With the increasing tensions south of the border, more Canadian families are choosing to travel within their own country. Free admissions to many Canadian National Historic sites and parks this summer further sweetened the attraction of staying in Canada.
My family and I took full advantage of exploring our home country when we spent one month in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, and Newfoundland. It was fabulous that our children are teens, so they are old enough to remember learning about Canada and our family history. They’ll also have fond memories travelling with their grandparents.
Our family of five and mother-in-law flew from the West Coast to the East Coast. We started in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We swam in the Atlantic Ocean at grandma’s favourite beach, Melmerby Beach. This is the location their grandma swam at every summer through her teenage years. The beach has amazing sand dunes and the wind rustling through the grass added to the ambience. From the shore, you can even see PEI and Cape Breton.
We also visited the Hank Snow Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. In 2006, my husband’s grandpa and brother were inducted into this Country Music Hall of Fame. It was such an honour to show our children the pictures of their great grandfather in a museum. It was neat for our children to drive through the small towns where their grandparents grew up.
After my mother-in-law flew home, we drove to New Brunswick. We loved the covered bridges and we even waited out a downpour inside the St. Martin’s Sea Cave.
The scenery was stunning, and my youngest daughter’s quote about the fog described the view perfectly: “The sailboats look like they are in an ocean graveyard.” We also learned that you can sunburn through fog.
PEI was everything I expected it to be plus more. The stunning red sand, cliffs, white sand beaches, rolling hills and farms with red dirt were scenery that I never tired of. My parents joined us in PEI.
When I was in high school, I played Marilla in Anne of Green Gables, so I was especially excited to tour the Anne of Green Gables historic site. We enjoyed learning more about the author and her life on the Island. Next, we visited L.M. Montgomery’s cousin’s house which is still owned by descendants of the Campbells. The home exactly fit the description of Anne’s house and was the highlight of our L.M. Montgomery touring.
From PEI, we took the ferry to Cape Breton. Our oldest daughter, my husband and my dad enjoyed hiking the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton. We enjoyed driving the Cabot Trail and the terrifyingly beautiful ocean views from up way too high on a winding road.
After Cape Breton, we took an overnight ferry to Newfoundland. We immersed ourselves in the life of locals by spending the day at the Bowring Park outdoor pool in St. John’s. It was fun to listen to accents, and everyone was friendly. There were a few times when we didn’t know what people were saying and they didn’t know what we were saying. As we learned during our “screech in” ceremony, you can say “ay b’y” to agree with someone (if you are unsure what they are saying). Our ceremony included kissing a cod and drinking a shot of screech (rum).
We stayed on Jelly Bean Row (colourful houses on a steep hill in St. John’s). At the George Street Festival, we received a complimentary iconic Newfoundland Sou’wester rain hat. Another highlight was visiting mile 0 where Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope in St. John’s on April 12,1980. The coves, cliffs and mountains in Newfoundland made us feel like we were in Hawaii.
Our children loved bonding with their grandparents and immersing themselves in the unique culture in each province. It was the summer of a lifetime to make family memories with my parents and my husband’s mom.
It warmed my heart to see our teenagers explore our gorgeous country and appreciate their roots. Perhaps, one day our children will bring their children travelling in Canada and my husband and I will join them.
