The anticipation was high. No one in our family (with the exception of myself) has crossed into the Atlantic time zone before. We landed in Halifax around noon and stayed at the Delta hotel in Dartmouth to relax and give us some breathing room between our family trip and our long drive to PEI. The weather was surprisingly decent (warm but overcast) considering we just arrived shortly after the region experienced one of the most unprecedented weather events in years (floods, wildfire, hurricane). Coming from very hot, drought conditions back home, Tlell notedly welcomed the sight of “lush, green” surroundings.

The next morning I had some time to myself as I had to pick-up our car rental from Enterprise in downtown Halifax. Taking a cab from Dartmouth, I had my usual conversations with the taxi driver. He was a recent business grad student from St. Mary’s University (I mentioned I graduated from Dalhousie which reignited a rivalry that I had forgotten). He was also from Ontario (Hamilton) and told me stories about the recent floods, how crazy fast the city has grown since COVID, and how still affordable it is to still live in the area. He mentioned that all of his family and friends were still living in Ontario. He was the only one that left and it was considered “crazy or adventurous” by some. He sometimes struggled with being alone during the holidays but eventually resolved that he wouldn’t move back. He liked it here. Sounds familiar.

While driving around town, I slowly began to remember what the city looked like when I was here in 2001. Streets, buildings, and parks started to look familiar but different at the same time. It was like looking at an old acquaintance, hidden under age but either restored, refurbished, or modernized almost beyond recognition.

After hanging out at Scotia Square mall, exploring the pedestrian tunnels and skywalks (very cool), and learning about how the pandemic affected the car rental industry, I finally got our car rental (2023 Ford Edge) at the Halifax airport (long story). I then picked up the fam at the hotel and we were finally off. We were definitely excited.