Je l'ai quitté le Canada

Indeed, I did cross the bridge and return to the US of A in early September. While my first stop (to regroup) was Acadia National Park, I'm feeling the need to share some thoughts from my summer to the north. When the mood hit me, I jotted down items that struck me for whatever reason! Perhaps you'll enjoy them, too. 
 
You know you're in Canada when you ... 

• ...get an extensive bike map at nearly every stop. 
• ...haven't seen road rage for an entire season. 
• ...don't have to carry & use pennies. 
• ...can drive like a tourist and no one blows the horn (or hugs your bumper). 
• ...think your bike brakes are rubbing but  it's goose shit stuck under the front fork. 
• ...wonder if litter exists (it doesn't until you hit Nova Scotia). 
• ...are asked if you have "loonies for a two-fer" and you know what that means. 
• ...go to the biscuit aisle as your first stop in every market. 
• ...can pump petrol and then pay for it (though it's $1.00/litre). 
• ...feel people's pride in their country. 
• ...can buy food that brings you back to your childhood. 
• ...people watch at the shopping centre and not a single child is obese. 
• ...haven't been panhandled one time all summer long. 
• ...find compost bins at a food court and every hostel. 
• ...can't buy books at  the local library because they're all in French (Quebec). 
• ...pay $3.60 for a loaf of white bread and a $46 bridge toll to leave PEI. 
• ...find that one of your mother's many superstitions is rooted here.
• ...haven't seen a GMC Yukon in months. 
• ...think living in the USA is cheap (except for housing!). 
• ...never get used to the double tax on most everything you buy. 
• ...can park your car for a week and safely bike or walk instead. 
• ...go to Walmart as your last resort and it's closed for New Brunswick Day. Closed! 

Each one of these brings me to a specific time and place. Up next, transitioning back in Maine.