Have you visited Canada?

When I retired, about 20 years ago. we closed up the house and headed North into Canada. We entered Canada at the Lake of the Woods/Kenora, Ontario, and headed West. We had no itinerary, and just drove, and stopped as we saw things of interest. Within a few days, we wound up in Edmonton, and spent some time there and in Jasper. That huge West Edmonton Mall shopping center was quite fun to wander around in for a day. Then, we went out on the glacier at the Columbia ice field. There is a triangle from Jasper to Kamloops to Calgary that has some of the best mountain scenery in North America. We reentered the US at the Glacier Natl. Park in Montana, and eventually worked our way back to Missouri, after nearly a month. This was the nicest trip we ever took, and it helped transition from working...to full retirement.
 
Don M. said:
When I retired, about 20 years ago. we closed up the house and headed North into Canada. We entered Canada at the Lake of the Woods/Kenora, Ontario, and headed West. We had no itinerary, and just drove, and stopped as we saw things of interest. Within a few days, we wound up in Edmonton, and spent some time there and in Jasper. That huge West Edmonton Mall shopping center was quite fun to wander around in for a day. Then, we went out on the glacier at the Columbia ice field. There is a triangle from Jasper to Kamloops to Calgary that has some of the best mountain scenery in North America. We reentered the US at the Glacier Natl. Park in Montana, and eventually worked our way back to Missouri, after nearly a month. This was the nicest trip we ever took, and it helped transition from working...to full retirement.
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That's awesome! I did some of that trip with my parents when I was a kid. We camped at Jasper and visited the Columbia ice field. I hope to see the Rockies again sometime. They are absolutely breathtaking!
 
Catballou said:
That's awesome! I did some of that trip with my parents when I was a kid. We camped at Jasper and visited the Columbia ice field. I hope to see the Rockies again sometime. They are absolutely breathtaking!
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Yes, I grew up in Denver, and like the mountains. The Canadian Rockies aren't as high as those in Colorado, but they are "newer" and have spectacular sheer cliffs. That, plus several close encounters with Elk and Mountain Goats, made for a real nice trip.
 
Alligatorob said:
Yes, several times, Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary driving from there to Banff and Jasper through the park, and recently a fishing trip to Vancouver Island. Not to mention a few short back and forths across the border.

I like it! Canada is a great place to visit, I'll be back.
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Love to hear this! I've had limited visits to the states. Vermont in the fall for my honeymoon (spectacular!), upper New York States (awesome), San Diego (beautiful city) and Hollywood (Universal Studios).
 
British Columbia, Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, a number of fishing trips in Ontario and the Quetico Canoe Area, and Quebec. I love Canada. British Columbia is my favorite. I'm a sailor and also a mountain person. I'm also drawn to almost anywhere in the west half of North America.
 
JustDave said:
British Columbia, Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, a number of fishing trips in Ontario and the Quetico Canoe Area, and Quebec. I love Canada. British Columbia is my favorite. I'm a sailor and also a mountain person. I'm also drawn to almost anywhere in the west half of North America.
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Our East Coast is also incredible...quaint fishing villages, historic cities, lots to explore!
 
I have. Hubby and I took 6 months off work in 1985 and using an around the world plane ticket we visited Hawaii and the western states of US, then north to Canada for 6 weeks.

We flew from LA to Calgary and drove ourselves around the Rockies for a week. We felt much less like aliens as soon as we began to drive. There was something about being in a Commonwealth country that was reassuring to us. Even the way people drove on the roads seemed more like Australia somehow, notwithstanding that Canadians, like Americans, drive on the other side of the road. The scenery was totally different though.

From Calgary we flew to Vancouver BC and spent a few days there, also taking a ferry across to Victoria. I was beginning to miss Australia by then and found myself in the Vancouver zoo talking to the kangaroos like a crazy person.

Then on to Winnipeg to stay with relatives of a Canadian friend back in Sydney. We stayed there for two weeks in their basement. It was late Summer (August) and from the tales I was told I wouldn't like to be there in Winter. They took us around and showed us things we would not have seen without them.

Next stop was London, Ontario, another basement*, this time belonging to a cousin of our Canadian friend. He took us to an Amish market and to Niagara falls. We also toured Ottowa to see Parliament House where I even got to shake the hand of Brian Mulroney, the then PM. It was election time and he was keen to shake everyone's hand.

From Ontario we visited Quebec City and loved it. I was a bit afraid that English speakers might have a bad time there but no, everyone was most gracious. We stayed in a small hotel and the manageress helped Hubby to write a postcard in French to send to the French teacher at the school where he was employed.

From Quebec it was down to Montreal. Montreal is about the same vintage as Sydney and the resemblance was striking. We have our harbour; they have the big lake. The buildings, especially the houses, looked very much like some Sydney suburbs. All up I think we spent 6 weeks in Canada.

By now homesickness has completely gone and we boarded a plane headed for the UK.
But that is a whole other story.

* We don't have basements in OZ.
 
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No I never have, I've always been intrigued by it and would love to visit..

.... my husband worked a few years ago for around 6 months in Banff , Lake Louise while filming a British TV series

My Daughter flew in and out of Toronto on a monthly basis for corporate meetings...about 15 years ago...Jeez I can't believe it was 15 years..seems like yesterday. !:oops:
 
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