point

And we laughed

 

On the south shore of New Brunswick we walked on the ocean floor

The tide was out, the tourists were in

And the Hopewell Rocks were as towering and majestic as anything had ever been

Cinched at the waist, busty ladies in corsets gathered together

100 feet over the rest of us, looking down

Eroded by the endless ocean

Hugged by bubble wrap seaweed, floating and clinging then squinting against the bright sun

Until the tide returned

 

We ate salmon in Miramichi

Lobster in Shediac (Acadian style, of course!)

We dined on mussels, clam chowder and more lobster in New Glasgow, PEI

We savoured Digby scallops on Digby neck – warmed on a toasted hot dog bun, somehow the greatest meal I have ever tasted

Lobster rolls and scallop encores in Lunenburg

1.5 lbs of lobster and fresh salmon near Peggy’s Cove

Oysters, lobster and haddock in Halifax

Deep fried everything in Antigonish – the ocean floor in a fryer, then on our plates

Steamed clams (steamed hams?) fresh from the ocean in Portland, Maine

And $1/piece oysters for Jeff

On my to do list: getting fresh seafood shipped to Ontario for minimal cost… (suggestions welcome!)

 

On PEI we clapped, sang and stomped at a ceilidh

Fiddlers fiddled, step dancers stepped, trumpets blared

Jokes flowed

Songs sung – from the beloved Stompin’ Tom, to Mike the ceilidh guy’s “ol’ belly rubber” which made this big weenie cry

Bald eagles flew overhead nonchalantly

Herons clustered together in flocks

Where were we!?

 

Lighthouses, lighthouses, lighthouses

From gorgeous, to run down, to ugly, to lonely, to majestic

From red, to white, to black

Beacons on every point

Everywhere

(Lighthousemoon?)

 

Whale watching off Digby Neck

The humpback whale barrel roll

Fins of minkes all around

Brilliant sun 1, pervasive fog 0

Did I mention the scallop rolls?

 

Touring the west coast and the Acadian villages

Blue, red, white flags, yellow star

Pride in history, unchanging for centuries

Views of the ocean

“I could live here”

 

Lunenburg, so colourful, so quaint, so adorable

The perfect fishing town

Tall colourful architecture here, the Bluenose II over there

And a harbour full of sailboats under a shining sun

The bluest water I have ever seen

 

Peggy’s Cove

Pink granite, blue water, shining sky

Lighthouse perfection

Clambering on rocks, waves crashing all around

Feeling so unbelievably at home

 

Halifax.  Waterfront.  Could have set up a shop and moved right onto the boardwalk, never leaving

Or could have stayed a year at the Keith’s brewery where folks in period costumes danced and sung

Could have spent every night for the rest of my life listening to Signal Hill at the Lower Deck, while the good beer flowed

Could have stayed there and never left, I’m sure of it (NCC Atlantic, are you hiring?)

 

Laying on a beach

This was worth not taking the long route

To find this time to relax

The coldest, saltiest water

Nothing more refreshing

The warm, reddish sand

Quiet, reading, relaxing

“We need to find time to do more of THIS” says Jeff

 

Cape Breton

My history, my blood

The Cabot Trail and the most beautiful vistas in the world

Winding on a road up a mountain

While the sea opened up below

Climbing further and further up

Green hills that went on forever

Fiddle music pulsing in my veins

 

Time with Jeff

A commodity there just isn’t always enough of

Two weeks, 7,500 kms, countless stops, always on the move

Coming, going

Cabins with salamander guests, hotel rooms in 4 provinces and 1 state

Feeling at home the entire time, because my home was right beside me, driving the car and smiling at me

 

A wonderful. Spectacular. Unforgettable. Exhausting. Brilliant two weeks.

Canada’s east coast - perfection