At the Airport

On the last day of our trip, we had to return the rental car early but our flight was not until late. So we ended up spending a lot of the day at the airport. Strange Panda and I spent this time catching up on recent world events.

Niagara Falls

After Lake Huron, we headed down to Niagara Falls, which is between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Here we are taking a picture in front of the Canadian side of the falls. Niagara Falls is huge, so I am glad we did not have to go swimming over it.


We walked across the border to America on a bridge. It was really neat, as we have never gone between countries that way before. The American side of the falls are not nearly as big as the Canadian side, but it is still pretty big compared to most waterfalls.


Here's a close-up of us at the US side of the falls.


This was the most interesting animal we met on our trip. I am not sure what species he (or she) was, but we saw it wandering around Niagara Falls on the Canadian side.

Georgian Bay

After we left Montreal, we took a bus back to Toronto, where we rented a car. We wanted to see the Great Lakes. So first we drove up to Lake Huron, on the Georgian Bay. All of the regional campsites were full, so we stayed at a private campground. Near the campground were some freshwater beaches. Woodland Beach was the closest to our campground, but it was really small and rocky.


Wasaga Beach was the most popular beach in the area, because it had lots of nice sand to lie on and shallow waters to wade in. Dad went swimming and said the water was really warm and nice.


Strange Panda was worried about getting sunburned, so he had to wear this hat while we were at the beach.


The main Wasaga Beach area had lots of people on it. We still had a great time despite the crowds though.


One night we went to a drive-in movie theater. Bill and I had never been to one before. We watched two movies that night, License to Wed and The Bourne Ultimatum. It was a lot of fun. If there were no mosquitoes it would have been even better.

Montreal Biodome

At the Biodome in Montreal, we saw a bunch of animals. I liked the mammals that could swim like me. Here was an otter we saw.


Here is a close-up of the otter. He was very cute when he was sleeping, though he lacked a bill, which would have made him even better looking.

Montreal Bike Ride

Mom and Dad took us for a bike ride in Montreal. There was a little mountain in the middle of the city that we biked all the way too and then up to the top of. On the way, we had to stop several times.


Strange Panda had a bit of trouble wearing his helmet, so we had to leave them off.


We mounted the bike to get going again.


However, we didn't get very far on the bike, as my feet didn't reach the peddles.


At the end of the bike ride, we got a great view of Montreal from its little mountain.

Back in Quebec

After another day of driving, we returned to Quebec and dropped off the car. We had to fit back into Dad's backpack again, because there was no other room anymore. There was a lot of room when we had the car.


We had enough time in Quebec to have a nice cup of hot chocolate at a cafe. The train ride back to Montreal was not so nice as our first train ride though.

A Scary Night

We were supposed to stay in our tent the first night on the drive back to Quebec. However, we ran into a massive thunderstorm that didn't look like it would be fun to camp in. Thankfully we found a nearby motel to spend the night in.


It seemed like Dad reacted to the thunderstorm by deciding to bring back the "wear me as a hat" phenomenon that swept through the house last year.

Oxford

One the long drive back to Quebec, we stopped off in Oxford, where the famous university is. It is also the blueberry capital of Canada, which I doubt many people know. We even got a picture with its giant blueberry.


Here we are in a close-up on the blueberry's arm. Oxford was kind of a disappointing town though as they didn't seem to grow many blueberries. Instead they just processed and froze them at a giant factory we couldn't even visit.

Pictou

This was our last day with our grandparents, so we took a picture with them in front of this boat. Apparently the first 200 settlers to Pictou (from Scotland) all came on a boat this size. This one is just a replica. It must have been very cramped inside though, unless they were all pandas and platypuses. I think they were probably humans though. The middle sail got hit by lightning, so that's why it is so short.


Strange Panda and I got to pretend to be typical citizens of Pictou, fishermen and lobsters. However, I think I moved too much during the picture because of my excitement, so I am blurry.

Cape Breton National Park Animals

Mom and Dad took a trip to Cape Breton National Park one day. They drove all around it and saw lots of Canadian animals. This is a baby moose they took a picture of to show us.


During one hike, Mom and Dad saw a large group of whales down below in the water. It was interesting that they could see so far since they were so high up above the whales.


Another animal they saw was a bald eagle. He was just sitting on a tree when they drove by.

Baddeck

After a few days in Halifax, we drove up to Baddeck in the North of Nova Scotia. We stayed at a nice B&B there, which used to be a farm.

Halifax

We ended our long drive at the airport in Halifax. It was exciting watching all the planes land, knowing that our grandparents were on one of them.


Mom found a giant colorful lobster in the middle of Halifax. It was thankfully too big for her to take home. Otherwise we might not have fit in the bed anymore!


When we were back at the B&B, Mom liked to use us as a pillow. I think it made it easier for her to read. Dad spent the whole time at the B&B reading the last Hairy Potter book. I guess we are not furry enough for him, despite both of us being covered in it.

Fundy National Park

The second night of our drive we stopped at Fundy National Park. It was an amazing park where the tides are about a mile long. During low tide, Dad took us out on some rocks and took this picture. In the far background is a covered wooden bridge that we got to drive across. I had never been on a covered bridge before.


We had a little friend at our campsite. An inchworm came to visit us at our picnic table.


Here we are sleeping in our tent that night. The ground was a bit hard and we didn't have enough padding. Strange Panda didn't mind though as he has thick fur.


Unfortunately, on the way out of the park, Dad was temporarily captured by pirates in the town of Alma. Luckily Strange Panda and I freed him so we could continue on with our journey.

Fredericton

We rented a car in Quebec and drove to Halifax to meet our grandparents. It was a long drive, so we stopped over the first night in Fredericton. Outside our motel, a bunch of locals were playing horseshoes and we watched them for awhile. I don't think I could lift the horseshoes though, as they looked heavy.


If you look really closely at this picture, you can see the groundhog we saw at Fredericton airport. He looked a bit like me, but they live in the ground instead of the water.


We ate dinner at a rest stop, where there was a giant canoe of some animals. I hope Strange Panda and I can ride in a canoe like that sometime.

Around Quebec

On our last day in Quebec, we rented a car and drove north to an island called Ile d'Orleans. Dad wouldn't let us drive, but he gave us a map and had us figure out the route.


Mom got very excited when we stopped at a small petting zoo on the island. The goats and sheep got very excited about her food too.


We also drove further north from Quebec, and went to Saint Anne's Basilica, which was a huge church built for a lady. The church is supposed to be able to heal your leg injuries. I think my sore paws did feel better after our visit, but that could be because Mom and Dad carried me.

Sunbathing

We had a bit of fun outside on the lawn at Quebec. It was nice and sunny, and really relaxing during our time there.


Bill and I tried to get rid of our white bellies and get a bit of a tan.


We did a bit of spooning in the sun, and promptly fell asleep again.

Sleeping Quebec

While Mom and Dad were out wandering around Quebec, Bill and I slept a lot. It was very resting, as traveling makes us very tired. Sometimes we played Yahtzee while Mom and Dad were gone.


When we weren't actually sleeping, we also played hide and go seek for hours around the B&B. It was a lot of fun.


While we were sleeping, Mom and Dad went to the Quebec Citadelle, where Mom found this stuffed version of Batisse, the regiment's goat mascot. She wanted to take him home, but Dad said that the love of a panda and a platypus should suffice, so Mom did not get him.

Day Out in Quebec City

Bill and I spent a lot of our time in Quebec sleeping and resting up. But we did manage to go out one day and see the city. However, in order to go around the city, we had to be jammed into Dad's backpack all day. Bill kept squashing my face!


Bill and I don't like to be ordinary tourists, who only see the sights and never meet the people. So we made friends with some of the natives here in Quebec.


This is the largest hotel in the city, Le Chateau Frontenac. Mom really wanted to stay there, but they did not accept pandas and platypuses as guests, so we had to settle on a smaller B&B. Because Bill and I felt personally rejected my this affront, we refused to look at it during the pictures. Besides, you wouldn't get to see our adorable faces if we were looking the other way.