For the past two Januaries, Ben and I have found ourselves packing up the car and driving west.  Another adventure, another destination, another new job assignment.  There’s definitely something refreshing about beginning the year on such a grand adventure, it makes the year feel so much newer when it comes with a change of scenery.  But 2016 brought some big changes, including buying a house and starting a new job.  It’s been exciting and frustrating and scary and satisfying all at once, figuring out the whole homeowner thing and learning how to feel settled.  Not gonna lie, it was a little weird when the first week of January rolled around and we were still here…no suitcases scattered around, or boxes to load, or last minute preparations to check off the list before leaving town.  I think we were both a little bummed about not getting to do the same thing again for this new year.  We decided that instead of doing Christmas gifts, we would go on a mini adventure this January!  Ben planned an amazing trip to Toronto for a long weekend, and man did it feel SO GOOD to get in the car and drive.  We made our way through Erie, across New York, and into Niagara Falls, where of course we had to stop and ooh and ahh over the beautiful scenic views!  We kept going a few more hours north until we made it to Toronto, and we spent the following days relaxing, reading, snowshoeing moonlit trails, eating chili by a campfire, exploring downtown Toronto, and drinking good coffee.  This little getaway still gave a fresh sense of renewal to a year that started off a little rocky, and we came home feeling grateful.  Take a look at the little home video I put together of our trip, and a few photos too – although we were so busy relaxing, I didn’t even take one photo on my camera, so these are all cell phone captures!

Canada Road Trip | Our Travel Adventures

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Coffee stop in Ashtabula, and driving through Buffalo, NY!

There she is!  The beautiful Niagara Falls!

Toronto!  It felt like New York City, I had no idea it was such a bustling place.

The Distillery District was definitely our favorite area of Toronto!  So much history in these buildings.

Lake Simcoe was so frozen, you could walk on it!