August 3rd to August 22nd, 2021. Twenty days, five of us, almost 8,000 kilometres, and I am not sure we fully understood what we were getting into. The biggest road trip of my life — and I have done a few.
The plan was Quebec City, then across the Labrador Highway to the most remote parts of eastern Canada, then a ferry to Newfoundland and all the way to the northernmost tip where the Vikings landed, then south through Gros Morne, across to Fogo Island, down to Terra Nova and St. John's, a Marine Atlantic ferry to Cape Breton, the Cabot Trail, and home through New Brunswick and Montreal. We drove it all. We slept in the car when we had to. We ran out of food options more times than I'd like to admit.
The night before the trip we were at Omar and Nikki's. She made pilau, he made BBQ chicken, and the dessert — a smoother brownie with cookie crust — was the highlight. We loaded the car late and barely made it out by 8 am. Picked up McDonald's near Lindsay, Ontario. Nisreen got pulled over near Peterborough doing 137 km/h. First speeding ticket of her life. Nobody said anything except that yes, she does have a tendency to lose track of the speed limit.
The St. Lawrence and Getting Out of Ontario
We stopped in Montreal for shawarma and ice cream that was okay. From Montreal we drove northeast to a Heritage Site outside Quebec City where we had booked a tent-o-tik by the St. Lawrence River. Zara and I went for groceries while the others settled in. Dinner was chicken skewers, lamb chops, and shrimp — an overkill of food, my fault. Fire by the river. Quite serene.
Next morning we drove straight to Baie-Comeau, QC. Beautiful beach town but we got in at 11:30 at night. We learned en route that we had taken the longer way from Quebec City, added an extra hour and a half to avoid ferries that were actually not necessary. We slept in the Walmart parking lot. It was cold by 3 am.
Highway 389: The Labrador Highway
By 4 am we were at the gas station. I had been warned about this road — it's also called Exhibition 51. 390 kilometres through some of the emptiest terrain in the country. It turns narrow without warning. It goes to gravel unannounced. The speed limit drops to 25 around corners that come out of nowhere. We stopped at a small gas station restaurant around 7:30 and had a proper breakfast for the first time in two days. After that everyone felt better. We stopped at a lake and almost all of us swam.
We passed Fermont, QC. A town that built an actual wall to fight the high Arctic winds. No exaggeration — there is a wall. We checked every hotel option from Fermont to Happy Valley–Goose Bay. There were none. We booked two nights in Blanc-Sablon instead and decided to push through.
That night I drove into Labrador on pure stubbornness. Bad rain, bad visibility, bad road. I made it to Churchill Falls — an engineering city in the middle of absolutely nothing, where NL sends its technical workers on summer assignments. The only place to sleep was the airport. I tried for hours and couldn't. I saw two mice running along the building perimeter at some point. Eventually I drove out at 3 am, made it two hours toward Happy Valley–Goose Bay, pulled over at a rest area, and took a ninety-minute power nap. Woke up to wilderness and a family starting to stir in the back seat.
We made it to Happy Valley–Goose Bay. Tim Hortons. Beautiful landscapes. Breathtaking, honestly, once in a lifetime. We drove straight through and I passed out that night in our hotel after a proper shower and food. Some things are worth it.
Blanc-Sablon and the End of Quebec
Blanc-Sablon is a strange and wonderful place. It is technically in Quebec, but the mayor has publicly said he'd rather be part of Newfoundland because of better provincial infrastructure funding. One road runs through the entire town. On one side: our hotel, the Rocky side of the ocean. On the other: the ferry terminal, restaurants, and a view toward Labrador.
The morning I made pancakes for the host and took the drone out. The weather was stunning. We drove to the "end of the road" — a beach so cold the water nearly stopped our hearts — and went in anyway. I took the best drone video of the trip there.
The ferry was short and comfortable. We were crossing into the northernmost part of Newfoundland.
L'Anse aux Meadows: Where the Vikings Landed
The drive up the Northern Peninsula is one of the most beautiful I've done. You can see bays through hills with the open ocean in the background. We saw a bunch of moose on the road at night — NL is full of them and they come out after dark, which is both magical and terrifying.
The morning we went to L'Anse aux Meadows, the UNESCO Heritage Site where the Vikings landed around the year 1000. The question that kept running in my mind: whose heritage? The national park exploration centre was genuinely impressive. They had full replicas of Viking houses with people dressed up as Vikings who walked us through how they lived. Historians and entertainers at the same time.
It is one of those places that makes you feel the weight of time. This is the oldest known European settlement in North America. A thousand years ago, here, people built boats and crossed oceans with no maps. And nobody in Toronto talks about it.
Gros Morne: The Toughest Hike We've Done
Gros Morne National Park is similar to Great Smoky Mountains but wilder. Five visibly different terrains in one park, shaped by the earth's core coming to the surface — the fjords here are unlike anything else in North America.
We stayed at Beaver Pond Rustic Cabins in Rocky Harbour. The park restaurant Earls became our dinner for three nights in a row. The seafood chowder was fantastic. I doubled up on it until I couldn't look at seafood chowder anymore.
The Green Gardens hike is long, tough, and goes through rugged brown terrain into deep green mountains with waterfalls before arriving at a beach with cliffs where you can watch sheep. I carried Sanaa in the hiking trailer the whole way. We were both unfit and carrying extra weight and it was a brutal return climb. But the hike itself is something I will not forget.
The next day we did the fjord boat tour. Two hours through the fjords with waterfalls coming off the tops of mountains into the bay below. Overcast and misty, which somehow made it better. Truly something out of this world. The weather in Gros Morne is not friendly, but the landscape doesn't care — it's spectacular regardless.
Fogo Island
Getting to Fogo Island required a ferry from Farewell, NL. We were the second-to-last car through the gate at the 3 pm ferry and made it. On the return we were not so lucky — we watched the gate close in front of us and waited three hours in the ferry lot for the 6 pm boat. The people of NL, I noticed, are completely unbothered by these situations. They have snacks. They talk to strangers. They've been here before.
The ferry stopped at Change Islands first, then docked at Fogo Island. We ate at a place called the Codd Jigger on arrival — poutine, bucket of chicken — and found our cabin in Joe Batts Arm.
The cabin belonged to a woman named Madonna. She had lost her husband six months earlier and hadn't had many guests since. We felt genuinely special being there. Two full bedrooms, a little patio overlooking the water, our own laundry machine. CBC had an Atlantic Edition on TV that I watched after the kids were asleep. NL was starting to grow on me.
Friday the 13th we walked to a beach where the water was only knee-deep for a long stretch, soft sand, and little crabs in the shells Safia collected. Sanaa bumped her head on a rock and the drama was considerable. Zara found a guitar necklace she had lost on the walk back — Nisreen refused to give up looking and found it fifteen minutes later.
Then we went to Growlers Ice Cream. This has to be the best ice cream I have had anywhere in Canada. You enter through the back patio. The first thing you see are cans of caramel being boiled and a big container of milk. Fresh ice cream always wins. I had chocolate and caramel. Nisreen had Partridge Jam Tart — white, purple, and jam-coloured. She loved it and honestly it was exceptional. I vaguely remember Cows ice cream in PEI. Growlers wins.
That evening we had dinner at a restaurant run by a former employee of the Fogo Island Inn. The hospitality was exceptional — the best service we had the entire trip. After dinner we drove to the Fogo Island Inn itself and walked to the shore. Then Nisreen, Sanaa, and I drove out for a late evening coffee to Tillingate, the Irish part of the island. I got some of the best drone video of the entire trip there. Something about being on an island makes time slow down or stop. Everything relative to the mainland becomes irrelevant.
Terra Nova and Sandy Cove
After the Fogo Island ferry back to the mainland, we stopped at Walmart for road supplies and drove to Terra Nova National Park. The welcome centre was fantastic — they had a measurement tank and a small aquarium. A guide told us about Sandy Cove Beach outside the park. We hurried there and everyone except Nisreen went in. I told the family it was the best beach I had ever swum in. The kids still thought Tofino BC was better because of the waves. Sandy Cove is a cove so there are no waves, but the water was incredible — you could see jellyfish that don't bite drifting past your legs.
That night we had a tent-o-tik. Salmon and chicken souvlaki on the grill, corn roasted whole. Much better than the first tent-o-tik we'd had outside Quebec City at the start of the trip. We missed the 8:30 pm bat walk and the 9:30 am rhubarb planting demo the next morning. We did find a nice park where the kids played for a while and ended with ice cream from the park store.
St. John's
Three and a half hours to St. John's. A beautiful city on arrival. We checked into the Delta downtown — small room but the beds were great and that was all I needed. We ordered local pizza (Piatto) and then went out for bubble tea that I was not a fan of. I was in a bad mood that night. I slept on the sofa.
Next morning I apologized, and we went to Cora's for the first time in a long time — lots of food, one takeout box on the way out. Then Signal Hill: a mountain peak with ocean on one side and the city on the other, historically significant during wartime, and just a gorgeous view. I stepped in a marsh on the way back and ruined my shoes.
Quidi Vidi — the famous little fishing village — had a park where Safia and Sanaa played while Nisreen and I watched. Gelato after. Pool at the hotel at 5 pm where Safia and Sanaa showed me their new swimming skills. Zara is a natural swimmer and I always wish she'd pursue it more. Domino's for dinner.
The Rooms museum in St. John's is incredible. Maybe the best-made museum with the most unbeatable views I have been in. You learn about the people of this land — what is now called Canada, a name given by colonial oppressors. Newfoundland was always a cod fishing place from long before European settlement. There was a period when seals and puffins were also hunted. The art gallery in the same building made it even better — one side museum, one side gallery. We spent the whole afternoon there.
Last night in St. John's. We were supposed to go to a local favourite called Oliver's but the kids had nothing left. I took Sanaa to pick up Domino's pasta for the girls, got Mohammad Ali shawarma and za'atar for Nisreen, and we watched Mr. Peabody & Sherman as a family. Zara's suggestion. It was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Marine Atlantic: Newfoundland to Nova Scotia
The ferry to Sydney, NS is about 14 to 16 hours. We booked a cabin — four bunk beds, spacious bathroom. The ferry was delayed two and a half hours because of a mechanical failure. The word on the ship was the mechanic had to come from St. John's, which is over an hour away. Classic NL ferry situation.
We explored the ship. Ten decks. The arcade, casino, and most restaurants were closed. They had fish and chips and Thai noodles. The kids played chess in the game room. That evening Nisreen and I walked the decks while Sanaa slept off a fever she'd been fighting since the hotel pool. I was worried about her.
The sea was calm and we made up some of the lost time. Slept reasonably well for a moving ship. Sanaa was restless with fever for a second night. The morning came with mist so thick you couldn't see anything off the deck. By mid-morning the coast of Nova Scotia appeared. We headed to our cars. Nova Scotia police at the gate asked about vaccinations. Then we were driving again.
The Cabot Trail
We stopped at a bakery right after docking. Unpleasant owner, okay apple pie and chocolate cake. Quite an entry into Nova Scotia.
The Cabot Trail starts slowly and then becomes one of the most stunning drives I have ever done. Ocean on one side, mountains on the other, curves every few hundred metres. We found Ingonish Beach — a cove with emerald blue water and beautiful peaks in plain sight. The sand was soft in a way lake beaches in Ontario never are. Safia and I were in the water when she couldn't contain herself and called Nisreen in. Zara wasn't feeling well. Sanaa woke up and cried on the beach. We called it and drove on.
That night we stayed at Cheticamp campground in a tent-o-tik. I got the wood and built the fire. Nisreen and I sat by it late into the night. She said: talk less, listen more, spend quality time with the children instead of getting angry at them. She was right. I had been hard on Zara that trip. I love her so much and I feel like I'm stuck in old ways with her sometimes.
The stars that night were incredible. The view outside our tent in the morning was spectacular.
Home Through the Night
We packed up and drove south through Cape Breton and back onto the mainland. Stopped for a lobster sandwich at a wonderful place — the best meal since the Fogo Island dinner. Ice quickly after. Gas. Into Moncton, where Zara chose a Japanese restaurant and Safia chose a vegetarian place called Cactus. We found a Chatime in Moncton which made the girls very happy. Then we started driving again for the night push home.
Nisreen drove us out of Fredericton on a black coffee. Gas stations were closing so we doubled back to fill up. I took over into Quebec. I stopped three times through the night for ten or fifteen minutes each time, then drove again. One of those drives along the US border through Edmundston, into Quebec in the dark, an animal I couldn't identify on the road — fox or beaver — and eventually Tim Hortons 90 minutes from Quebec City, the family waking up as the sun came up.
Quebec City at dawn is beautiful. The roads were empty. Nisreen got fresh croissants while the girls walked up to the peak of the Château Frontenac. Then straight to Montreal. Rush hour near Oshawa. Welcome to Toronto.
We made it home at 3:05 pm on August 22nd. I detailed the car as best I could. Nisreen started on the laundry. I made one grocery run and crashed.
Twenty days. Almost 8,000 kilometres. Never before in a car like that. The biggest road trip of my life.
People from Newfoundland, they say, always end up right back there. After twenty days of driving through it, I understand why. It's so not talked about in Toronto. It's so far. And it is so worth it.
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