Where do I even start? During the last week of July, my parents came to Toronto and along with my sister Erica, we went on a cross country road trip. It’s a little bit less adventurous than it sounds, we took a tour bus from downtown Toronto to B.C Vancouver. It was an 8 day trip where we were on the bus for the majority of the time. Stopping for attraction spots, washroom breaks and hotel stay at the end of each day.

Toronto > Sudbury > Sault Ste. Marie > Wawa > Thunder bay > Kenora > Winnipeg > Regina > Saskatoon > Edmonton > Calgary > Banff > Salmon Arm > Vancouver

It was pretty fun, if you’re used to tours. Knowing that you have to wake up early and will probably be rushed from one destination to another. But there are also benefits from going on a tour. Everything is taken care of. No need to see who’s driving, deciding where to stay (and get a good rate), picking top places to see. This wasn’t one of those ‘let’s explore and take our sweet time’ trip. It was more about getting to Vancouver and getting to see West Canada on the way. Which was perfect for a family vacation, specially when you end the trip with a cruise ;).

There wasn’t anything exciting to see at the beginning. Mostly prairies and tourist stops like the ‘Dynamite Earth’ nickel mine, Voyageur hiking trail (where we just stopped by to view the scenery) and a couple of parliaments along the way. For me the exciting part of the trip started around day 5, from Edmonton to Vancouver and going through the Rocky Mountains. I was in dire need of nature!

Going through the mountains and seeing the scenery change was breathtaking. I’m glad we got to spend a couple of days between glaciers, lakes and hiking trails. Will definitely make a trip to Calgary on it’s own for all the outdoor activities.

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