Subject: Hello from Halifax
Date: Sunday, June 19, 2005
I am currently in Halifax, Canada. It is a small, quiet city. And it’s cold.
My parents and I have survived our USA road trip together, driving 5962 miles (9539 km) from N.Y.C to L.A., and crossing 14 states. After Yellowstone, we drove south. Here are a few highlights from our trip.
Salt Lake City and Mormon City. I’m not religious, but it wasinteresting to see the wealth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park. Heaven for geologists anyone interested in rocks, geomorphology and beautiful landscapes.
Grand Canyon National Park. A huge canyon with gorgeous sedimentary rocks/strata exposed. All together, Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon are part of the Colorado Plateau and if you love rocks, this is your playground. There is, however, one downside to the Grand Canyon: it is as crowded as the Statue of Liberty.
Hoover Dam. A large concrete structure built between 1931 and 1935. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the industrial world.
Las Vegas. My parents and I were lucky to secure accomodation at a four-star luxurious hotel for $65 (US) per night. A bargain! The hotel had more than 1907 rooms, and it is one of the smallest hotels in Vegas. Big hotels have 3000 to 5000 rooms. Of course, we visited the “Strip” and went into as many casinos as possible — Circus Circus, The Venetian, Caesar Palace, Bellagio (the one robbed in Ocean’s 11), Alladin, Paris, Luxor and Excalibur. Each hotel is a city in itself. Some of them even have their own ‘monorail’ to move people around.
From Las Vegas, we drove to LAX Airport and that was the end of our trip. I had a wonderful time with my parents. We have seen a lot of the USA. I’m now about to begin my time in Canada. I’ve activated my working-holiday visa and met up with my friend Sally from Melbourne. We will be traveling through the country together. We will be touring Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island. We are working our way from eastern Canada to Quebec City and then onwards to Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.
Love,
SYS
Subject: Hello from PEI
Date: Sunday, June 26, 2005
I am currently in Prince Edward Island, a small province on Canada’s east coast. Before PEI, I left Halifax, Nova Scotia for a three-day bus trip to Cape Breton, an island famous for its natural beauty and highlands. This place is pretty remote. The main industries here are lobster fishing and whale watching. I enjoyed both. I ate lobster, proper atlantic lobster, not the aussie crayfish.
Then I went whale watching at sunset and saw at least four whales, which was cool.
While I was on Cape Breton Island, I got a surprise email from an ex-work colleague telling me that his friend in PEI would be happy to meet up with me. He even offered me a place to stay. I am currently staying at his place in Summerside. Canadians are just so friendly!
After traveling around and staying in hostels and hotels for two months, it is heaven to be able to stay in a family home. PEI is famous for two things: Anne of Green Gables and, potatoes. It’s got only about 140,000 inhabitants and many of them are potato farmers.
PEI’s soil, with it’s sandstone-deprived red soil rich in iron, is well suited for potato farming.
My friend Sally and I rented a car and drove around the island, visiting the many beaches and lighthouses. The beaches here are nice but the Atlantic ocean is freezing!
Sally and I also went to College of Piping in Summerside. This is a college for people to learn how to play the bagpipes. Atlantic maritime Canada has lots of Scottish and Irish immigrants and this is reflected in the local culture.
Today was the “Highland Gathering” at this College. There were competitions for highland dancing and for the highland pipes and bands.
The bagpipes and the drums got my feet tapping and clapping for the different bands. I’m inspired to learn how to play these instruments, but it won’t be practical to carry bagpipes around while backpacking in Canada.
I will be leaving PEI tomorrow and catching a night train to Quebec City. I am really excited, even though I do not speak French. I will be there for Canada Day and it should be fun – there will be fireworks and free concerts.
Love,
SYS
