Steve Melnikoff won’t dance with me.

It’s the second-last night of a seven-day transatlantic crossing from New York City to Southampton, England, aboard the iconic Cunard ocean liner Queen Mary 2. Melnikoff, a 102-year-old U.S. Army veteran of the Second World War, wants to dance the foxtrot, but I don’t know how. Fortunately for Steve, women dressed in their finest interpretations of Roaring ’20s attire are literally lining up for their chance to spin around the dancefloor with the famous Private Melnikoff, who over the course of the voyage has earned a reputation as a bit of a party animal.

Relegated to the sidelines of the Queens Room, Queen Mary 2’s soaring ballroom, I instead strike up a conversation with Harold Radish, also a Second World War vet. Watching couples circulate under twinkling chandeliers to big band standards by Glenn Miller and Cole Porter, Radish laments that, at 98, he no longer has the stamina to dance all night.

Located about an hour’s drive from Calgary, Good Knights is a one-of-a-kind medieval themed-glamping experience. Something this strange and marvellous only comes about through unbridled passion, so allow me to introduce Sir Daniel and Lady Linda Smith: retirees, Dungeons and Dragons devotees, and dreamers. The Smiths fell in love with medieval Europe and each other as teenagers on a high school trip. It was Linda’s first time outside Alberta, and the majestic old castles did them both in. Thus began a fruitful union that resulted in children, successful careers and a lifelong passion for medieval sword-play, armour, fairs, archery and costumes. The medieval sub-culture is not so much a rabbit hole as a Hobbit burrow —  packed with characters, weapons, music and history.

Whale watching, endless coastlines, kayaking and more. Newfoundland is the perfect destination for the avid traveller. Overflowing with picturesque beaches and hiking trails, this bountiful province is just waiting to be explored.  

Affectionately nicknamed “the Rock,” Newfoundland is both an island and Canada’s easternmost province. But not just any island in the North Atlantic. With an area of 108,860 square kilometres, Newfoundland is the world’s 16th-largest island. This province is made for explorers — from the wild and wonderful landscapes of western Newfoundland to the limestone barrens of the Great Northern Peninsula. Thick boreal forests make up most of central Newfoundland, while sheer cliffs and glacial barrens range along the coast of the Avalon Peninsula in the southeast.