When my friend Oli set out to travel with his human companions across Canada to Vancouver on the west coast, I wanted to share his wonderful letters with you. Oli started his journey from his home in Mahone Bay on the coast of Nova Scotia, where I had met him a while ago. After a dubious start in our relationship, involving a damaged nose, sliced paw, surgery, and a cone, we became great friends. Oli is a cheerful, funny, optimistic soul, who likes to make people happy and holds no grudges: my kind of guy.
Here’s his first letter to me:
Hi Toulouse! We left my house and are off to the other side of the world! I’m so excited I could pee! Well, I DID pee… :-3 … But my bestest friend Saskia made sure I did it outside! Shahar—Saskia’s bestest friend—has gone ahead of us and will meet us in Montreal. That’s somewhere in Quebec, where everyone speaks
French (like YOU) and where cats are sophisticated, very friendly and chatty (that’s why they’re called “chats”. Millie, our old neighbor’s cat, told me.)
I got the whole back seat of the car, Toulouse! Luggage and camping supplies filled the back seat, but I got my place to stretch out like a little prince. I’m so spoiled! WOOF! :-3
We stopped at a large lake. Saskia kept saying it was “grand”. Then camped
at a place called Perth and Over—funny name, I thought. A little like that place that was named after a good laugh! “Saint Louis of Ha Ha!” I guess Saint Louis was a funny guy as well as a saint.
We’d been driving for a long time and my tummy was grumbling for food as we drove along that big river—I forgot the name Saskia called it. “Sent Low-rents”…something like that. But then I saw the coolest thing, Toulouse! I looked up at the blue sky and I saw—arranged row upon row—puffy clouds that looked just like Krispy Creams! Really! They were round with soft smooth bottoms and rough tops that I could imagine were full of candied
toppings. I pointed and pointed to Saskia, but she thought I was doing the hand-shake trick and laughed. “Oh, Oli! Not now! I’m driving!” But she got the idea. Within minutes she stopped the car at an outlook by the river and gave me some food-treats and water. They weren’t Krispy Creams but they filled my tummy. YAY!
Then we went for a nice walk through the grass and I ran to the river and found some cool sticks to chew and birds to chase. The river was so big, Toulouse! You could look across it and not see the other side even! But it
didn’t scare Saskia. She made sure I got wet fetching sticks in the river and it was fun because I trusted her. I knew she wouldn’t put me in any danger. So I got wet and muddy too. And did you know that the water tasted a little salty? You could add noodles and—presto—soup du jour, as you would say!
Ok. Talk to you later, dude!
Your pal,
Oli
p.s. Can you tell that Saskia has been correcting my spelling so you can read this letter?
p.p.s. When will you send me those Pampered Pet treats Saskia told me about?
Well, it sure looks like Oli started off with a bang on the first leg of his journey across Canada. Just to clarify a few things for you, Grand Lake is located in central New Brunswick about midway between Fredericton and Moncton, and is that province’s largest freshwater lake. It’s a popular place for recreation, with several beaches and cottages on its shores. Perth-Andover is a village in New Brunswick, divided by the Saint John River. Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! (yes! It really exists!) is a small town in Quebec near the south
shore of the Saint Lawrence River. The Commission de Toponymie asserts that the parish’s name refers to nearby Lake Témiscouata. The “haha” is “an archaic French word for an unexpected obstacle or abruptly ending path.” Well, Oli and Saskia did stop there…Hehe… The village of La Pocatière, where Oli and Saskia camped, is located about a kilometer from the south shore tidal flats of the Saint Lawrence Estuary in Quebec. A Bombardier plant which manufactures subway and railway cars is located there too. They also make those cool “Skidoos” (the cool word for snowmobile).
Anyway, Oli’s next letter will be from somewhere in Ontario… See you then!
I’m Toulouse LeTrek, the COOL Travel Cat!
Photos by Saskia Tait
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