Road trips are fun
Flying and driving are the primary modes of travel these days. That said, there are some advantages of driving over flying. When you travel by car, you have more control over your adventure. You can drive at your own pace and stop as much as you like to take in the beautiful scenery along your way.
Many Canadians – and Americans, for that matter - dream of driving across their respective countries, from coast to coast once in their lifetimes. While living in Canada, I too dreamed that dream, but I never got around to making my dream come true. Instead, I made road trips to various places in Canada and the United States with my family. Of them all, three trips come to mind.
One summer, we set out on a trip to explore Eastern Canada. From Montreal we drove to Quebec City which is the only fortified city in Canada. It is recognized as the cradle of French civilization in North America. We visited many historic sites there.
From Quebec City, we moved on to Gaspe which is known as the birthplace of Canada because the French explorer Jacques Cartier landed on the Gaspe Coast to take shelter from a storm at sea. He claimed the land for King Francis I of France and Canada became a colony of France in 1535 (France ceded Canada to Great Britain in 1763 after the Seven Years’ War).
Our next stop was Prince Edward Island located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is a land of quaint rural communities, rolling hills and great seafood. We visited Green Gable house, the setting for Lucy Maud Montgomery’s famous novel, Anne of Green Gables. We spent one afternoon basking in the sun on Cavendish Beach which has miles of white-red sand surrounded and protected by gorgeous dunes.
We traveled from Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia. Having looked around Halifax, one of the most important Canadian commercial ports on the Atlantic seaboard, we boarded a ferry bound for Bar Harbor, Maine, from which we returned to Montreal with a stopover in Boston and New York City.
In another summer, we departed Toronto and drove for seven hours to get to Philadelphia. With its parks and quiet pace of life, the city reflects refined Quaker heritage. It also has reminders everywhere of the early days of nation-building. We saw the Liberty Bell and visited Independence Hall, the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.
From Philadelphia, we proceeded to Gettysburg where one of the bloodiest battles during the American Civil War was fought. It was considered the turning point in the war, leading to the Union’s ultimate victory. We visited Gettysburg National Cemetery where President Abraham Lincoln officially consecrated the grounds and delivered a monumental speech on November 19, 1863.
Our final destination was Washington D.C. We visited the White House, the Capitol Building, the Lincoln Memorial and many other tourist attractions that the city offered.
In yet another summer, we set out on a long journey to Orlando, Florida which is 2,060 kilometers away from Toronto. We drove, drove and drove, stopping only for food, gasoline and sleep. We passed through seven states and it took us two and a half days to get to Orlando.
We spent a couple of days touring Universal Studios as well as Magic Kingdom and Epcot Theme Park located at the Walt Disney World Resort. But the weather in Orlando in July was unbearable. It was so hot and humid that our appetite for sightseeing vanished. So we shortened our itinerary and hurried back home. Although our journey to Orlando turned out to be less than satisfactory, I patted myself on the back for having undertaken an unforgettable 4,120-kilometer round trip by car.
The writer (tomhslee43@gmail.com) is based in Toronto, Canada and the author of “Ramblings of A Wanderer.”