FLARE'S GUIDE TO HITTING THE OPEN ROAD

FROM CHARLOTTETOWN TO HALIFAX

Dune’s Gallery and Café

1. Start at Charlottetown’s stunning Dune’s Gallery and Café to fuel up with an order of the Grazer’s Plate (a yummy selection of pate, cheese, olives, artichokes and specialty bread) before piling into the car. Don’t forget to pack your portable DVD player—you can watch Revolutionary Road when it’s someone else’s turn to drive.

Bay of Fundy

2. Make a pit stop at the Bay of Fundy to admire the world’s highest tides—its dramatic highs and lows rival those of Britney’s career.

Dartmouth

3. Head to Dartmouth, N.S. next and wax your London L. Surf board because you’re about to become a surf betty with lessons from Lawrencetown Beach’s One Life Surf School. Don’t forget the camcorder—you’ll want to upload Blue Crush-worthy video of yourself onto Facebook.

Titanic

4. Next stop: Halifax. If watching Revolutionary Road en route has you crushing on Leonardo Dicaprio, have a date with him here, kinda sorta. He played a character named Dawson in Titanic , and Leo fans have been flocking to Halifax Cemetery where an 18-year-old stoker who perished on the ship named James Dawson is buried.

fishing towns

5. Head next to the picturesque fishing towns along the south shore including Peggy’s Cove, Chester, Mahone Bay and Lunenberg to eat just-caught seafood (Murray’s Wharfside Lobster Pound in Peggy’s Cove is a must).

MORE

 

FROM MONTREAL TO NORTH HATLEY

Balnea Spa

1. Before putting the car into drive, make sure you’ve got some good tunes handy such as Lissy Trullie’s Self Taught Learner and Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Don’t get too much in a zone though; luxury awaits you just over an hour away at the Balnea Spa in Lake Bromont. Located on a private nature reserve, the spa boasts Turkish baths, Finnish saunas and salt-water whirlpools. Ahhh, pure Zen.

Frelighsburg

2. Next up is the picturesque village Frelighsburg, which happens to be nestled in an apple-growing valley. But, we’re not here for the fruit. Head straight for the Magasin General, home to rave-worthy maple syrup pies.

Hovey Manor

3. Now for the Sideways portion of your trek, make a few stops along the wine route [laroutedevins.ca] – be sure to hit Domaine les Brome and Domaine Pinnacle. Pack your camera because these spots offer amazing views. And don’t forget to buy some cider to enjoy back at hotel (the Hovey Manor gets our pick for its lake-view balconies and five-star restaurant).

St. Benedict’s Abbey

4. Not exactly a Thelma and Louise kind of journey, the next stop is a 1912 monastery, St. Benedict’s Abbey. The views are stunning, the architecture is breathtaking, but it’s the made-on-site blue cheese (l’Ermite) that might just push you over the edge.

Bleu Lavande

5. To satisfy your love of kitsch, visit the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, which is divided by the U.S and Canadian boarder. Before leaving the area, stop by Bleu Lavande—the largest Canadian producer of this pretty plant—you’ll feel like Anne of Green Gables strolling through their fields. Checkout Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning with Barbara Hershey, Rachel Blanchard and Shirley MacLaine for some inspiration.

FROM TORONTO TO PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY

Port Hope

1. Pick up a prepared picnic at Whole Foods and then set your GPS for Port Hope. Stop here to eat your lunch by the waterfront. Belly full, poke around antique shops all afternoon. At night, check out the drive-in to inject some retro fun into the trip.

St. Anne’s Spa

2. If being cooped up in a car has everyone bickering, stop in Grafton, where all your tensions can be smoothed away at St. Anne’s Spa (try the Aveda Treatment Green Science Facial, a rejuvenating treatment that will help lift and firm your skin, not to mention minimize any stressful-highway-401-driving-induced wrinkles.

Big Apple

3. Colborne’s Big Apple doesn’t have Times Square and Magnolia Bakery cupcakes. But it does have a petting zoo and tons of baked apple goodness, not to mention a fantastic view of Lake Ontario when you climb up inside the 10-metre-plus-high apple.

Presqu’ile Provincial Park

4. Is the only bird you know Daffy? Shame on you. Increase your knowledge with some binoculars and bird watching in Presqu’ile Provincial Park. Don’t forget to Twitter about it—all your city slicker friends will be oh-so-impressed.

Harvest Restaurant

5. Get your foodie on in Prince Edward County. Eat your way through the area with some help from the Taste Trail guide. Locavores will not want to miss Harvest Restaurant’s Hundred Mile Menu, available mid-July until the end of September. Burn off the six-course meal the next day by making like Lance Amstrong with a rental from Picton’s Ideal Bike, or windsurf at Sandbanks Provincial Park (perhaps you’ll splash into someone as hunky as windsurfing fan Hugh Jackman).

FROM WINNIPEG TO HECLA

crepes

1. Start your trek off on a sweet now with a stop in Whytewold at the Whytewold Emporium. Browse through their silver jewelry collection, which includes one-of-a-kind pieces from Mexico and Arizona and sample their to-die-for crepes (we love the Canadian Maple Drizzle with bananas).

H.P Tergesen

2. If a trip to Iceland isn’t in your cards, Gimli is the next best thing. This town is home to the largest concentration of Icelandic people outside of Iceland. So download your favourite Bjork and Sigur Ros tracks onto your Sony cordless MP3 player and spend time roaming for treasures at H.P Tergesen & Sons. This 110-year-old family operated store is jam packed with clothing and jewelry. A piece of Soul Flower jewelry is the perfect souvenir. When your belly starts grumbling, pick up some traditional Icelandic snacks for the road such as a slice of Vinarterta (a mouth watering layered cake) at Amma’s Tearoom.

The Strain

4. When you get to Riverton, check into the Radisson Hecla Oasis Resort, located in the stunning Interlake’s region. Treat yourself to dinner at L’Enoteca—its wine list with over 300 bottles will satisfy any budding sommeliers—or lounge in their hydrotherapy pools before slipping into a plush bathrobe and curling up with a good book. Twilight fans will love The Strain . It’s the first book in the Vampire trilogy by Guillermo de Toro, the director behind the Oscar winning flick Pans Labyrinth.

Hecla shoreline

Start the morning off with an invigorating hike on the Lighthouse trail. The stunning views of the Hecla shoreline won’t disappoint. Recuperate at the Hecla Oasis Mineral Spa with an Ionithermie body wrap before hitting the road for home.

FROM VICTORIA TO TOFINO

One Week

1. In One Week Joshua Jackson made the trek from Toronto to Tofino. We’re cheating and starting in Victoria. The quaint waterfront community, Cowichan Bay is the first must-stop. Make sure you include a stop at the Shipyard Gallery to view artist Arthur Vickers’ blinged-out serigraphs made with 23K gold. FYI: if you’re traveling with your pooch, there’s doggie station out front that’s stocked with water and gourmet biscuits.

Cathedral Grove Trail

2. Time for a 20-minute workout! Grab your I-Pod (you can stow it in one of these graphic Incase cases for safe keeping) and walk the Cathedral Grove Trail in MacMillan Provincial Park. This short jaunt will leave you feeling like you’re on the set of Jurassic Park with 800-year-old trees towering over 9 meters above.

World Parrot Refuge

3. Prep for your next stop, the old country market in Coombs, by cranking some Taylor Swift. Grab a burger here and enjoy the popular local attraction—goats grazing on the roof. Bird enthusiasts won’t want to miss The World Parrot Refuge.

Sacred Stone Spa

4. Arrive at Long Beach Lodge, a luxurious beachside resort on Cox Beach. The Sacred Stone Spa offers a surf and spa package that includes a 3-hour surf lesson and a one-hour massage. If riding waves isn’t your thing, Remote Passages’ offers whale-watching excursion that include a stop at the thermal pools at Hot Spring Cove.

Top 5 Movies

ROAD TRIP HALL OF FAME: TOP 5 MOVIES

1. Thelma and Louise
2. Sideways
3. Transamerica
4. Y tu Mama Tambien
5. Little Miss Shine

MAIN