Ontario is the most populous province in Canada and second largest by total area. With over 250,000 lakes (claiming far more than Minnesota with 10,000 lakes) these contain one-fifth of the world’s fresh water. It’s a multicultural province, with a significant portion of its population being immigrants from around the world, concentrated mostly in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas. We arrived back in Canada with a stop at Sault Ste Marie. We had just missed seeing a ship clear…
After a round of golf on the Thousand Island Parkway, we made tracks to Montreal. As a large city I didn’t feel it necessary to book a hotel in advance. But once again, we were plagued with the problem of a Thule roof carrier keeping inner city garages off limits with our 7-foot clearance. Since staying in the historic district was not going to work we ended up in a suburb 30 minutes away. Luckily the mid-rise Holiday Inn was…
Quebec City, the capital of Quebec, is a historic and charming city known for its French-speaking culture, cobblestone streets and well-preserved fortifications. It’s one of the oldest cities in North America, founded by the French in 1608, and retains a strong European feel. We opted to stay outside the old city but we spent most of our time within the walls. The heat wave finally broke when we arrived so it was much more enjoyable walking around the lovely old city. The…
On the drive to PEI we began to see some colorful foliage in New Brunswick. It’s is a Maritime province in eastern Canada known for its vast forests, rugged coastlines, extensive river system, and a unique blend of English- and French-speaking cultures. We touched on the south part of the province 40 years ago, amazed by the Bay of Fundy with the largest tides in the world. This time, driving north to south, the countryside was very pretty. We didn’t…
Almost completely surrounded by water, Nova Scotia is famous for its high tides, lobster, fish, blueberries, and apples. It is the world’s top exporter of Christmas trees. The coastline totals 8,400 miles, double the width of Canada; incredibly, there are 5,000 lakes in the province; we only saw a handful, probably because we mostly followed the coastline. The largest lobster ever caught in the world was in Nova Scotia, weighing 20.14 kg (44 lbs 6 oz). And yet, fun facts…