Planning Canadian vacation

[ManaMan]

My wife and I are planning on taking a driving trip through eastern Canada some time in the future. It may be a while before we actually take this vacation as we were planning to drive and our little girl will have to be old enough to tolerate extended periods in the car.

The general idea is that we'd drive up north from Saint Louis through Detroit, see Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, continue on until we hit the Atlantic in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia (maybe go all the way to Halifax) and then turn back.

A disproportionate number of Shriners live in Canada so I thought that this would be a good place to ask for general ideas on what to do while we're there. What's fun to do in your city? Anything we "have" to do while we're there? Places/towns to see/avoid along our route?

Thanks in advance.

[Julius Seeker]

If you're heading up in mid-August you can catch my wedding party =)

Plus we have a lot of the nicest beaches in the country. I live in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It's about 3 hours from Halifax, there are two ways to get here; via car ferry from Nova Scotia, or by the bridge from New Brunswick (Probably one of the biggest bridges you're likely to ever see).

[Blotus]

New Brunswick is boring so drive right through it.

There are plenty of hiking and biking adventures to be had throughout NS. I reccommend Kejimkujik National Park for such a thing.

The Halifax Citadel is a must-see if you're in Halifax. The Neptune Theatre does shows year 'round, and there are no shortage of theatre or music events going on every week.

My new Southern BBQ restaurant will be open (hopefully STILL open) by then as well, so you could tell me how authentic it is... or not.

[Zeus]

On your way from Detroit to Toronto, give me a shout and we'll hook up for lunch. I live about 60 miles West of Toronto right off the 401.

Depends on what it is you're interested in doing. In Toronto, you have Lakeshore Blvd which is very nice in the summer. There's Ontario Place, a nice sort-of theme park, along the Lakeshore as well and they're always doing stuff there. The CN Tower is always a nice landmark to visit and if it's in the summer, there's watching a baseball game at the 'Dome or if it's in the winter, a basketball or hockey game at the ACC. Both of those stadiums are within walking distance of the CN Tower. There's also some nice walking areas downtown to visit if you so wish in and around Nathan Phillips Square which is where the city hall is. That city hall is pretty futuristic looking in comparison to a lot of others and is often used in movies 'cause of that (including most recently, Resident Evil when Alice ran down it to pound the Nemesis). There are also a lot of ethnic areas such as Greektown, Little Italy, multiple Chinatowns, etc. Toronto is known as one of the most ethnically diverse big cities around.

Ottawa is a bit boring IMO unless you go to the Parliament area which feels like old Britian. There's tons of festivals and stuff that go on in the summer, particularly around Canada Day on July 1. You can go to Gatineau or Hull in Quebec which are very close by (just across the Rideau river for Hull). Gatineau has a nice forest-like area there and Hull is not too shabby, more famous for its casino than anything. And there's always the Canadian Mint if you care about stuff like that. That's about it IMO.

In Montreal, you HAVE to see Old Montreal. That's where they have the cobblestone walkways and feels almost like a piece of old Europe in the middle of the city. There's also a relatively nice mountain area in the upper part of the city and it has a nice shore area as well. That's all I can think of.

On your way out East, go to Quebec City and hit Old Quebec. Kinda like Old Montreal except way bigger and way nicer. It's right along the St. Lawrence River and really feels like you're in 19th century Europe. A great place to spend a day walking around (and tiring). My wife and I went there a year and a half ago and it ruled

As for the Atlantic, that's Blotus' and Seek's areas. Never been out there myself.

[ManaMan]

Canadian vacation postponed until next year.

Ran out of money and vacation time. Was replaced by a weekend trip to Wisconsin... that's pretty darn close to Canada. lol.

[Zeus]

Canadian vacation postponed until next year.

Ran out of money and vacation time. Was replaced by a weekend trip to Wisconsin... that's pretty darn close to Canada. lol.

Whenever you do decide to come through the Toronto area, let me know. We'll hook up and chill for a day.