Our maiden voyage in our newly built campervan was the ultimate trial by fire for our craftsmanship, and miraculously, nothing fell off. We rolled out of Ontario and headed straight for the Gaspé Coast, setting up camp at Forillon National Park where the hikes were absolutely amazing—even if our legs and our dog fiercely disagreed by the end of them. From there, we survived the winding roads and pushed south into New Brunswick, parking in Sussex to stay with family and gracefully accepting their free showers.

Of course, no trip to New Brunswick is complete without visiting our absolute favourite destination in the province: Grand Manan Island. Even though this was our sixth time visiting the island, rolling off the ferry in our own DIY home on wheels made it feel entirely brand new.

The real adventure, however, happened on the way back home from Grand Manan. Feeling a bit too brave, we decided to try our hand at "stealth camping" and illegally pulled into a park right on the St. Lawrence River. We spent the entire night wide awake and sweating in the dark, absolutely convinced that every passing headlight or rustling leaf was a park ranger coming to give us the dreaded middle-of-the-night eviction knock. We survived the night ticket-free, but we definitely learned that a lifetime of van memories also requires nerves of steel.