I was coming out of the hair salon early Saturday morning when I received a message from Leslie. I was standing in my dear friends wedding that day, but as I looked down at my phone the message added even extra excitement to the day. Les had booked a flight to Halifax in 3 weeks and wanted to know if I’d like to join? What a question…My mind was in. But was my bank account? I have some extensive travel plans for 2017- could I do it all?

I put the idea on pause as the beauty of the wedding surround us all. As I sat at the head table I turned to my fellow bridesmaid Laura and mentioned the idea to her. She said very  matter- of factly, “ you should go”. It didn’t take much. Next thing I knew I was on the phone with Les, booking a flight out of Toronto and searching off the beaten trails in east coast Canada. With only a four day venture ahead of us, we made the most of what we could in the area.

I had remembered a good road trip with the family to the East Coast back in 04’. Dang, I was only 15. We took a 3 week road trip to the Maritimes and hit up every National Historic Site and Park on the eastern seaboard. I specifically remember learning about how “ Cod is God” and how sad I was when the grocery store put a live lobster in a microwave and it started screaming.

So, Les got off work in the states at 7:30pm. We each attempted to get to bed extra early that night so we could wake up at 1am for a road trip to Toronto. We departed Windsor at 1:30am and swung into Toronto at 5:30am. We hit up a Booster juice at the airport and took our seats of slumber. As we flew in to Airport Halifax, I looked down at the flooding of trees below me. It was gorgeous. It was the peak of fall and the mist through the evergreens made it very eerie and ever so welcoming.

We picked up our car rental from the airport, some sort of Buick SUV.  Perhaps they figured we had a family in tow? Either way the Buick Boat was extra roomy and I had no objections to heated leather seats. As we cruised in style through Dartmouth and across the river basin into Halifax, I took in the East Coast vibes.

The tiredness of the flight and drive hadn’t hit us yet, so we were itching to see what the East Coast could offer us. Right of the bat, we set in the direction of Peggy’s Cove; yet we found ourselves in a little deserted cove called Prospect. I couldn’t wait to touch the Atlantic and the smell of salty, fishy air confirmed our arrival. We headed in direction of Peggy’s Cove, and of course it was pretty packed. I think we found more enjoyment with the colors and little untouched inlets along the coast.

We made it back to Halifax at night feeling pretty tired. We met Andrew, who hosted us in the basement of his house. It was a great Air BnB; super quaint, clean and access to Apple TV and Netflix. So great. The next day we set off early to explore more of the coast, hitting up places like Lunenburg and Kejimijikuk National Seashore Park- which we were determined to pronounce properly.

That night we headed back into Halifax for a Ghost Walk through the old Citadel. A National Historic Fort preserved for daily tours- but instead we took an hour with a group through the depths of the Fort, hearing about past and present day ghost stories. Really great! Not too scary, but still creepy as the wind howled through the walls. I’m glad we were only there for an hour! Kudos to the plane brochure for this travel idea.

The following days we made our way up to the Bay of Fundy, where we had some stellar views and even better weather. It was a perfect day for a hike, and we hiked the entirety of Cape Spear, a peninsula that jets out into the Bay of Fundy, in the north part of Nova Scotia. There were a few trail runners that did the entirety of the trail in 1 hour. It probably took us a good 4 hours to walk it. We picnicked on the peak of Cape Spear and sort of got lost through the bush on the way back. For the last of our time on the East Coast, we needed to see a good sunset. I guess it doesn’t make huge sense as we were on the east coast – but let me tell you it did not disappoint. We headed to Burntcoat Park, a location with the highest tides in the world- no joke.

We walked, jumped and danced on the ocean floor- mostly because it was becoming really cold, really fast as the sun started to set. I kept worrying that the tide was going to come sweeping in any minute! But I was assured that it takes hours. Ending our time on the ocean floor was spectacular. I had a beautiful time! It makes me want to go out and advocate for my country. Go out and see the culture, the beauty, the vastness of what Canada has to offer. Canada is so huge and there seriously are endless trails, tracks, villages, forests to explore. I am always proud to be Canadian, and thankful for an amazingly beautiful country to live in.

Go out and go far.