Thanks Canada and Happy 150th!

Researching our 8 day trip from Portland, Maine making a loop through Canada's Maritimes south eastern coast, I overlooked an important tidbit.

The 2017 Canadian 150 / Discovery Pass available to all visitors. This included free admission to all national parks, marine conservation areas and historic sites administered by Parks Canada through December 31, 2017.

With the small green hang tag one may enter Canada’s national treasures from the Prince Edward Islands to British Columbia's Pacific Rim National Park. Find out about Canada 150 events and activities on the Passport 2017 App or Canada.pch.gc.ca online.

We enjoyed this beautiful country and the friendly people from New Brunswick’s Saint John with reversing tides, on to photographing the Bay of Fundy Coast line's 47 feet tidal changes and Hopewell Rock formations.

Three days in Prince Edward Island staying in Charlottetown. The second morning one of the Rendez-vous Naval 2017 Tall Ships docked at the end of Queen Street just beyond our hotel. Over a hundred of sailors suspended from the ship’s masks sung French melodies.

PEI was everything we had read about, miles of bike trails though green meadows and along the beach. Our Canada 150 pass allowed free entry to these parks with red clay and white beaches. On the southern part of the island, Victoria’s artsy community glowed in the afternoon sun.

Next we traveled by ferry from the Wood’s Islands to Caribou, Nova Scotia and into Halifax for another three days. Peggy’s Cove, Lunenburg, and the Halifax Maritime Museum gave us even more photo opportunities. The waterfront boardwalk was swamped as we meandered between restaurants and the Farmer’s Market.

An evening ferry took us from Digby back to Saint John as we returned to Portland. If you have some spare time, take advantage of our northern neighbor’s generous offer and help Canada celebrate 150!