Will my kids be as curious about the nineties as I was about the sixties? If they start asking tricky questions -- "Daddy, what's a Hootie?" or "Why didn't anyone know how to sew?" -- at least I have my newly obtained recording of Music Works to fall back on.

In February of 1996 my Ottawa-based band, Water Can, performed five original songs on the CBC-TV showcase for new artists. After the shoot in the frozen wastes of outer Nepean, we bundled host Pat Mastroianni into our rusty yellow Ford Club Wagon, slapped some 10,000 Maniacs on the dash-mounted CD Walkman, and headed to Barrymore's Music Hall to see the Dave Matthew's Band, which had just released Crash. (We had tickets, and Mastroianni was Joey Jeremiah, dammit!)

Does it get any more nineties than that? It does if you study the footage from the show:

0:05: "Brought to you by Music World." I rest my case.

0:08: Frosted Cheerios were launched in 1995. Coincidence? I think not.

0:11: Salon Selectives was the second most successful U.S. hair care brand in the late nineties, with annual sales topping $270 million. The sponsors go three-for-three!

0:12: Speaking of personal hygiene products, I think I can safely credit the video for 1991's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for all the chain-link fencing, gratuitous steel ladders and other industrial decor on the set.

0:14: Check out the guy in the Canadian tuxedo! Not nineties, just awesome.

0:15: Mastroianni, who was hilarious and hit on our lead singer Cheri mercilessly, is still best-known for his role as fedora-wearing Jeremiah on the Degrassi franchise. Since Degrassi High wrapped up in 1991 he has bounced between film and TV roles. His co-star Aubrey Graham, on the other hand...

0:34: Thermite welding was invented in 1893. Does that count?

0:45: This song, which never made it onto an album, was about as grungy as Water Can got. I wrote the lyrics, which reminds me of my favourite drummer joke:

Q: What's the last thing a drummer says before getting kicked out of a band?
A: "Hey guys, let's try one of my songs."

0:54: I wanted us all to wear plaid flannel unitards, but was overruled. So we went the other way and sported five completely different outfits, from a baggy business suit to a really ugly hockey sweater to a seventies-style polyester shirt. Borrowing from other decades was a hallmark of nineties fashion, after all. Mastroianni's stone-washed jeans and tucked-in corduroy shirt, meanwhile, were textbook nineties.

3:01: That was a sweet nineties fill if I do say so myself.

3:07: That guy's concert tee sure looks nineties to me, although I can't make out who it promotes. Candlebox? Spacehog? Help me out here people!

3:44: Mellower third verses? So nineties.

5:26: Minor keys? So nineties.

7:40: We should totally sue the Lumineers.

8:30: Many of the haircuts.

8:40: Pat Mastroianni, master of funk.

8:54: I'm pretty sure the merciless shoulder-squeezing started here.

9:09: Matthew Lawrence just called. He wants his haircut back.

9:23: How could any woman resist those dance moves? 

9:31: ​It's been at least 20 years since anyone has tolerated a three-minute interview with a band they have never heard of.

11:58: Me not working? Nineties all the way!

12:30: I'm proud of this song. Beautifully performed by Cheri here. The lyrics are mine, although I would change a few lines to be less nineties if I could.

15:23: That's my nineties girlfriend, Angela, on the left. I hesitate to refer to her as a groupie for two reasons: One, drummers don't have groupies; and two, she is my 2017 wife.

16:11: Two chords, some bad-ass bass and guitar, a debatable "drum solo," and the truth.

20:52: I'm still bitter about not winning that CD Walkman.

20:55: No email address, no Twitter handle, no Facebook page, just snail mail. WELCOME TO 1996.

21:16: Songs named after the bands that play them were especially abundant in the nineties. There's “Damn Yankees,” “Belle & Sebastian,” "Green Day," "Pennywise," “Porno For Pyros” and, of course, "Water Can." Now, whoever can provide the best answer to the query in the song's chorus will receive a shrink-wrapped copy of 88 Fifth, our debut album. (Incredibly, they didn't sell out.)

And if it's a really good answer, I might even throw in a badly-scratched Spacehog CD.

Second marriages, second winds, second chances, split-second miscalculations — if I had to ascribe a theme to the last few months of 2017, it would be "The Summer of Other People's Babies."

Being an uncle, both formally and informally, offers the best of both worlds when it comes to infant exposure: All the fun and cuteness with none of the diaper-changing and Pack N’ Play deployment.

If there's one aspect of early fatherhood I do not miss, it is the late-night set-up of the latter. Indeed, it seems like only yesterday that I placed this (entirely fictional) call to Graco's (entirely fictional) help line:
 • Welcome to Pack N’ Play customer support! For help deploying your folding crib, press “1” or say “deploy.”
 • For help extracting your Pack N’ Play from the overstuffed trunk of your car, press “2” or buy a minivan already.
 • If your Pack N’ Play is sitting in a twisted heap in the middle of your in-laws’ spare bedroom, press “3” or swear loudly.
(Sound of “1” being pressed)
 • Crib deployment. Before you begin, remove any sharp or dangerous objects — or heckling in-laws — from the room. Also, good luck deploying your Pack N’ Play while holding a phone.
 • Remove the Pack N’ Play’s nylon cover (assuming you haven’t lost it) and stand the crib on one end. Then remove the mattress pad by releasing the Velcro tabs. If you’re having trouble this early on, you should probably give up and put junior to bed in the bathtub.
 • Next, splay the four legs. Even though it’s jutting up into your face, resist the temptation to push down on the centre of the crib. If you do, you’re screwed.
 • Snap the four side bars into place by alternately twisting, pulling, shaking and bashing the central button thingy. Then push down on the (badly damaged) central button thingy until the crib is fully unfolded.
 • Put the mattress pad in the bottom of the crib with the “soft” side facing up, and place the fitted sheet over the mattress pad. What fitted sheet, you ask? Don’t worry, the bare pad isn’t nearly as uncomfortable as it looks. To continue, press “pound.”
(Sound of “pound” being pressed)

Congratulations on deploying your Pack N’ Play! Don’t forget to put a child in there at some point.

​If, however, you have become trapped inside the Pack N’ Play, please hang up and call 911.

Who can blame Paul Izdebski, co-owner of the Beer Bus, for looking ahead to his next guided tour of Simcoe Country’s breweries?

After all, he explains, he’s about to host a stag and a stagette party — at the same time. “Both groups know the other is on the tour, but they’ve never actually met,” he says, adding dryly: “It could be an interesting Friday night.”

It has already been an interesting Friday morning and afternoon with the three-month-old Beer Bus Co., a new arrival on the Toronto brewery tour scene and a key supporter of a new “Beer Around the Bay” tour that showcases five breweries clustered near the southern shores of Georgian Bay: Creemore Springs – Simcoe’s most famous brewing trailblazer – and pleasingly diverse craft players including Northwinds Brewhouse and Kitchen, The Collingwood Brewery, Side Launch Brewing Co. and Wasaga Beach Brewing Co. 

Northwinds is an ideal mood-setter and appetite-whetter for beer enthusiasts arriving in Collingwood after work or after dark. The 15-barrel brewhouse sells most of its wares in its lively brewpub and restaurant, where 16 taps pour pints and flights of everything from the Old Baldy Farmhouse Ale and Lost Cabin Vienna Lager to collaborations with other like-minded breweries. The cuisine is as spirited as the suds and the setting – think buffalo cauliflower tacos with lime guacamole and cactus pico. As at most of the Beer Around the Bay breweries, Northwinds’ finest can also be purchased at a retail counter.

After picking up guests at Collingwood accommodations, ranging from chain hotels and condo resorts to the lovely Bacchus House B&B, the Beer Bus sets off for the six-hour tour’s first stop. The morning mist still clings to the verdant fields as the shiny white shuttle rolls into Creemore Springs’ namesake town, where stylish boutiques and galleries lure the new arrivals away from the century-old former hardware store fronting the brewery. But the airy reception area and tasting bar soon regains their attention, as does a guided tour (pictured above) of a craft brewer that has gone on to much bigger, but identically unpasteurized and delicious, things.

A 30-minute drive north, Side Launch Brewing Co. embraces its lakeside location with a lake freighter logo and a name that references ship-launching in Collingwood’s shallow harbour. The no-nonsense operation follows the stringent Bavarian purity law of 1516 that limits beer to only four ingredients: Water, hops, yeast and malted barley. This straightforward approach is paying dividends, with Side Launch earning “Brewery of the Year” honours at the 2016 Canadian Brewing Awards. A few sips of its surprisingly light and lively Munich-style dark ale reveals that these kudos are well-deserved.

Despite soaking up beer samples with a lavish lunch at the Huron Club in downtown Collingwood, three afternoon options seem viable: Nap, nap, or seek a second wind. Thankfully, the latter is easy to come by in outdoorsy Simcoe County. While the Beer Bus takes a break in Wasaga Beach — the tours are highly customizable — Free Spirit Tours hosts an hour-long kayak excursion on the Nottawasaga River. Waterfowl, kingfishers and turtles abound as the boats cut through the gently rippling current, which is flanked by towering parabolic sand dunes formed by the glacial torrents of the most recent Ice Age.
​
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The first sign of trouble came in the form of an insurance contract. Crammed as we were into a Laotian barge piled high with backpacks, livestock and a gleaming Coke machine, the two-page form seemed rather incongruous. Was it insuring us against goat bites? Falling luggage? Warm cola?

Four hours later, however, the risks became readily apparent. Our ride started to list alarmingly as it chugged from the town of Ban Houayxay in northwestern Laos to the country's former imperial city of Luang Prabang. In late March, the end of the dry season, the 300-kilometre trip down the reef- and rapids-filled Mekong River wasn't the lazy ride we had expected.
​
The problem, we were told, was two-fold: low water levels and too many passengers. The latter came as no surprise: The two-by-four bench my wife Angela and I were sitting on was mercilessly close to its neighbours. It made Air Transat look like the Orient Express.

The captain steered the boat onto a sandbar and addressed the assembled backpackers, villagers and barnyard animals. "You must stay in your seats," he said. "If you stand up, we turn back." No one wanted to spend four more hours in these cramped quarters simply to end up where they started so we rooted our backsides to our two-by-fours and stared mournfully at the swirling, mocha-coloured water.
​
Thankfully, the boat didn't turn back, and the scenery helped to distract us from the discomfort. Lush jungle rose out of the river, cloaking mist-covered hills in a mantle of green. Boulders jutted out of the meandering river, providing more that a few close calls. Every few kilometres, the barge would pass a fishing boat or small encampment, drawing waves, smiles and calls of "Hello!" from the locals.
An amusing but less serene diversion was supplied by the speedboats that shot past. While barges take two days to make the trip, the speedboats take around six hours -- the caveat being that up to 10 passengers are crammed into the small wooden vessels, and are forced to wear bulky life vests and helmets. Worst of all, they must endure the dreadful engine noise. The captain of our barge echoed our guidebook in telling us that the speedboats are dangerous, and that his barge was "the way to go."

The barge did offer the most practical way to reach Luang Prabang from northern Thailand, but most importantly, we were able to savour a firsthand look at one of the most isolated navigable sections of the Mekong. We appreciated this all the more as we passed sections of riverbank bearing the scars of excavation. The governments of Southeast Asia and China aim to boost shipping by removing reefs and rapids, which will change the face of the river, and the region, forever.

After about seven hours, we arrived at the halfway point in the voyage: the place where we would spend the night, a small town called Muang Pakbeng. Dusk was falling, and the muddy main street was awash with touts promising cheap, clean accommodations (and opium dealers promising cheap opportunities to "chase the dragon").

Needless to say, the dozens of guesthouses in Pakbeng were cheap -- around $1 a night -- but very far from clean. Having settled on one of the less offensive properties, we had a couple of beers at the bar next door, where a pair of local lads performed a rousing rendition of Bob Marley's No Woman, No Cry on a three-stringed guitar. As it turned out, we needed a few drinks to help soften our straw-filled double bed and muffle the sound of creatures scurrying in the walls.

Determined not to miss the boat's 7 a.m. departure, we woke at the crack of dawn. Standing on the balcony of the guesthouse, we watched as a line of Buddhist monks, dressed in orange robes, walked from house to house, collecting their sustenance for the day. The leader of the group banged a small gong as the procession made its way. At each doorway, a resident greeted the group, proffered fruit, bread or rice, knelt, and bowed. With the sun rising above the hills and bird calls piercing the chilly air, it was an indelible image that helped clear our tired minds and fortify our spirits.

As we made our way down main street toward the dock, we were rewarded with a magnificent view of the Mekong snaking through the surrounding mountains. Our rejuvenation complete, we stepped back onto the barge, secure in the knowledge that Luang Prabang was only about six hours away.

Or so we thought.

​READ THE REST OF THE STORY IN THE GLOBE AND MAIL

I won't deny that there are some glaring gaps in the Canada 150 Countdown.

These regional omissions were pointed out to me several times as July 1 neared. As “Canucklehead” put it in a comment: "The Canada 150 Countdown? Where is Manitoba? Yukon? The WHOLE DAMN EAST COAST? Time for a new title!"

Fair point.

Then there's this comment from “From The Rock”: "Still waiting for something from Newfoundland. Why don't you come visit?"

Honestly, I would like nothing more. Between now and the Canada 200 celebrations I plan to attend as a vampire or mummy, I solemnly pledge to explore more of the six provinces and two territories that aren't covered by the Ontario-Quebec-BC-Alberta-NWT Countdown. (Happy now, Canucklehead?) Now that my Atlantic Canada and Yukon/Nunavut to-do lists are out there, here are the six spots at the top of my 50-year itinerary for Manitoba and Saskatchewan:

Churchill
Getting a first-hand look at the world’s largest land carnivore sounds worthy of my bucket list — but getting eaten by said carnivore does not. In Churchill, however, polar bears padding across the tundra can be viewed safely from tractor-wheeled tundra buggies, one of many local diversions that help make this town on the shores of Hudson’s Bay a true gateway to the North. Beluga whale watching flourishes in summer — visitors can even snorkel with them — and bird-watchers flock here in spring. Winter, meanwhile, is the best time to go dog-sledding and watch the Northern Lights dance overhead.

Wanuskewin Heritage Park 
Now vying for World Heritage Site status, this complex explores 6,000 years of Northern Plains Indian culture. More than 20 hands-on archaeological sites litter than property, along with walking and snowshoe trails, a medicine wheel, and a buffalo enclosure. For a more immersive experience, year-round teepee sleepovers include bannock and muskeg tea, as well as traditional storytelling around a campfire.

Mosaic Stadium
I regret never visiting Taylor Field, the former home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, to watch my Calgary Stampeders put the hurt on the Green and White. Thankfully, the CFL's best fans continue to sport hollowed-out watermelons, which is something I simply must see given my world-class Watermelon Scramble skills.

Riding Mountain National Park
Sitting atop the Manitoba Escarpment, this World Biosphere Reserve lures hikers, paddlers and cross-country skiers to forested hills and valleys, deep gorges and plentiful lakes. This diverse parkland must contrast beautifully with the surrounding prairie, with a beautiful-looking forest skating rink and 200 kilometres of XC ski trails adding to the allure.

Grasslands National Park
Deer? Check. Antelope? Check. A home where the buffalo roam? Check — that is, after a herd of plains bison was reintroduced to Grasslands in 2006. With its pristine namesake terrain, fossil-rich badlands and ancient tepee rings, this relatively recent addition to Canada's national parks provides a glimpse of prairie life before European settlers moved in. With a complete lack of artificial light earning it “dark-sky preserve” status in 2009, I'm confident I'll get a superb look at the heavens because, you know, the skies are not cloudy all day…

Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort
As a bath person, Canada’s largest geothermal mineral-water rooftop pool sounds too good to miss. And if said soak is combined with an “Indian Spice Hot Oil Massage Treatment” at the Sun Tree Spa, all the better!

​WHERE TO STAY
A short walk from Mosaic Stadium, the Delta Hotels Regina is an ideal option for visiting CFL fans. 

I won't deny that there are some glaring gaps in the Canada 150 Countdown.

These regional omissions were pointed out to me several times as July 1 neared. As “Canucklehead” put it in a comment: "The Canada 150 Countdown? Where's Manitoba? Yukon? The WHOLE DAMN EAST COAST? Time for a new title!"

Fair point.

Then there's this comment from “From The Rock”: "Still waiting for something from Newfoundland. Why don't you come visit?"

Honestly, I would like nothing more. Between now and the Canada 200 celebrations I plan to attend as a vampire or mummy, I solemnly pledge to explore more of the six provinces and two territories that aren't covered by the Ontario-Quebec-BC-Alberta-NWT Countdown. (Happy now, Canucklehead?) Now that my Atlantic Canada to-do list is out there, here are the five spots at the top of my 50-year itinerary for Yukon and Nunavut:

Dawson City
There’s still gold in the hills surrounding the former Yukon capital, but these days it’s far from the only draw. The vestiges of the late-19th-century Klondike Gold Rush are still prominent: The Yukon Gold Panning Championships each July; tours of Robert Service‘s home, which provide insights into the life and work of the “Bard of the Yukon;” Diamond Tooth Gerties saloon, where live can-can shows remain a staple; and the Downtown Hotel, where Sourtoe Cocktail, made with a real mummified human toe, is still served. One simple (and disgusting) act will get you into the Sourtoe Cocktail Club: “You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips have gotta touch the toe.” And note-to-self: Several toes have been swallowed over the decades, and I don’t want to be “that guy.”

Dempster Highway
Starting near Dawson City, the Dempster winds 730 gravelly kilometres to the town of Inuvik, NWT, on the wildlife-rich delta of the Mackenzie River. Along the way it crosses the Arctic Circle, passes the jagged peaks and moss-carpeted valleys of Tombstone Territorial Park, and bisects enormous tracts of tundra that are home to moose, caribou and grizzly bears. If all this doesn’t make the miles melt away, the highway is also an essential lifeline for remote northern communities where First Nations customs are still practiced as they have been for centuries.

Kluane National Park and Reserve
Do the math: When 82 per cent of a national park is covered by either mountains or glaciers (or both), you know you’re in for something spectacular. It certainly adds up in this list’s largest park, a 21,980-square-kilometre wonderland of icy beauty tucked into Yukon’s southwest corner. Mixed forests and colourful alpine tundra flourish in Kluane’s remaining 18 per cent, providing a home for eagles, grizzly bears, wolves and other creatures that are often at risk in busier parks to the south. And topping it all off — literally — is Mount Logan, at 5,959 metres Canada's highest peak.

Auyuittuq National Park
If you’re going to name a peak after the Norse god of thunder and lightening, it had better be…striking. And Mount Thor is certainly that. The dramatic granite monolith in Auyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island is a respectable 1,675 metres tall — starting almost at sea level — but 1,250 metres of that is sheer cliff, creating the Earth’s greatest purely vertical drop. In addition to being predictably popular with rock climbers, the precipice is world-renowned among base jumpers. For my part, I’ll probably leave my wingsuit at home.

Bathurst Inlet Lodge
Formerly a Hudson’s Bay Trading Post and Oblate mission, the 42-year-old lodge offers nicely appointed rooms in a variety of quirky locations: a deconsecrated church, cabins overlooking the Burnside Delta, the two-bedroom Taipana House, a former trading post warehouse, and a former radio transmission station. Staying here is said to offer a glimpse into the traditional Inuit lifestyle, as well an opportunity to spot Arctic wildlife such as foxes, seals, barren-ground caribou and muskox from hiking trails and sea kayaks. Also in the area is the Wilberforce Falls, the highest waterfall above the Arctic Circle.

How much wetness and/or wildness does $25 million get you? That’s the amount Oklahoma-based Premier Parks spent on upgrading the former Wild Water Kingdom in Brampton.

The answer: A lot. In addition to renaming and revamping its three blackout rides and two high-speed slides — both of which deliver seven-storey drops — the recently reopened and renamed Wet ‘N’ Wild Toronto has added a host of new pools and rides.

The towering “Bear Footin' Bay” play structure, for instance, is festooned with sprayers, slides and a giant tipping bucket. My daughters were nimble enough to avoid being soaked by the latter, and could not have been happier when my own nimbleness fell short. However, their gleeful mockery would only sweeten my inevitable revenge.

This watery intro also primed us for "Hurricane" and "Typhoon," a pair of tandem-tube slides that quickened our pulses and whetted our appetites for two of the main attractions: "Krazy Kanuck" and "Caribbean Chaos," which rise together over the former site of a mini-golf course.

Krazy Kanuck was relatively tame, taking as many as five inner-tube riders down back-to-back curves, drops and vortex loops. We tried it a few times, and soon determined that whizzing down backwards increased the fear factor substantially.

Once the girls had built up their nerve, we took the other staircase up to Caribbean Chaos. This slide builds anticipation with an enormous scream-reflecting wall that looms over the entrance to the waterpark. It proved to be just as thrilling as it looked, especially for my daughters who, at my subtle request, were sent down backwards by the ride attendant. As we rocketed up the watery wall and felt gravity loosen its grip, their wide eyes and delighted screams made me grin triumphantly. Revenge was sweet indeed!

A few of the new attractions were still under construction during our visit: Oh Canada!, a free-fall slide with a 360-degree loop; and Klondike Express, side-by-side racing tunnels that loop and drop. The new Wet 'n' Wild Jr. play area, meanwhile, was shunned as being “for babies,” although I did like the look of the shady deck chairs. Thankfully, dozens more were arrayed around the half-million-gallon "Big Surf" wave pool, which is surrounded by the "Muskoka Soakah" lazy river. 

​For GTA-based families who want to combine watery refreshment with watery excitement, Wet ‘N’ Wild fits the bill nicely as the only good-sized standalone waterpark in the area. Just remember to beware the bucket!

WHERE TO STAY
The new Courtyard Toronto Mississauga/West is less than 15 minutes by car from Wet 'N' Wild, and features a full-service restaurant and lounge where you can refuel post-waterpark.

I won't deny that there are some glaring gaps in the Canada 150 Countdown.

These regional omissions were pointed out to me several times as July 1 neared. As “Canucklehead” put it in a comment: "The Canada 150 Countdown? Where's Manitoba? Yukon? The WHOLE DAMN EAST COAST? Time for a new title!"

Fair point.

Then there's this comment by “From The Rock”: "Still waiting for something from Newfoundland. Why don't you come visit?"

Honestly, I would like nothing more. Between now and the Canada 200 celebrations I plan to attend as a vampire or mummy, I solemnly pledge to explore more of the six provinces and two territories that aren't covered by the Ontario-Quebec-BC-Alberta-NWT Countdown. (Happy now, Canucklehead?) Starting with Atlantic Canada, here are the 10 spots at the top of my 50-year itinerary:

Hopewell Rocks
Nowhere shows off the Bay of Fundy’s incredible tidal range better than this famous collection of rock formations near Moncton. At low tide, visitors walk among them as they would a museum’s sculpture collection — that is, if the sculptures were 100 feet tall. At high tide, however, the only way to get a close look at the rocks is in a boat, as the Atlantic’s waters have risen up to 16 metres and surrounded the eroding monoliths.

Gros Morne National Park
If one national park sums up the diversity of Canada’s natural beauty, this would appear to be it. The Long Range culminates in Newfoundland’s second-highest peak, which gave the park its name (it means "great mountain standing alone" in French). Western Brook Pond, a fjord cut off from the ocean, is among the purest bodies of fresh water in the world. At 350 metres, Pissing Mare Falls is the highest cascade in eastern North America. There’s even rocky desert, lush forest and alpine meadow. Thankfully, there are also plenty of ways to take it all in, from cruises aboard small boats on Western Brook Pond to dozens of hiking trails. Sign me up for it all!

Cabot Trail
I’ve done the math: My road bike + Canada’s most famous scenic roadway + autumn = essential cycling. The 298-kilometre route is famous for the vivid foliage blanketing the peaks and valleys of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It all culminates in early October with the week-long Celtic Colours International Festival, with concerts, art shows, seasonal feasts and kitchen parties spread right across Cape Breton.

Confederation Trail
Speaking of cycling, the Confederation Trail starts as soon as the bridge of the same name ends, yielding a 470-kilometre network of pathways connecting beaches, parks, towns and, most importantly, seafood eateries. Because it follows former railway lines, the trail is wide and mostly flat, making it ideal for post-lobster-supper pedalling.

St. John's
“Owshegettinonb'ys?” “Giv us a bitta dat luh.” These phrases sound incomprehensible, but they are just two of the friendly expressions I look forward to hearing on George Street, which boasts the most bars per square foot in North America. St. John’s setting seems as dramatic as it is beautiful: Several small lakes and ponds are scattered throughout the city, the natural harbour pulls in the salty sea air, and Signal Hill rises over it all.

Grand Manan Island
Whether by sea kayak, Zodiac, motorboat or yacht, several whale-watching outfits take guests out on the water to spot Finbacks — the second-largest whale species — Humpbacks, Minkes and North Atlantic Right Whales. Sharks, sunfish, porpoises and tuna are also apparently encountered on these jaunts. Grand Manan’s dry land, meanwhile, is renowned for its excellent beaches, clifftop hiking trails and historic lighthouses. Where do I sign?

Sable Island
It’s out there, both literally and figuratively. This slender, lonely collection of Marram grass and sand rises a few feet above the stormy Atlantic some 175 kilometres southeast of Nova Scotia. Its year-round human population is five, give or take, with that number jumping sharply in summer when Parks Canada boat tours stop in. The main draw: 400-odd Sable Island Ponies, feral horses introduced to the island centuries ago and now protected by law from human interference. Watching wild horses gallop across the treeless landscape must be a surreal experience, especially when thousands of harbour and grey seals are yelping on a beach nearby.

Torngat Mountains Base Camp and Research Station
Each summer, this unique temporary settlement returns to the incredibly remote southern edge of its namesake national park. It hosts international researchers intent on studying caribou and polar bears, Inuit youth and elders looking to reconnect with their ancient roots, and visitors like me who are eager to hike and kayak through the pristine and dramatic northern terrain. Accommodations include insulated domes with heat and electricity, with guided excursions visiting spots such as Saglek Fjord, where 3,000-foot cliffs plunge into the ocean, and Sallikuluk island, home to burial sites and traditional hunting grounds.

Halifax
The Nova Scotia capital is renowned for its verdant parks and lovely beaches — no matter where you are in town you’re never far from the sea. At the centre of it all is Citadel Hill, which apparently yields great views of the harbour and city. Downtown Halifax, meanwhile, supports North America’s highest per capita concentration of pubs, bars and live music venues. 

L’Anse aux Meadows
This World Heritage Site represents the first known evidence of a European presence in the Americas. It was here that a Viking expedition from Greenland built a small encampment of timber-and-sod buildings more than 1,000 years ago. Given my distant Danish heritage, maybe I’ll get a glimpse into the life of my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great granddad.

WHERE TO STAY
The upscale Delta Hotels Barrington is steps from many of Halifax's top attractions, including Casino Nova Scotia and the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. 

Travel elicits many emotions, from awe to anger and from upgrade ecstasy to gift-shop remorse. But over the course of my Canadian wanderings there’s something more: Pride. That's what this daily series is all about: Sharing my proud perspective on the places and experiences — and in this case, the kind, generous people — that make my country the greatest on Earth.

It was late in the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, 2004, and I was stranded on the icy stretch of road between the Outaouais towns of Plaisance and Papineauville. I was travelling alone from Ottawa to my cousins’ chalet near Mont Tremblant, and with Quebec’s liquor-store workers on strike I was hauling most of the party supplies.

A half-hour earlier, I was motoring down Route 148 when my Volkswagen Golf suddenly stalled near a roadside poutine stand. With much cursing and spraying of WD-40 I managed to revive the (expletive deleted) vehicle, which a few minutes later gave up the ghost for good on the gravel shoulder.

With hazards blinking, I took stock of the situation. The road was deserted and I was still several kilometres from Papineauville, where any garages were undoubtedly closed. My cellphone was taking cues from the VW. I was beginning to wonder if I should have stayed at the poutine stand.

Just down the road, glowing windows — and strains of Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “Takin’ Care of Business” — beckoned from a modest country home. I rang the bell three or four times — the folks inside were clearly in fine Dec. 31 form — before a stocky, beer-toting 20-something opened the door. “Hey, buddy!” he cried, to which I responded with a feeble, “Bonjour . . . parlez-vous Anglais?”
He nodded, introduced himself as Johnny Gauthier, and let me in.

A break in the BTO allowed me to explain my predicament. Johnny immediately suggested we get my car into the driveway, so he called to his cohorts and a group of young men — along with Johnny’s father, the grey-haired head of the household — donned winter gear and set out into the snowy Friday evening.

Ten minutes later, exhausted, I called my wife, Angela, who had made her way to Tremblant a couple of days earlier. Neither of us were thrilled that she would have to retrace her route for more than two hours in the snowy darkness.

Despite my hosts’ relentless hospitality, my Anglo-Saxon temperament insisted that I was imposing. “Is there somewhere I could wait in Papineauville?” I asked. “Would you mind if I called a cab?”

That’s when Johnny’s father, Étienne, stepped in. He looked me up and down, exchanged a few words with Johnny in French, and then said, “Why don’t you take my truck?”

“Thank you so much,” I replied, “but a cab would be fine. I really don’t want to impose and . . . ”

Étienne laughed and held up his hand. “No, no, I mean, why don’t you take my truck to Mont Tremblant?”

Now that was an imposition.

I was dumbfounded. My first instinct was to turn down the offer. “That’s very kind, but I couldn’t possibly . . . ”

But Saint Étienne, as I now think of him, would have none of it. “How long do you need it?”

“Well, till Monday, I guess . . . ”

St. Étienne reached into his pocket and pulled out several sets of keys — turns out he ran a trucking business — and detached one. “Here you go. Call your wife and tell her to stay put.”

At this point, the exchange felt surreal. I watched in elated shock as my disembodied fingers dialled the chalet’s number.

“Hi — have you left yet?” I asked.

“Clearly not,” Angela replied. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s unbelievable. Guess what: You don’t have to pick me up.”

“Why? Did you get the car started?”

“No. Étienne, the guy who lives here, is going to lend me his truck for the weekend.”

Silence. Then, “Well, you obviously can’t accept it. That’s crazy.”

That’s when I realized I had to take the truck. “Look,” I said. “When somebody shows this kind of faith in someone they just met, their offer can’t be refused. I mean, would I lend a complete stranger my car for three days? No way! So you have to wonder: Why is he doing this? He’s doing this because...”

Read the rest of the story in the Toronto Star

WHERE TO STAY
Two words: Free poutine. You can savour some of your own at the Ottawa Marriott Hotel and the Residence Inn Mont Tremblant Manoir Labelle, and you can savour it for free by exchanging Marriott Rewards for a dining gift card.   

Travel elicits many emotions, from awe to anger and from upgrade ecstasy to gift-shop remorse. But over the course of my Canadian wanderings there’s something more: Pride. That's what this series is all about: Sharing my proud perspective on the places and experiences that make my country the greatest on Earth. Some of my selections are world-famous, others are little-known and a few are acquired tastes. The insights offered below, meanwhile, may come in handy for the 4.2 zillion people converging on Canada’s capital tomorrow...

​It’s fitting that Ottawa’s skyline is still dominated by Parliament Hill’s Peace Tower. Many other trappings of federal and international government are prominent in the home of my alma mater — Go Ravens! — such as the Royal Canadian Mint, the Prime Minister’s official residence, and the Governor General’s estate. Combine all this history and ceremony with the country’s densest collection of world-class museums, and Ottawa succeeds in making Canadians proud — and visitors a little bit jealous.

Don’t leave without...
...climbing the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. Free elevator trips to the observation deck below the four 15-foot-wide clock faces resume July 2, and provide glorious panoramic views of the region from 200 feet up. Guided tours of the Hill’s Centre Block, meanwhile, allow visitors to explore the neo-Gothic Senate and House of Commons, as well as the ornate Library of Parliament and stirring Memorial Chamber.
...visiting the National Gallery of Canada. A short walk from Parliament, this soaring architectural masterpiece is home to six expansive gallery spaces, including a Canadian collection featuring iconic works by the Group of Seven, and a European gallery filled with paintings by geniuses like Van Gogh, Cezanne and Rembrandt. There’s a lot of artistic glory to take in, so it’s a good thing the place is so comfortable, with a pair of peaceful landscaped courtyards, a relaxing cafeteria and intimate bookstore tucked behind the skyscraping glass windows of the Great Hall.
...strolling or skating along the Rideau Canal. Before it spills into the city’s namesake river via a spectacular flight of eight locks, this 190-km-long engineering marvel and World Heritage Site is lined with cycle paths, restaurants and pubs, parks and gardens, all of which provide ideal vantage points for admiring many of the landmarks on this list.

What we overlook
The aspects of Ottawa that aren’t all about Canada tend to fall by the wayside. Just across the river in Quebec, for instance, leafy Gatineau Park is a hiker’s, cyclist’s and skier’s dream, while the Casino du Lac Leamy is an adults-only playground with gaming galore, top-notch dining, decadent spas and a 1,100-seat theatre. In the city itself, the diversions that get plenty of attention from locals — the beaches and volleyball courts of Mooney's Bay Park, for instance, or the recently revamped Lansdowne recreation complex — tend to get skipped by visitors.

Locals only
Waterfront holiday homes abound just outside of Ottawa, but you don’t need to own recreational real estate to get in on the action. Gatineau Park is home to dozens of sandy beaches, and you can take a relaxing dip in “The Pond,” a secret swimming hole tucked into the ritzy Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood off the aptly named Pond Street. Then there's the Capital Pathway network, one of the largest multi-use trails in North America with more than 600 kilometres of car-free goodness connecting many of the attractions on this list.

Family
Why cross the Atlantic to get a taste of royalty when you can sample its trappings at Rideau Hall, the official residence and workplace of Canada’s Governor General? The Queen’s representative in Canada has some pretty sweet digs: The opulent public rooms and multi-million-dollar art collection will impress grown-ups, while the expansive outdoor grounds, complete with cricket pitch, skating rink and Alice in Wonderland-style Rose Garden, will enthral youngsters. Children will also get a kick out of the changing of the guard — and the towering headgear worn by the guardsmen. 

Hip Hoods
Convenience and charm collide in the Byward Market, a 26-block shopping district sandwiched between Parliament Hill, the Ottawa River and the multi-storey Rideau Centre shopping mall. It’s home to one of the oldest agricultural markets in Canada, but don’t expect just farmers and fishmongers here. Depending on the season, the market building itself often overflows with stands selling everything from wild blackberries to hand-made bracelets. The surrounding streets, meanwhile, are lined with boutiques, restaurants, clubs and taverns, which spill into a series of open-air courtyards that will be rocking on July 1.
Bank Street, one of Ottawa’s main thoroughfares, is also the principal artery running through the Glebe neighbourhood south of downtown. Boutiques, pubs and restaurants line the streetscape here, with the multi-purpose Lansdowne Park — home to the CFL’s Grey Cup Champion Redblacks — bordering the Glebe to the south and the picturesque, park-lined Rideau Canal marking its eastern border.

Culture
The stark modern design of the Canadian War Museum evokes a bunker, the grass-covered roof a battlefield, and small windows on a towering rooftop fin spell out "Lest we forget" in Morse Code. Inside, the permanent galleries display items including one of Adolph Hitler’s Mercedes limousines, while covering conflicts ranging from First Nations battles and the War of 1812 to the Cold War and Afghanistan. The highlight, however, is the Memorial Hall, a space for remembrance and contemplation containing a single artifact: the headstone of Canada’s Unknown Soldier from the First World War.

Read the rest of the story in International Traveller magazine

WHERE TO STAY
The Courtyard Ottawa Downtown, located in the heart of the Byward Market, features an on-site Bistro where you can turn a Marriott Rewards dining card into the most patriotic of Canadian beverage. (Hint: It’s beer.)