It’s Spring Break and I have time to take a breathe, look back, and look ahead.

It’s 2012 and I was just thinking today that it’s coming up to five years ago that my family and I decided to drive across Canada…yes DRIVE across Canada! It’s a story that I have shared with many people, many times.  Why?

Our trip across Canada was one of the most memorable learning experiences of our lives.  As a Canadian, you think you know about your country and that you understand how big Canada is.  Truth is, if you haven’t had the opportunity to drive across our great country, you will never truly understand how immense it is.

Five years have passed, but memories and stories of our trip seem to emerge weekly, either through something we hear or see on television or in the newspaper.  It’s wonderful when I hear one of my children exclaim, “We’ve been there!”

Since I wanted to preserve my memories of the trip (sometimes it was hard to remember what had happened event the previous day) I wrote a blog on our travels.  I’m glad I did as I often go back, read the entries and say to myself, “Oh yeah – I forgot about that.”  That blog can be found here.

I so wanted to share the experience with others that I also put together some images our trip with the wonderful song, “Canada Is” by Roger Whittaker and posted the video on YouTube. Check it out!

Canada is awesome, but did you know:

• The world’s largest teepee is located in Medicine Hat, Alberta.
• Old Quebec is one of the oldest and the only fortified, walled city north of Mexico. It was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1985.
• The flag atop the Peace Tower in Ottawa is changed daily from Monday to Friday and you can have your named added to the list to receive one of these flags. The current wait period is about 35 years!  When we put our name on the list, the wait period was about 17 years, meaning we have another 12 years to go.
• 15,000,000 coins are struck everyday at the Canadian Mint in Winnipeg.
• 60% of the coins struck at the Canadian Mint are for foreign countries.
• Pier 21 in Halifax, is one of Canada’s Wonders. Over 1,000,000 immigrants landed there between 1935 and 1971. My dad was one of them!

Canada IS really big…and I am proud to call it my home.  There is much to learn and experience for both Canadians and visitors.

So the question is…when will your adventure begin?