Willy’s Wacky Adventure: Baby’s First Road Trip
Toronto to Vancouver and Back Again, A North American Journey
Most parents will agree that parenting itself is the ultimate adventure. So why not layer an epic adventure on top of it?
This was Brent & Melissa Arsenault’s mission when their son, Willy, was born toward the end of 2021.
While most parents would spend their parental leave from the comfort of their home, Brent & Melissa decided to pass on their collective adventurous spirit to Willy as early as possible.
The mission? A road trip across the U.S. and Canada in their newly purchased SUV with a rented 15-foot trailer (thank you, Outdoorsy).
The destination? Vancouver, with around 30 stops planned out over 60 days and 15,000 kilometers. (For the American folks, that’s approximately 9,300 miles.)
The month of May arrived with its slightly raised temperatures & rainfalls. Tulips and trilliums were breaking out of the soil, marking the middle of spring.
Willy was nine months into existence and his temperament was proving to be that of “a pretty chill baby”. Brent & Melissa decided it was time to get the show on the road.
“[We knew it would be] outside of our comfort zone, but Will is a pretty chill baby. [We wanted to] push the limits and see what we could do. We just adapted to make it work for us.”
Heading west from their hometown of Toronto, this badass family of three drove toward the thumb of Michigan to start their trip in the States. Veering toward Traverse City, one of their first notable -and most memorable- stops was at The Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Willy cheering when he learned that “family wagon” is just a metaphor and they didn’t need to caulk and float anything across the Mississippi. Hooray for bridges!
Driving an average of 7 hours about every other day (and well over 7 diaper changes every day), Brent steered the family wagon through the friendly Midwest as they wrapped around Lake Michigan, hitting up Chicago and Madison before crossing the Mississippi.
Five days and six states (say what?!) into the trip, Willy and his parents made it to the first of many National Parks they had planned out: The Badlands of South Dakota.
Willy quickly got used to posing for photos with an incredible backdrop
As they drove across Wyoming toward Yellowstone National Park, Brent & Melissa continued to schedule their gas stops around Willy’s sleep schedule. (A baby’s gotta sleep!) At Yellowstone, the trio enjoyed a full day of hiking, taking in the fresh mountain air and stunning views.
No trip this long goes without at least a few surprises, and this family had a not-so-fun surprise while driving through the deserts of Nevada.
We will keep this article neutral and point zero fingers, but somebody miscalculated the gas mileage and they got pret-ty pret-ty close to running out of gas. *bites nails*
There was no need to call a tow-truck, though. To conserve gas, they turned off the AC, recalculated their gas/mileage, and made it to the next gas station. ‘Twas a false alarm, whew!
Completely oblivious of the peril and stress that mom and dad just experienced on the highway
The feeling of being almost-stranded in the middle of a desert with a baby soon wore off. After safely parking their trailer at an RV park in Lake Tahoe, they went to one of their most anticipated stops of the trip: Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen Restaurant.
Taking a break from the campfire dinners: Ditching the North Face pants for a pair of jeans and a fancy night out
Cool Boys With Cool Sticks
It’s hard to believe that at this point, the Arsenault’s were only 18 days into their trip. With about 70% of the road trip ahead of them, they were ready to drive up the West coast. They made their way through the Redwoods, throwing in a few hikes along the way and also paying $15 to not drive through a tree. (Pro Redwood tip: ask about maximum vehicle size measurements before handing over your cash.)
Willy helped navigate his parents up the 101 before venturing East on Route 5 to Crater Lake in south-central Oregon. Before reaching Vancouver, they got back on the 101 to take in the best of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer, including Olympic National Park.
“We got to see so many landscapes and did so many hikes on this trip… Willy got to experience a lot of different climates and he did really well through all of it.”
A couple days later, they made it to their goal destination: Vancouver! Willy was stoked to finally meet family and friends living on the West side of Canada.
If you’ve been paying attention, Willy and his parents don’t stay in one place for too long. While Vancouver was the goal destination, it was only the halfway point. Having exited the United States, it was time to continue their trek across Canada.
Willy told Mom & Dad to go East on Canada Route 1 (he was getting pretty good at directions at this point). There was still so much to see! One of the longest hikes of the trip was at Garibaldi National Park. It was a full day, packed with several diaper changes, bottles, and stunning views at the top of the mountain.
Daddy the Bird Whisperer taken at Garibaldi National Park
The National Park visits continued, with an ever-so-slight detour to Banff National Park and a Father’s Day dinner at Jasper National Park, located Northwest of Banff.
Following Route 10, Willy & his parents stopped in Edmonton, Alberta on Day 43 to see more family. From Edmonton to Winnipeg, they cruised along rather quickly, as there aren’t a lot of “must-see stops”. They managed to drive through the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba over a few days.
Watching The Storm Roll Through
“Those moments, during it, every day felt like a week’s worth of living.”
As they entered their home province of Ontario, Melissa, Brent & Willy paid homage to a Canadian hero who may or may not have inspired this trip. (For those who are unfamiliar or just not Canadian, learn more about Terry Fox here.) They also stopped by a family farm where Willy played with his cousin and Brent played with tractors.
A few more Lake Superior and Lake Huron hiking trails rounded out the end of their trip. A couple events of significance were:
Will accomplishing his (dad’s) dream of going on his very first canoe trip
Being inspired by an active 75 and 80 year old couple they met on a trail
Coming back home to Toronto felt a bit surreal. They had been on the road for so long that it had become their way of life. Willy and his parents certainly proved that travel & adventure doesn’t have to stop when a family of two becomes three.
“People probably think we’re crazy because they think, ‘Willy won’t remember this trip’... but this is something we have now where we can connect with [Willy] later on. We have stories, pictures & videos…. We have memories we will have with Willy for the rest of our lives.”
Will’s First Time In The Canoe! Dad is so proud