There's still plenty of pizza left in the Great Canadian Travel Draft box. There are the final selections, of course, but also some burning questions: What's at stake here? And if anything is at stake, then who wins it? And why isn't the Gopher Hole Museum (pictured) included? (If you're new to the GCTD, you may also wonder what I'm yammering on about; if so, click here. To see the Round 2 and 3 picks, click here. To read about inadvertent spa nudity, click here.)
Before we all start panicking and running for the emergency exits a la Anatoliy Baranovich, let's deal with Item No. 1. In fact, let's recap the whole shebang, pick by pick:
JIM BYERS
Round 1: Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail drive
Round 2: Niagara Falls
Round 3: Alberta’s Icefields Parkway
Round 4: “The rugged and beautiful shores of Lake Superior; an area even most Ontario folks don't know. Stunning canyons, tumbling waterfalls with no amusement park rides in sight and endless vistas. Not to mention both Winnie the Pooh and the Wawa Goose.”
VAWN HIMMELSBACH
Round 1: The East Coast Trail
Round 2: Beamsville Bench wineries
Round 3: Montreal’s Old Port
Round 4: “Exploring Toronto's amazingly diverse neighbourhoods. Kensington Market, Parkdale, Roncesvalles, The Junction, Little India, Chinatown, the Danforth, Little Korea, Little Italy ... and Vogue did name Queen Street West as the second-best place in the world to find hip street style.”
KARAN SMITH
Round 1: Tofino, B.C.
Round 2: Dawson City Music Festival
Round 3: Algonquin Park
Round 4: “Watching the northern lights (pictured below) in the Yukon or Northwest Territories. It almost makes you want to use that m-word that travel writers try at all costs to avoid.”
ADAM BISBY
Round 1: Virginia Falls, NWT
Round 2: Whistler Sliding Centre
Round 3: Ottawa’s Carleton Cup
Round 4: “Dinner at the Eagle's Eye restaurant (pictured below) atop B.C.'s Kicking Horse ski resort. There are plenty of world-class eateries in Canada, but this is the only one that offers views of four alpine national parks with a gondola ride to boot.”
ROBIN ESROCK
Round 1: Polar Bears in Churchill
Round 2: Cycling across PEI
Round 3: Hotel de Glace, Quebec City
Round 4: “Walking on the sea bed of the Bay of Fundy at the Hopewell Rocks (pictured below) in New Brunswick. Then jumping in a kayak and paddling around the same rocks as the world's highest tides come in.”
They’re all pretty sweet – looks like my daughter will have to start hucking lawn darts again to determine the winner (outdoors this time!). The GCTD prize, meanwhile, is obvious: A signed copy of one of Esrock’s new regional editions of The Great Canadian Bucket List. Trouble is, we own these titles already, along with Robin’s line of scented candles and those cozy Esrock-branded Snuggies.
Maybe we don’t need a prize. We’re “professional” travel writers, after all, so in some ways we’ve already won. Unless you believe the Telegraph, which does build a strong case...
So here’s the deal: Tweet me any Canadian bucket-list experience you feel the draft has overlooked, or post it in the comments below (along with your email), and if Ava pierces your submission with a lawn dart you’ll win your choice of the Central Canada, Atlantic Canada and Western Canada editions of The Great Canadian Bucket List. Then all you have to do is show up at one of Robin’s free cross-Canada speaking engagements, mention the Great Canadian Travel Draft as if you’re both members of a secret society, and he’ll hand you the prize with a smile and a signature.
But not with a Snuggie. Those sold out long ago…
Before we all start panicking and running for the emergency exits a la Anatoliy Baranovich, let's deal with Item No. 1. In fact, let's recap the whole shebang, pick by pick:
JIM BYERS
Round 1: Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail drive
Round 2: Niagara Falls
Round 3: Alberta’s Icefields Parkway
Round 4: “The rugged and beautiful shores of Lake Superior; an area even most Ontario folks don't know. Stunning canyons, tumbling waterfalls with no amusement park rides in sight and endless vistas. Not to mention both Winnie the Pooh and the Wawa Goose.”
VAWN HIMMELSBACH
Round 1: The East Coast Trail
Round 2: Beamsville Bench wineries
Round 3: Montreal’s Old Port
Round 4: “Exploring Toronto's amazingly diverse neighbourhoods. Kensington Market, Parkdale, Roncesvalles, The Junction, Little India, Chinatown, the Danforth, Little Korea, Little Italy ... and Vogue did name Queen Street West as the second-best place in the world to find hip street style.”
KARAN SMITH
Round 1: Tofino, B.C.
Round 2: Dawson City Music Festival
Round 3: Algonquin Park
Round 4: “Watching the northern lights (pictured below) in the Yukon or Northwest Territories. It almost makes you want to use that m-word that travel writers try at all costs to avoid.”
ADAM BISBY
Round 1: Virginia Falls, NWT
Round 2: Whistler Sliding Centre
Round 3: Ottawa’s Carleton Cup
Round 4: “Dinner at the Eagle's Eye restaurant (pictured below) atop B.C.'s Kicking Horse ski resort. There are plenty of world-class eateries in Canada, but this is the only one that offers views of four alpine national parks with a gondola ride to boot.”
ROBIN ESROCK
Round 1: Polar Bears in Churchill
Round 2: Cycling across PEI
Round 3: Hotel de Glace, Quebec City
Round 4: “Walking on the sea bed of the Bay of Fundy at the Hopewell Rocks (pictured below) in New Brunswick. Then jumping in a kayak and paddling around the same rocks as the world's highest tides come in.”
They’re all pretty sweet – looks like my daughter will have to start hucking lawn darts again to determine the winner (outdoors this time!). The GCTD prize, meanwhile, is obvious: A signed copy of one of Esrock’s new regional editions of The Great Canadian Bucket List. Trouble is, we own these titles already, along with Robin’s line of scented candles and those cozy Esrock-branded Snuggies.
Maybe we don’t need a prize. We’re “professional” travel writers, after all, so in some ways we’ve already won. Unless you believe the Telegraph, which does build a strong case...
So here’s the deal: Tweet me any Canadian bucket-list experience you feel the draft has overlooked, or post it in the comments below (along with your email), and if Ava pierces your submission with a lawn dart you’ll win your choice of the Central Canada, Atlantic Canada and Western Canada editions of The Great Canadian Bucket List. Then all you have to do is show up at one of Robin’s free cross-Canada speaking engagements, mention the Great Canadian Travel Draft as if you’re both members of a secret society, and he’ll hand you the prize with a smile and a signature.
But not with a Snuggie. Those sold out long ago…
