After 3 months in the Canadian Atlantic Maritime Provinces, we had to leave our July rental in Halifax, Nova Scotia a week early to get Steven to the U.S. to fly home. He spent two days in Berkeley on business and arrived back in Portland, Maine exhausted. Our American Consulate in Halifax, Nova Scotia explained Continue Reading »
We planned to spend mid-May through mid- August in the Canadian Atlantic Maritime Provinces to avoid high temperatures and humidity, just in case this summer was brutally hot on the eastern seaboard for the 4th year in a row. That plan worked fine on Cape Breton and Prince Edward Islands, and in Labrador and Newfoundland, Continue Reading »
We read a recent NY Times article citing the best travel blogs of the year; one couple detailed, “Traveling the World Lavishly on a Budget”. Their strategy was to give up their house, stay with family part of the year, and fly internationally to sophisticated, urban locations for 3+ month rentals, thereby exploring each area Continue Reading »
The capital, St. John’s, is the oldest English settlement on the North American continent. You can imagine the birthday party they throw for themselves! Add to that the following simultaneous events: 1) the Summer Solstice; 2) the Supermoon; 3) the first warm summery day; 4) a 3 day holiday weekend (Canada’s Discovery Day); 5) the Continue Reading »
Although the East Coast of Newfoundland is named “Iceberg Alley”, the Bergs arrive later there so the island’s Iceberg Festival is always held at the most Northwestern tip of Newfoundland in the small town of St. Anthony (pronounced “ANN-tunny” without the H, in the Irish Tradition, just like the number “30” rhymes with dirty). You Continue Reading »
Leaving Cape Breton by ferry to Newfoundland, we crept up to Northern Newfoundland along the western shore, over 360 miles. This would be 7 hours of driving if you could go the posted speed, but that would be stupid and dangerous in a country with 100,000 moose. We saw 20 in one day, all within Continue Reading »
We loved this humorous message on a billboard on the Island, partly because we appreciated that it wasn’t in Gaelic. The more common sentiment, “C’EAD MILE FAILTE: A HUNDRED THOUSAND WELCOMES” reflects the warmth and down to earth culture on Cape Breton Island. As Gaelic is not a latin-based language, we needed every assistance possible Continue Reading »
Now that’s a tongue twister..bet you can’t say it accurately three times really fast! In spite of producing 30% of all Canadian potatoes, PEI, as this Canadian Maritime Province and Island is called, is probably best known for ‘Anne of Green Gables’, a novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. We loved her fiery and loquacious orphan, Continue Reading »
Gravitational pull, how I feel it as I pull my body up the ladder from the YMCA swimming pool, after the weightless freedom provided by swimming and floating. We can’t feel the moon’s gravitational pull so it is so exciting to see its’ effect in the massive tidal display in the Bay of Fundy, where Continue Reading »
We know we are in Quebec because French is still the primary language. By the time we have driven 6 hours due east of Quebec City along the south side of the St. Lawrence River, we begin to question whether New Zealand might look just like this. Leaving the very well tended small farms of Continue Reading »