Traveling abroad in any country you are constantly meeting new people, making new friends, and sharing a large variety of conversation. After the standard hello’s and maybe a quick laugh about the situation you’ve found yourself in, the next question is generally, “So where’re you from?” Being from Canada, I’ve found I’m generally met with a positive response from most parties. People who have either travelled to Canada, or want to spend some time ask about the beautiful east coast, or the sparse territories, or the karst mountains on Canada’s west coast. Every time my girlfriend and I were asked these questions we would ask ourselves the same. While we’d travelled to plenty of destinations outside Canada, we’d never really travelled… well, Canada.

So after another season wildland firefighting in Northern Ontario we decided to travel throughout our “home and native land”. First up in our sights was Canada’s historic, cultural, and downright beautiful East Cost. So we packed up Rose’s shiny blue Chevy Cavalier (aka “Sandy”) with every road trip essential; CD mixtapes, few changes of clothing, a guitar, full range of camp gear, and a little cooler. After a few barriers and last minutes we finally hit the road at 8am and began our first jaunt from Toronto to Northern Quebec.

Road trips are great because they only require a few necessary conditions in order to ensure a smooth operation.

• Good music – Now this is potentially the most absolute crucial item. An am/fm transmitter is critical to allowing anyone to play their own tracks. When you’re rounding hour 7 & 8 and you can throw on a Tom Petty’s greatest hits, there’s really nothing better.
• Good Conversation – Now this really comes about naturally, but it’s a key mention nonetheless
• Positive Attitude – Hey, it can sometimes be loooooooong days on the road, but positive vibes always make it an enjoyable adventure.

Perhaps the Google Maps generation has taken out a little bit of the fun that goes along with the wingman unfolding a massive map and trying to figure out exactly where you are or where you’re going, but I feel that this little necessity can be taken out.

So from Ontario, to Quebec, down through New Brunswick and up to Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton. Across to Newfoundland all the way to St. Johns, and back through Halifax, we clocked 7400km all throughout Canada’s East Coast.

Check out this video to see our trip!

East Coast Road Trip

<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/145319582″>East Coast Road Trip 2015</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/user5611206″>Tyler Jay</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>