Our summer west coast adventure around Vancouver Island kicked off with a few days in Victoria. On account of the pandemic and a less frequent travel schedule, we both were looking forward to some time on the coast. This was my second and my wife’s first visit to this beautiful city. We had incredible luck with weather in what can be a very damp, grey and dreary climate. Our stay came during an extended heat wave and perfectly blue skies, perfect for exploring Victoria on foot. What’s a trip to Victoria without a walk around the inner harbour and a stop to gaze upon the Fairmont Empress?
Anyone who tried to travel by air in the summer of 2022 in Canada will have some sort of horror story to tell. The day before our planned trip to Vancouver Island I received the dreaded text message from Air Canada with a flight cancelation for our flight the next day. In the end, we lost the first day we were scheduled to spend in Victoria, but on the positive side, we at least arrived just in advance of the airport’s rental car location closing so we could snag our car for an extra late night drive to our downtown hotel.
We woke up fresh the next morning, but quite hungry as the previous day’s delays and flight changes left us woefully little time to actually eat en route to Victoria. My wife had picked out John’s Place, a diner a block from our hotel that had an extensive list of gluten-free goodies (waffles!) and while she had done significant research on this place, I knew nothing about it…. until we walked in and I was greeted by this sign. Instantly, I knew this was a good omen for a great day ahead.
This past year was a much more active travel year than 2021. While I didn’t add a stamp to my passport, I was on and off enough planes that even though I didn’t leave Canada, it felt a bit more normal than it has recently. Like everyone who tried to re-establish a travel heartbeat this year, I had my share of delayed and cancelled flights, lost baggage and airport hotels, but it didn’t dampen the fun I had on the road in 2022. Here, in no particular order, are my favourite travel related moments and memories from the past year.
1. Beers with dad – I got out east twice this year to visit my folks, and a good portion of that time was spent in a couple of craft brewery taprooms in Bathurst with dad catching up. These are always some of my favourite times and I’m already looking forward to sitting in this exact same spot at Four Rivers in a couple of months.
Through the pandemic a group of our friends started a zoom-hosted wine club where one of us would pick two wines, a few recipes that would pair well, and then we’d get together to eat and drink and stare at the little electronic rectangles of our respective likenesses on our screens as we caught up and laughed. Laughed a lot. During a few of those get togethers, we chatted (as one is apt to do) about doing a real-life wine tasting trip when it was safe to do so again. Fast forward to this May when those wine-soaked plans turned real and landed us in Vancouver to attend the Vancouver International Wine Festival.
My wife and I built a fun and relaxed Vancouver itinerary around the large wine tasting we we all going to. For me, any trip to Vancouver needs to start with a hike around Stanley Park.
Calgary has a vibrant craft beer scene, and while I can get some selected beers at home in Saskatoon, it’s always better to visit the source for a taste of their craft at its freshest. I did my research and lined up my visits to a number of craft breweries so I could taste the “best of the best” that Calgary has to offer. This is obviously a subjective list of breweries and taprooms but I highly recommend each of these.
Stop number one, just as an unexpected snow storm whipped through the city for a few hours, was Annex Ale Project. When I arrived, I noticed they had a number of beers on tap from 2 Crows from my old hometown of Halifax on account of a tap takeover event the previous day. I had previously tried all of the 2 Crows so I stuck to sampling a couple from Annex. My favourite was their “Heavy Meadow” (a saison) and I also quite enjoyed the delicious burger from the attached burger joint. Burgers and beer are always a great pairing!
Visits back to see my parents in northern New Brunswick follow a familiar and comfortable script now. A long three hop flight journey across the country. Lots of laughter and catching up. Visiting some favourite craft beer bars with dad. Eating some delicious food. Then some tearful goodbyes followed by the reverse of that long three hop flight journey. Even for a short vacation the travel hassles are worth it to see my folks and to get a greeting like this from their dog, Tia.
My three week summer vacation last year in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia meant there would be ample opportunity to sample liberally from some of the finest craft beers those two provinces have. As the pandemic was still swirling and my comfort with eating or drinking indoors was still at a low point, this craft beer exploration became something of a patio hopping experience. That’s usually difficult to pull off in rainy Atlantic Canada, but we got almost a completely perfect three weeks of weather. I wasted no time visiting an old favourite in Nackawic, my wife’s hometown. This is a taproom that just feels comfortable to me. Big Axe Brewery is located in a beautiful log constructed building just down the street from the world’s largest axe (hence, the brewery’s name).
I know that for most people Nova Scotia is not top of mind for wine producing regions in Canada. But for those of us in the know, there is a surprisingly high quality wine region tucked into the Annapolis Valley, about an hour outside of Halifax. Take a look at a map and dig a little deeper and you’ll notice that this area of Nova Scotia is in a similar latitude range, has a similar climate, and in many areas, similar soil conditions to areas in Champagne, France. Luckily for us who were/are fortunate to live relatively close nearby, there is a true gem of a winery that started with an audacious goal. The purpose of Benjamin Bridge winery was to show that world-class sparkling wines could be made in Nova Scotia. Starting with their early vintages, in blind testings their wines scored similar to Champagnes. They have expanded their range of wines over the years, and due to the occassional free shipping special offered, we’ve accumulated a small inventory of their wines at our home in Saskatoon.
Much like we did back in the days we lived in Halifax, when we were visiting this past summer, we made a day trip to the Annapolis Valley. Our first stop was Benjamin Bridge to try a couple of tasting flights of their wines.
After a wonderful visit with my mom and dad in northern New Brunswick, we pointed our car south, marvelled at the fact there was a pandemic-related random selection border checkpoint on the way into Nova Scotia, and a few hours later arrived in a city that means a great deal to both of us.
Halifax. Home sweet home.
This part of our Atlantic Canadian tour was about visiting family and also taking a couple of days to reconnect with some of our favourite things.
Many times the best decisions you make in life sneak up on you.
It was a beautiful late August evening, our last night in Prague. Looking back on this from almost eight years on, it remains one of my favourite travel memories because of what this night ended up meaning to my wife and me. We hadn’t set out with any grand plans… just a way to enjoy the last few hours of what had been a remarkable two weeks in the Czech Republic. We headed up to the Letna Beer Garden with an idea to enjoy the view over the city and for me to spend the rest of our Czech currency on glasses of ice cold pilsner.
Bluenose Traveler 