There was a poignant silence as I entered the port of Halifax, off the coast of Nova Scotia. The floating red bells that marked the channels tolled as we quietly passed by, while a lighthouse was at watch in the distance. Solemnity.

Indeed, this port was the stage of much tragedy in the early 1900s, with the unexpected sinking of the Titanic and the deaths of so many. The Fairview Lawn Cemetery contains the remains of over 100 victims; the design of the grave sites resembles the curve of the bough of a ship. The power and sorrow of that tragedy hung in the air, in a way that can’t be gotten from seeing the movie or reading about the event.

Acadia National Park: breathtaking expansive beauty. Miles of pinkish-colored granite rock scattered among groves of trees; bordering an ocean dotted with numerous small tree-covered islands. A jewel.