From Sea to SeaThe Brandt Family Adventure of 2007

And spent the first night in Revelstoke, BC

We departed Abbotsford, BC on July 8

We relaxed at Emerald Lake…

and got chilled by the mist of Takkakaw Falls in Yoho National Park

We drove a lot of boring miles but wined and dined in style

with friends in Alberta…

and Saskatchewan

…and entertained ourselves at rest stops

To celebrate a 60th wedding anniversary in ManitobaWe worshiped GodWe rode a zip-line into a pondAnd a stunt plane into the skyAnd lit up fireworks into the night

On a long drive through northern Ontario

We were awed by Kakabeka (Iced Tea) Falls We stopped at the Terry Fox memorial at sunrise

We played Frisbee on the most Superior beach in the afternoonAnd lost a most valuable item in the eveningBut miraculously an angel sent it to us the next day

We went up the peace tower

and down the Ottawa River

And saw the Prime

Minister’s house

And spent a night in

the Carlton County Jail in

Ottawa

We got blown out of our room and rained out of our walk in old Quebec City

But we ate French Fries in Florenceville

And kissed on the world’s longest covered bridge in Hartford, New Brunswick

We met the locals in Parrsboro, Nova ScotiaOn the beaches of Fundy at low tide they taught us to dig and eat clams [they taste like chicken]

We hiked Partridge Island…

and saw strange geological formations at Wasson Bluffs

And witnessed a tidal bore in Maccan

We made an amazing red sand castle in PEI

And learned how to eat lobster from a local expert

On the way back we ate Ganong chocolate right from the factory and crossed the border in St. Stephen, NB

We drove through 5 states in one day

And the next day got soaked under Niagara Falls

We danced to jazz on Queen Street in Toronto

And rode a glass elevator up world’s tallest building

We saw Shakespeare and an Ideal Husband in Stratford [both don’t exist anymore]

And we hung out with friends [who do exist]

We walked through a hole in the rock in Elora Gorge

And swam in Lake Huron with old friends

We drove through Chicago and Minneapolis in the same night that the bridge collapsed [but not under us]

We pitched hay on a hot day in southern Manitoba

And then swam in a pool And we appreciated our extended families

We played football…

and miraculously found a ring on the beach in Stephenfield Park

And hiked a shale canyon

in Pembina ValleyAnd swatted mosquitoes

For our 22nd anniversary we had a king-size bed in a grand old farm house

But there were 23 extended family members in there with us [the house that is] And we laughed a lot

And played in the dunes of the Spirit Sands in Spruce Woods Park

We drove 14, 746 km which means we spent more than 150 hours locked in a tin can on wheels with the same 6 people the whole time!

To bust the occasional boredom we listened to the Chronicles of Narnia radio theatre

And read a few dozen booksAnd wrote in our journalsAnd watched Ice Age ten timesAnd bothered and teased each other occasionally

And fought over directions occasionally

But most of all we made a lot of great memories, cultivated a wealth of relationships with people across the country and grew to love each other more as a family.

We arrived back home on August 14