Adventures in Atlantic Canada
At the beginning of 2022, after going through one of the longest lockdowns (in the world) during the pandemic, I was eager to stretch my legs and escape the city. My friend Dave was similarly itching to get away, and so we hatched a plan to pack up our dogs and drive somewhere to spend the rest of the winter. We originally toyed with going all the way out to the West Coast, but timing and logistics made that difficult, so we settled on heading out to Atlantic Canada. Our ultimate destination really came down to us opening up a map and AirBnB to see what tickled our fancy. The main requirements were ready access to nature, specifically the beach, and a solid WiFi connection, as we'd both be working remotely.
We found a charming cottage just across from the beach in East Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia, about 30 minutes outside Halifax, which would become our anchor point for our 5-week adventure. This would be an adventure filled with blizzards, beaches, seafood, movie nights, and even a bit of a heartache thrown in—all in all, definitely a journey worth taking.
The Journey
Toronto to East Lawrencetown, over 1800 km
It was a snowy day at the end of February that we loaded up Dave's SUV with 2 dogs, ice skates, a motley assortment of kitchen supplies, and a supply of podcasts and music and set off on the road. In theory, we could have, probably ill-advisedly, burned through the 19-hour drive in one go, but for the dogs' sakes if nothing else, we broke up the journey with two stops: Montreal, Québec and Saint John, New Brunswick.
Montréal, QC
While it's only about 5 hours from Toronto, the transportation gods were not in our favour, and highway delays meant it took us over 8 hours to get there, sitting in gridlock traffic for long stretches of time. We eventually staggered into our AirBnB loft condo downtown, which had the advantage of having underground parking (though the parking lot was so tight that unfortunately Dave scratched his car navigating the concrete corners). While we only spent one full day in Montréal as a stopover on our journey east, we made the most of our time with delicious eats and wintery activities.
Highlights:
Au Pied du Cochon
This classic restaurant from chef Martin Picard serves Québécois fare, with a delightful expertise in foie gras and other pork products. I’d visited once before on my first trip to Montréal and couldn’t resist a second visit. A popular spot, we thankfully managed to snag a last-minute reservation. In the midst of the rich, tasty fare which included such dishes as foie gras poutine and creamy pomme purée, the absolute standout dish for me was a delicious appetizer: a donut filled with chicken liver mousse, topped with pistachio and caramelized onions. So mouthwateringly good I was still talking about it 6 months later.
Skating in Parc La Fontaine
My relationship with winter sports has always been somewhat fraught (I’d even recently suffered a bout of whiplash when skiing with Dave out in Banff), but I was determined to make inroads with at least one winter activity: ice skating. I’d bought skates shortly before we headed out East and even took a private lesson in Toronto to try and salvage my Canadian-ness, so I was eager to take them for a spin in Montréal. Parc La Fontaine had been recommended as a good spot for skating. This 84-acre park in the Le Plateau-Mont Royal borough of Montréal has a large basin used for skating in the wintertime. Easy to get to with free parking and a quick walk to the pond, we were soon strapping on our skates. It was remarkably expansive, giving plenty of space for skaters to glide about. I was happy to have room to shuffle about, with a long enough runway to actually get a decent head of speed (I don’t know how to stop yet, so I need a bit of space to coast to a stop). Even with my mediocre skills, it was still a lot of fun!
Resto Billard Snooker La Bande Au Coin
Dave and I had been playing pool fairly regularly in Toronto, so we figured we’d find a spot to get in some table time. We came across La Bande Au Coin, just across the St-Lawrence River in the St Lambert area of Montréal. An expansive pool hall, with a host of both snooker and billiards tables, it had a kind of local haunt feel to it. As the pool tables were all taken when we arrived, we grabbed a snooker table to start with. I’d never played before, and it seemed exponentially harder than pool, with its massive table and bizarre-seeming rules. I considered it a victory to ever sink any ball (which I only did a handful of times). Nonetheless, an entertaining spot to spend a couple hours and get a slice of local colour.
Saint John, NB
Whatever transportation deities we had angered on our drive to Montréal unleashed their full wrath on us as we set off for Saint John, New Brunswick. Dave's friend, Dan, joined us for the drive out, and it was a precarious, nerve-wracking drive (at least for me), as it was full on blizzarding with whiteout conditions at certain points. We ended up pulling into gas stations to ride out the worst of the storm, noshing on takeout as we waited it out. Eventually, we rolled into our cute, riverside cottage, where we’d be staying for a few days.
Amongst the various Saint John trivia that Dave spouted in an effort to calm my frazzled nerves during our blizzard-y drive was that it is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established back in 1785. We didn’t spend long exploring the city—the blistering cold kept us tucked into warm coffee shops and restaurants much of the time. But what little we did see was certainly charming, with its historical buildings, fantastic parkland, and some damn good cider. We wandered through Saint John’s historic City Market, with its relatively modest selection of stalls, and picked up a local Atlantic delicacy, dulse, a seaweed harvested from the ocean at low tide and then dried. It is definitely an acquired taste, and that bag stayed with us for our entire Atlantic trip—perhaps in part to see how long it would take to actually acquire the taste for it (well for Dave at least, I gave up after the first bite).
Highlights:
Billy's Seafood Restaurant
Our one restaurant outing in Saint John was to Billy’s Seafood Restaurant, located right in Saint John’s City Market. It was chosen largely because we wanted to start our consumption of some famed Atlantic seafood. As such, we feasted on an assortment of seafood dishes, including mussels, bacon-wrapped scallops, a lobster roll, and oysters. While it was good seafood, the real discovery of this visit was Yip, New Brunswick’s local cider. While winter was maybe not the ideal season for it, the refreshing crispness of Yip was something we continue to talk about to this day (I’ve been meaning to order myself a case for months).
Rockwood Park
One of the highlights of our time in Saint John was visiting Rockwood Park. With 2200 acres of forest, lakes, and trails, it is one of Canada’s largest urban parks, which was actually designed by Calvert Vaux, who also designed New York City’s Central Park. We took the dogs for an extended hike through the forest, and enjoyed the snowy, peaceful, off-leash trails. Cold temperatures and Giz’s more limited hiking range meant we didn’t go too far, but I could definitely imagine returning to someday continue exploring the 55 kilometres worth of trails throughout the park.
East Lawrencetown, Halifax & surrounds, NS
It was a blustery, snowy afternoon when we finally rolled into East Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia, our home base for the next month. East Lawrencetown is a sleepy surfer's spot, but thankfully close enough to Halifax to still be able to enjoy "big city" amenities. Our charming little two-bedroom cottage was right across from the beach and fairly well-equipped with what we needed for the month. The beach turned out to be a lot rockier than anticipated (we discovered that beach rockiness levels change seasonally, sometimes even weekly). While it was a bit too rocky for Giz to easily walk on, we thankfully found other beaches just a short drive away that would afford plenty of frolicking space.
The cottage was situated right on the Atlantic View trail, a 10-km stretch that runs from Lawrencetown to Seaforth, along marshes, beaches, and bluffs. It provided for many a convenient stroll, or the occasional run, and afforded some stunning seaside vistas.
Highlights
Bar Kismet
This small, intimate little dining spot in Halifax turned out to be the standout favourite of the trip. Listed on Canada’s 100 Best, they offer tasty cocktails, beers, and wines, and truly delicious and inventive dishes. Over the course of the month and multiple visits, we sampled most of the menu: oysters, scallops, tuna tartare, the works. We kept coming back for the unique and flavourful food, relaxed atmosphere, and great value. It’s a place we still (somewhat jokingly) talk about driving out to for another fantastic meal.
Bicycle Thief
This popular, harbourside restaurant in Halifax, Bicycle Thief, was the site of two delicious meals for me. The place was always packed, bustling with patrons eager to be eating out again after a year of lockdowns. They have quite the extensive menu, making it difficult to choose what to sample. We ended up playing to the strengths of the area and prioritizing seafood. The seared local scallops, crusted in porcini and panko, in a wild mushroom crema was sublime, as was the lobster risotto. Rich and flavourful dishes and a lively atmosphere made for some enjoyable evenings.
Evan's Fresh Seafood
When in Nova Scotia, one does not pass up the opportunity to eat copious amounts of seafood, specifically lobster. Evan’s Fresh Seafood is a small little joint actually in the ferry terminal in Dartmouth, across the harbour from downtown Halifax. We sampled both the lobster poutine, with its chunks of lobster and cheese in a divine cream sauce, as well as the lobster rolls. While the latter was solid, my heart was with the poutine, which we went back for multiple times in the month.
Conrad's Beach
We learned from a friend that Conrad's Beach, a long, sandy beach, was only a 6-minute drive away. This became our resoundingly favourite spot of the trip, a place we visited every day to take the dogs for a lunchtime walk. It was definitely a tucked-away spot, down a residential side road at the end of a street. A lengthy boardwalk led down to a vast sandy expanse, where the water was usually calm, and there were typically very few people around. We experienced the full gamut of weather on that beach—everything from rain, snow, sleet, warm sunny skies, to a full on gale. Gracie would chase her endlessly-kicked ball, much to the eventual detriment of Dave's right boot, and Giz happily tagged along, munching on seaweed and exploring the shore.
Gibraltar Loop Trail
While we spent most of our time fairly close to home, going on walks with the pups on Conrad’s Beach or along the Atlantic View Trail, we did venture out on the occasional hike in the area. One highlight was the Gibraltar Loop Trail, a 2.6-km hike about 40 minutes from East Lawrencetown. It’s a leisurely walk in from the parking lot before heading up into the trees, at which point there’s a fairly steep climb up to a lookout. It was a beautiful day for it—relatively warm weather and blue sky peeking through the clouds. Because of the vertical, rocky incline, Giz eventually got a ride in his backpack (all the more of a workout for me, as I hauled us up the rock). But the views of the surrounding valley were beautiful, well worth the climb.
Peggy's Cove
No trip to the Halifax area would be complete without a visit to the famed Peggy's Cove, about an hour southwest of East Lawrencetown. It’s a small, fishing village, known for its vibrant homes and of course its iconic lighthouse, perched on the shore of St. Margaret’s Bay. The day we visited happened to be an exceptionally blustery afternoon—the wind was almost comically strong, and we had a hard time staying upright, as we made our way around the lighthouse and scampered along the rocky shore.
Final Reflections
After 5 weeks, it was with some reluctance that we packed up the car and made the long drive back to Toronto and “real life”. Aside from the pleasure of being able to explore new provinces I’d never visited, and the enjoyment I had in having a good friend to hangout with everyday, it was also a bit of a revelation in terms of a different type of travel I’d never experienced. The idea of going somewhere for an extended period of time and working remotely wasn’t something I had ever entertained pre-pandemic, but is now a mode of travel I hope to be able to continue to have in the future. It provides a different perspective on an area, an opportunity to go a bit deeper and feel a bit more immersed. To be able to play house in a whole new city is entertaining and even educational, as I learn about myself and my habits, and what it is I really need.