East Coast

During almost every summer of my life I have made the long road trip from Ontario to the East Coast. As a child my mom would pack us all up and we would head East, where she, my grandparents, my aunts and uncle were all from. It was always an adventure and we would do all kinds of things to experience the areas that we were visiting. I have so many fond memories of the trips made down East....french onion soup in Saint Jean Port Jolie, QC, whale watching off the coast of the Bay of Fundy and in the St. Lawrence, visiting St. Andrews By the Sea, NB and listening to Anne of Green Gables on tape as we would drive from Ontario through Quebec, New Brunswick and eventually making it to P.E.I.

My grandmother who now lives in Ontario likes to reminisce about the summers spent at her cottage at Loch Lomond, NB and often tells me how she misses the salty air of Saint John. I know what she means. I miss it too. It's unlike anything I can explain. It's in my bones and I miss it there so much.

About 4 summers ago I took my then  new boyfriend (now husband) to P.E.I. so that he could meet my family for the first time. We had such an amazing trip and I was so happy to share all the sights, tastes and smells with him that are so special to me.  Then last summer, we took that same trip again, this time checking out other parts of the Maritimes and even New England along the way. So many amazing memories came from that trip and sometimes I catch myself day dreaming back to those days wishing we were back on the road again. Camping at Cavendish Beach, being buried up to my waist at Brackley Beach with my nephew, eating delicious food at my mom's, stopping in Saint John NB where I used to live, showing hubby my old stomping grounds at NSCAD in Halifax.....I honestly feel as though I left my heart in the East Coast. When something is in your blood like that salty fresh air, nothing quite compares.

This summer we won't be making that trip down East. We have much bigger and really better plans such as moving to our very first home and welcoming our baby into the world. But right now, at this very moment I am restless and feel as though a little piece of my summer will be missing. No road trips, no camping by the sea, no lobster rolls. I guess I'll have to wait one more year, when we will hopefully take our son for his first trip to the Maritimes so that we can show him a little part of who he is.