Oh! Canada!

An American's three month road trip through the ten provinces of Canada and two territories. The adventures I experienced there, the wonders I saw and the people I met.

The seeds for this road trip were planted, when I took the Cat Ferry from Bar Harbor, Maine, to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 2001. I was doing a tour of the New England States as a part of my visiting all fifty of the United States. I took a side trip to Canada's Ocean Playground based on the recommendation of my friend, Donna, who lives there. I was so impressed with the beauty and charm of the area, that I had to see more of the country. I had to see it all. There are over 100 full color photographs of what I saw included in the book.

I got the idea of driving coast to coast in Canada back in 2003. I ended up doing a bit more than that. I logged over 15,300 miles on Canadian highways. I do not live on either coast of this continent, consequently, the route taken was not a simple coast to coast drive. I entered Canada by way of the Peace Bridge near Buffalo, NY, then headed east through Ontario, and on to the Atlantic Provinces. I then doubled back toward the west along a northern route up toward the Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory, then south through British Columbia. When I reached Vancouver Island, I headed back east again along a more southern route through the country. I drove on several roads that could best be described as cow paths or rock gardens. A part of one road I drove, the Cassiar Highway, actually fell off the side of the mountain the day after I had driven it.

I wanted to have fun, see the sights and explore the country. Once I got there and took a good look, I realized there was much more there than beautiful scenery. Canada is an extremely beautiful country, and takes a back seat to no country I have visited to date, and that includes my own country, the United States of America. But there is more to the story than that. This book tells of the beauty of the country and also that of her people. I have not met a more friendly nation of people anywhere.

For the entire trip my sole traveling companion was my cat, Budder. Budder was given to me by a neighbor, who had two cats that didn't get along well. Budder had been a stray, so he's a rescue. I've had several cats during my life, and not all of them have traveled well. I must say that he is now a seasoned traveler. In this book you will read of some of the antics of my owner, Budder.

The third main character in the book is Arvie. Arvie is my motor home and has a personality all its own. S/he is, at time male, and at other times female. Each morning is a contest to guess which personality will present itself.

Oh! Canada! is dedicated to those friends and strangers whom I met along the way and to Canadians everywhere. They are a very special people.

Dettagli