Canada At A Discount

John, if I come can you dress up like that for me?

LOL....we all dress like that Alfred!

Thanks for the invite! We've enjoyed visiting Canada over the years, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Banff, Prince Edward Island - Nova Scotia is on the list for some point.

Love to have you visit Edward. Also love to see you post some of your favorite photos of the places you visited.
Peggy's Cove is one of the landmark destinations to go to when visiting Halifax.

My family visited the maritime provinces years ago, when we were living in New England. Beautiful place, very nice people!!

I already live in Canada, what now?

Mary Ellen, maybe we can all get on the bus visit John in Halifax, to have some lobster and beer..

Well,

If you seriously considering visiting Nova Scotia, do not pass up the opportunity to tour the Cabot Trail!
And should you stop in Cheticamp....well...we live seconds off the trail, we've been known to take folks around to all the local hotspots.

Looking for Bald Eagles and other wildlife? Do drop a line.... :)


~Michel Soucy

Have been taking advantage of the sale in the Canadian Rockies since Oct. Headed back to Vancouver Island in a week or so.

For anyone who wants to go in the next year it might be advantageous to make the currency exchange soon and lock in the savings though if oil hits $15.00 a barrel the exchange rate might keep getting better for a while.

Alfred, sounds good!

Yes come me visit! I'm a fellow Canadian as well. Born and raised.

And of course, there are other lighthouses...like Cape Forchu outside Yarmouth..known as the Beacon to Canada


Halls' Harbor on the Bay of Fundy..home to the highest tides in the world


And the Annapolis Valley, with its own microclimate..home to farms,orchards and wineries



CIAD MILE FAILTE - Gaelic for 100,000 Welcomes.

I'm in southern Ontario so there is lots to see and do here!

Another great Canadian destination. I shot this photograph during a helicopter tour over the falls. This summer should see a lot of our American neighbors crossing the bridge to see this spectacular sight from the Canadian side. A great destination for Canadians from East to West to get to as well.

One from Quebec City - about four or five hours drive from the house.

Driving along the Saint-Laurent (St. Lawrence) river in the province of Quebec you might be surprised by the landscape.....this is going down to the little village of Stt. Fabien sur mer near Rimouski.....






Or...while visiting old Quebec City, don't forget to look up sometimes to see some picturesque windows.....

I don't mind the low Canadian dollar since most of my sales are paid in US dollar it is like getting a pay raise.
Anyone coming to visit Toronto can email me, I am member to two major museums here and can get you in for FREE or give you a tour of our city!

Quebec definitely offers architecture, history, culture, art, food and of course beautiful nature! Visitors to our beautiful province of Quebec will not be disappointed!

Canadian's love hockey, eh? I've been to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Edward, I live in Toronto but never been inside the Hockey Hall of Fame, the building was a former bank. Here is the sculpture outside. <br> <br><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/alfredng/1354485769/in/photolist-37A663-34G6qV-35juN2-3aNsT2-37C3CD" title="hockey players sculpture inToronto"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1144/1354485769_175904f7fd_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="hockey players sculpture inToronto"></a> <br> <br> however there is another building near there which is great for photos is the" Brookfield place" designed by Spanish Architect Santiago Calatrava, <br> <br><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/alfredng/437884161/in/photolist-EGgGV-6v7vwD-49PYSw-49PZMN-49KW2c-49Q2rJ-P2gA2-P2gzV-P2gzR-6v7smc-6weMQo-6vbAD1-6v7piz-6wazSv-6vbEEh-6v7qpc-6v7uvv-hWoQXD-487QX2-EGgGZ-EGgGF-EGgGi-CvFfD" title="BCE place Galleria"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/155/437884161_d432b7f633.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="BCE place Galleria"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Alfred - unless you are a big fan, save your money. Mostly its just a bunch of uniforms and a couple of interactive things like try to score on the virtual goalie.

Canada also has some great historic parks. There is one outside of Calgary - Heritage Park Historical Village:



And Kings Landing in New Brunswick:



Plus a great collection of Trains out side of Montreal at ExpoRail:

Edward, I think you like old trains, we have a train museum and it is free at least the last time I check.

Could never get enough of our west coast.

Edward Fielding just placed likes and favs on all three of your images above.
My way of saying thanks....I hope to get to Calgary this summer for the Calgary Stampede and NOW I will be putting in a day at the Heritage Museum.

Winter is an amazing time to visit the Canadian Rockies so long as you don't mind the bone chilling cold. Up to about Dec 21, rates for lodging seem to be at their lowest, actually Oct till just before Christmas. Add the great exchange rates in and you have a killer deal and almost zero crowds as mid December approaches. While some spots like Moraine Lake are closed unless you want to snowshoe or xc ski in, there are still lots that are still accessible.

Peyto Lake is absolutely stunning if you catch it after an early big snow before it has frozen for the winter



The peaks surrounding Maligne Lake take on a brilliant glow at sunset, though a little heavier blanket of snow along the shore would have made this one look a bit better



Jasper lodging is super cheap this time of year. Those hostel was 3 nights for $50 CAD, so about $12 US a night! The guest houses up there are pretty cheap in the winter too but not that cheap.

You can catch brilliant sunsets or alpenglow over the Athabasca River just outside the Jasper townsite without having to battle the summer crowds



Nobody is in the towns of Ucluelet or Tofino on Vancouver Island so you can shoot dawn till dusk in the rain forests there in the off-season, whereas in the summer you would never be able to setup a tripod on the narrow boardwalks through the rainforests.



If Banff you can enjoy a peaceful walk through Johnston Canyon and take your time photographing the brilliant ice formations in the canyon, whereas in the summer you probably can't even stop to get a shot along the boardwalk that clings to the walls of the canyon.



and finally, if you keep your eyes on the right website and are willing to brave the frigid temperatures until the wee hours of the morning you just may get lucky and get a chance to see the Northern Lights dance across the skies!

Beautiful photography Adam...liked and faved them all!

Heritage Museum in Calgary is great - they have a steam train ride, paddle wheel boat ride, old buildings, a gas station/car museum, historic talks, print shop, restaurants, playground for the kids, animals, demonstrations. We ran out of time and couldn't see it all.

We went to Banff in August. Terribly crowded at the popular spots. Hard to find parking and we only had three in our group so some of the hikes were out due to bears. Weather wasn't great either. I'd recommend winter or maybe fall.

Adam's right about the boardwalks. You have to wait in line for a photo of a waterfall in some spots.

I've lived in Calgary, Windsor (ONT), Niagara Falls (ONT), Toronto, KIngston (ONT), Montreal, Quebec City, and now in Cheticamp, N.S.
Have enjoyed life in all of these locations with a yearning to visit other Canadian spots..... with the dollar being what it is....a good bet that we'll do just that.

For now though, ..time to show off a little bit bit of where I live, seconds off the Cabot Trail, a world renowned travel destination:











Cheers everyone!

~Michel Soucy

As one can see from Michel Soucy's fantastic photographs above, Cape Breton is a marvelous Nova Scotia destination on our Canadian East Coast!


The Province next to Nova Scotia is New Brunswick. the first major city one comes to when driving from Maine is Saint John:



New Brunswick has oodles of very picturesque covered bridges to see. The world's longest covered bridge is in the north of the Province in Hartland NB.

All of the images below were taken within' a 25 miles of each other during a one day trip just outside of Moncton New Brunswick!! What a day!

Looking at all those photos, one might wonders is Canada a vast land with no human inhabit. Come to Toronto we have many festivals during the year sometime there are four and five each weekend in the summer.

This one is the buskersfest in August when the downtown streets is closed to cars.

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Just sent this message to a group I administer on FAA:
For our members of our group....in the general discussions thread of FAA I have posted a discussion titled " Canada at a Discount"
As a Canadian member of FAA I have always admired my American neighbors for their patriotism and in the past have spent many many vacations seeing the beauty of America. I have been delighted to see all four corners of the US. from Seattle Washington to New York, to Florida and California and lots in between.
This year I will be doing a "staycation" in Canada due to the low Canadian dollar now at.68 to the American dollar.

As a patriotic Canadian I would love to see the discussion thread in the General Discussions stay active in hopes that my American friends decide to visit our beautiful country and help out our tourism industry. I as well as a number of others have been posting our prints of Canadian sights and landmarks.

Please look for the discussion thread in the general discussions on FAA and post your prints of Canada as well as a word or two of hospitality. CANADA AT A DISCOUNT is the title of the tread.
Its also wonderful to see American FAA members posting prints of photos that they have taken while visiting Canada.
I am consistently keeping this discussion thread alive by Liking and Favoriting all works posted to the tread and encourage everyone to do the same.

We are all so very fortunate in the United States and Canada to be neighbours and share in our visions of peace and prosperity together on a continent separated from the rest of the world by two huge oceans.
I wish this was NOT something to be grateful for but unfortunately during this period in history I believe it is.

For the members of the group whom may not be Canadian or American I am grateful for knowing you are there in our world of creativity on FAA and I pray for your peace and prosperity in the countries you also are proud to belong. If you have had an opportunity to visit Canada please share your prints and experiences on the discussion thread as well.
CANADA AT A DISCOUNT is the thread.

within 1 hour of Niagara Falls Ontario Hamilton you will can find over 150 waterfalls such as Sherman falls in Ancaster


and while you are visiting take a ride around the water front on the Hamilton trolley

My husband and I are going to Seatle May 20 and we have seven days to tour with a rented car the Canadian Rockies including Banff, Jasper area before we go on an Alaskan cruise from Seatle. Any suggestions on not to miss highlights since we have limited time? We love Canada. Have most youred Ontario Montral regions in the past.

driving from buffalo to Hamilton in less then an hour and visit the Hamilton waterfront

Whenever I visit Vancouver, I love to walk along English bay, the sea wall and Stanley Park.

Anne: You sound like you are going to see some of the most beautiful areas in Canada. I would say Lake Louise would be a must see as well as the Glacier Park near there. Here is a link to our national parks in Canada. http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/glacier/index.aspx

One of two suspension bridges in Halifax Nova Scotia.

These three paintings were inspired by a trip to Canada a few years ago, unforgettable.

Located just 3 hours driving time above Spokane, Washington and a mere 45 minutes past the Canada/US border lies Nelson. B.C. It is considered to be the #1 Small Town Arts Community in Canada. At one time during the gold rush, it was the largest community between San Franscisco and Alaska, and numerous heritage buildings remain, one of which is the museum. Many US draft dodgers came to this area during the 60's and stayed; consequently the town has a real "alternative" feel. In addition, the air is fresh, mountains relatively unspoiled, and water pure. A true outdoor enthusiasts paradise in all four seasons, it has amazing skiing, golfing, camping, hiking, boating, and biking on and along on a 100 mile long lake. It is also renowned for it's terrific cuisine and many foodies make Nelson a destination solely for it's numerous ethnic/fusion restaurants and coffee houses. As you might guess, it is a desireable tourist destination for those willing to get off a bit off the beaten path.

Here is the courthouse, designed by the architect Rattenbury, who also designed Victoria B.C.'s Empress Hotel and Parliament Building.


An overview of the lake and town of about 12,000 people is provided by doing a very popular 45-minute hike.


Yes, places still exist on this earth where the water is so pure you can drink straight from the lake. I have been doing so every day for the past 34 years.

Wildlife abounds. Already this morning I have had a bald eagle visit my wharf to clean up a fish mess that the otters left behind. This area is also home to Kokanee "Redfish" who turn a vibrant red in the fall and return to their birthplace to spawn and then die.


The photos above barely cover what is available in this area for the nature and art lover to experience. If anyone is interested, there are many more local images in my portfolio - actually about half my images are taken from this area...C'mon up!!

A big part of Nova Scotia heritage involves our use of the harbor as the last departure point for troops going to Europe in WW1 and WW2

When in Halifax be sure to visit our Citadel Hill:

Opportunities for fantastic wildlife viewing abound.
This one was taken in Jasper, Alberta.

There's more to discover... in Newfoundland Labrador!


Check out the view from Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, where Marconi sent the first transatlantic wireless message in 1901.


A winter view of St. John's from Signal Hill....such rugged beauty.


A small cliffside community near St. John's. People live on the cliff under Signal Hill.


Perhaps a more pastoral scene is more to your liking. This is one of many from the beautiful community of Ship Harbour, home of the Atlantic Charter Monument Site where Roosevelt and Churchill drew up the terms of what is considered the foundation of the United Nations.


The description has the story of this.


Perhaps trains are of interest to you. A train museum in St. John's, Newfoundland. The 906 was the last train in Newfoundland and it ran on the narrow gauge rail system. This track was only 3ft 6inches wide. Although the name of the train was the Caribou, it was locally called The Newfie Bullet.


NL also has sandy beaches and rocky beaches...

This is barely the tip of the iceberg... of which you will find plenty in the spring of the year as they float by from Greenland.
While you are here, it may be fun to get 'screeched in' on George Street. One visit is not enough.

What a great country we have and only our American friends can afford to see it all. With the discounted dollar they will still have money left to buy paintings when they get home and with it being such a mild winter in Ontario they also stay warm.

The Caledonia Mill is a historic mill building located in Caledonia, Ontario, Canada. Built in 1846, It is the last timber-frame water powered mill along the Grand River in Ontario. I thank my wife for taking the photo I worked from as I was shivering too much from cold to take a steady picture and did not want to wait for spring as I fear this old mill has seen better days and may not be with us much longer.

The "Rocks" at Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick. This fascinating location is a within a five hour drive of the Maine-New Brunswick border and is in the Bay of Fundy which experiences the highest and lowest tides in the world.

So many great places to explore. The crowds make it as far as Bar Harbor and that it. Plenty of great sights to see north of there and hardly any people. Just modern highways with few cars.

We always headed north for vacations when we live on Mount Desert Island.








I have to get back there now that I have some real photography equipment and a whole improved skill set.

Why not check out our Provincial Parks and do some camping or rent a cottage on our beautiful lakes and rivers?


Killarney Provincial Park is outstanding for scenery, hiking and camping at any time of year!


The French River is spectacular - camp or cottage, hike, swim, explore!



There is so much more to see and enjoy in Ontario north!

Prince Edward Island...beautiful beaches!

David: I am sorry to hear that obviously many people you have known have disappointed you. Cut them loose pal and move on. We have all had people like this in our lives. Canada is still a great place to visit with lots of diverse geography, interesting landmarks and fun destinations.

Sorry you found a Canadian that upset you David , I hope it takes at least another 46 years before you find another.

Introducing our brand new shiny Prime Minister, the Honorable Justin Trudeau ...TA DA!