November 5, 2026
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As the cooler weather blows in, let me regale you with warm weather memories and some history lessons.
Our 11-day road trip from Ontario to Quebec, and Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), and back home again, was a trip made for memories. However, I may never sing another camp song again!
Four overgrown adults in a van singing “On top of old Smoky”… Why I printed off that list of songs I will never know!
We headed east toward the end of August. A trip so well-planned by two Type-A project managers that we could be hired by Bruce Power tomorrow!
Packing lists
CAA triptiks and maps
Hotels booked
Bed-and-breakfast (B&B) booked in P.E.I.
Planned daily schedules
Rain boots for the Bay of Fundy
Enough phone power cords to tangle us all up
…and that darn campfire song book.
But first, at the start of the road trip our travelling companions and long-time friends, Tracey and Brad Crewe, presented my husband, Jim, and me with T-shirts that said “2026 Road Trip. P.E.I. or bust.” We had a lot of people stop us and ask if we made it.
Short answer is yes. But Jim really appreciated those “van-free” days!
We had been planning this trip since last December. Needless to say, we over-planned it, but we were keen enough to adapt and change plans as we went along.
There is so much history in our provinces and you do, indeed, learn something new every day as you visit places you’ve never been before.
Rolling along the route of early explorers, the St. Lawrence River at 1,200 kilometres in Quebec, presents you with a spectacular drive! We stayed in Rivière-du-Loup, the last stop before entering New Brunswick, and on the return trip, stayed in a lovely niche hotel in Trois-Riviere, home of former prime minister, Jean Chrétien, and the outgoing Quebec premier, Christine Fréchette. The new Quebec premier, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, was also born in Trois-Riviere.
New Brunswick offers majestic views of rich fir trees in bountiful forests so green and thick you know you’re not in Ontario. Almost hitting a deer as it jumped from a low ditch onto the Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick, was a reminder of how fast these agile animals can move.
We checked out three historic covered bridges in New Brunswick. First was the out-of-commission Sawmill Creek Bridge, built in 1905. Just walking through it, evoked another era. Then we drove through the Point Wolfe Bridge, built in 1942, and located in Fundy National Park.
While in Fundy Park, we donned our rubber boots and marched out into the Bay of Fundy at low tide. It was an unforgettable experience and one that reminded us how small a human is when surrounded by the giant rock formations and the distant forests dominating the landscape.
The Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal range in the world. The tides can rise an unbelievable 52.5 feet (16 metres) with more than 100-billion tonnes of seawater gushing in and out of the bay twice per day.
Then there was the discovery of the Chicken Bones, a unique candy purchased at the gift store in the Bay of Fundy, that is manufactured in New Brunswick. This pink, cinnamon-flavoured candy with a chocolate filling, is considered a traditional treat among Atlantic Canadians during Christmas. Chicken Bones were created in 1885.
We also drove through the longest covered bridge in the world, the Hartland Bridge, built in 1901. This bridge was declared a national historic structure in 1980 and a provincial historic site in 1999. While it is the longest covered bridge in the world, like all covered bridges in New Brunswick, it is thought of as a "kissing bridge.” Although I doubt you’ll want to be kissing the entire time it takes to get from one end to the other, as you cover 1,292 feet or 390 metres. Keep in mind, I don’t kiss and tell.
Speaking of bridges, crossing the Confederation Bridge into P.E.I. is another treat because at 12.9 kilometres, it is Canada's longest bridge and the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water.
In P.E.I. for the week, we stayed in the charming coastal fishing village, Victoria By the Sea. The Village of Victoria was founded in 1819, and the B&B we stayed at, like the rest of the village, is full of history.
The B&B, located at 30 Main Street, has a unique history. The provincial government recognized the two-storey house as a “Registered Historical Place for its architectural design” and “for politics and governing Canada.” The house is valued for its well-preserved Foursquare architectural style and for its association with the Honourable Heath MacQuarrie of Victoria.
The house was built in the early 1900s, and MacQuarrie lived there starting in the 1930s. He was a member of parliament for 22 years, until his appointment to the Senate in 1979. He wrote several books in his career and edited the two-volume published diaries of Sir Robert Borden, Canada's First World War prime minister. MacQuarrie considered Borden the architect of Canadian independence.
I am pretty sure we put several hundred kilometres visiting places across the island. We found a quiet, unattended swimming hole at Guernsey Cove. Swimming at North Rustico Beach, P.E.I. National Park, was fun until a huge thermal cell cloud moved in too close for comfort. As we drove back to the B&B across the island, we could see the lightning and tumultuous rain off in the distance. We learned the cell had offered up a tornado just outside of Charlottetown. (That’s the second time I’ve come close to a tornado while visiting P.E.I.)
And yes … after 55 hours in the van covering 4,454 kilometres, we are all still friends, and were happy to be back to a van-free world!
P.S. I need to add that part of the great memories we made were at the packed highway rest-stops with other people also travelling. We talked with Canadians from all over and everyone we met was happy, kind and respectful.
Written ByKim Dixon started her career in journalism in Manitoba, and was a writer for both non-profit and corporate clients. She writes short stories and is active with the area’s Writers' BLOC. She is also a volunteer VON fitness instructor in Kincardine. Jan. 1, 2025, she took her first polar plunge into Lake Huron.
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