Tag Archives: travel

Metaphors for America: a road trip

Posted on August 30, 2018 by

When prompted, we tell the U.S. Customs agents we’re heading to New Jersey. “On purpose?” he asks. We’ll be staying in New Jersey but day-tripping into Manhattan, later going to the Jersey Shore for a few days, but the agent … Continue reading →

Posted in It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

Hello! I’m from The Future!

Posted on July 14, 2016 by

We were driving back from Trois-Rivières on the weekend when I came across one of my favourite road signs. No, not the nudist compound sign, although the pictogram of the family with their adorable naked bums is certainly memorable. Proportionally, … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada and/or Quebec, It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 40 Comments

Four things God wants you to know about your car

Posted on August 27, 2015 by

Balanced on the deck of a carved wooden boat on the top of a toilet tank at a pitstop in Newfoundland, there was a small pamphlet. The cover announced, “Four Things GOD Wants You to Know.” I didn’t get a … Continue reading →

Posted in It Could Happen... | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Some things last

Posted on August 20, 2015 by

Over the last two weeks in Newfoundland, I’ve seen moose, caribou, hares, shooting stars, an iceberg and an old man’s white rump. What these have in common is their fleeting nature, the idea that I saw them once, briefly, never … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada and/or Quebec, It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Flap packets and other travel tips for 21-year-old daughters

Posted on February 5, 2015 by

“You should have brought a deck of cards,” my wife said on the way to the airport. Deb did the Europe thing 25 years ago with a friend, almost at the same age and along the same route that our … Continue reading →

Posted in Family - whadya gonna do?, It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , , | 42 Comments

The holdout

Posted on September 18, 2014 by

An acquaintance reacted to news that I don’t own a cell phone with the combination of ridicule and disbelief normally reserved for people who vote for the Green Party. “You must have a cell phone,” he said. “No, I honestly … Continue reading →

Posted in It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 58 Comments

Labour Day madness

Posted on September 3, 2014 by

The follow-up questions from U.S. Customs are usually the most stressful: “What kind of fruits and vegetables?” “What exactly were you arrested for?” “Do you really think that joke’s funny, sir?” But when I told the border guard we were … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada and/or Quebec, It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 51 Comments