Travels with Family – Part 2, The Canadian Provinces Trip

One summer, we piled into the car for a week’s “adventure” vacation. We took the long drive from Hartford, CT to Bar Harbor, ME (which continues to this day to be pronounced – and parodied – in the local dialect as “Bah Habah”) in order to take the ferry from there to Halifax, Nova Scotia. My little sister reminds me that we often passed the time playing games like spotting license plates from different states or competing by counting car colors that each of us chose. But our all-time favorite was being the first to spot a convertible or station wagon, which required shouting “peedypo” for the first and “gizzlegaz” for the second. The tongue-swisters made us giggle just saying them, and in a race to be the first, we’d often spit out a mix of the two, like “gizzlepo,” which would result in peels of laughter.

On boarding a ship for the first time, all three of us siblings were excited to explore the main passenger deck. Equally unique was driving our car into the cavernous parking area below deck. As we got underway, the ride through the bay was calm, and we were able to circle the deck to take in views in each direction. But once we hit the open waters of the Atlantic, my stomach reacted to the undulating waters below us. I think I was the first to sit by my mom and suffer silently while turning a pale shade of green for what seemed like an eternity. My older sister joined us a short time later, but our kid sister continued to enjoy the sights and sounds, apparently impervious to sea sickness. Ah youth!

When we landed in Halifax, I was relieved to get off the ferry and set my feet down on dry land, thinking that would instantly cure me. But I was wrong. I was a bit dizzy and less sure-footed than usual as we walked to a restaurant to get a bite to eat after the three-plus hour journey. While I briefly glanced at pictures of dishes on the menu, my stomach immediately warned me to forget about food until my queasiness subsided. I don’t recall how long my recovery took, but assured that the rest of the trip would not entail travel by water, I was able to enjoy the rest of the trip.

The Atlantic province of Nova Scotia, “New Scotland,” was first mentioned in 1621 on a land charter. With its roots in Scottish traditions, we found an abundance of clothing and other souvenirs in this maritime province’s distinctive tartan plaid. The colors are said to represent the blue of the sea and sky; the dark and light greens of the evergreens and deciduous trees; the white of the rocks and coastline surf; the gold of Nova Scotia’s Royal Charter and the red from the lion rampant on the Province’s crest.

Three amazing natural sites on this trip remain in my memory some 65 years later. After visiting friends of my parents in Halifax, we drove up rugged coastlines on the Cabot Trail until we reached Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We’d spent summer vacations at the Connecticut shore, so we were familiar with typical beach scenes, but what was striking about Ingonish Beach was its proximity to Fresh Water lake, which is so close that we could clearly see each body of water while standing at the other. It was mere steps across a sandy lagoon to walk from one body of water to the other. Not surprising, I’ve since learned that “ingonish” is thought to have derived from a native tribe’s term meaning “remarkable place.”

Our trip continued around the tip of Nova Scotia (on the map it looked like we were rounding the top of the world) and then south through New Brunswick. There we stopped at the Bay of Fundy, now considered one of the seven wonders of North America. The Bay is thought to feature the world’s highest tides. Twice each day, the waters rise and recede by a difference as great as 60 feet. The Bay, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia, features what is known as a tidal bore. Due to the funnel-like shape of the bay, a standing wave of water is generated at the front of the incoming tide and rushes forward at about nine miles per hour. From the safe vantage point of a towering stone wall, we watched in amazement as a very shallow but wide expanse quickly filled that area of the bay to a height of nearly 12 feet.

Our last adventure on this trip was the most fascinating for our entire family. On the northwestern edge of the town of Moncton, New Brunswick, we discovered a mysterious natural phenomenon unlike any we’d ever experienced – The Magnetic Hill. Like most so-called “gravity” (or “anti-gravity”) hills around the world, The Mystery Hill occurred in a place where the layout of the surrounding land produces an optical illusion, making a slight downhill slope appear to be an uphill slope. Most memorable for me is a grainy 8mm film of my dad on a bicycle rolling up a hill – not unusual, until you notice that his legs are splayed out wide over the road with his feet far from the pedals. The excited expression on my dad’s face and the amazed grins and giggles from the rest of us made for a truly unique experience. It was certainly the topic for great conversation all the way home – and a special memory that’s lasted a lifetime.