From Edgar Allen Poe to Greenland

I just got home from one of the most amazing trips I have ever taken, and I am still trying to take in everything we saw and did. When I think about the distance we covered, the places we visited, and everything that happened along the way, it is hard to believe it all happened in one trip.

Our journey started with a drive of nearly 500 miles to Baltimore. While we were there, we visited Edgar Allan Poe’s former home and his resting place. As a writer, getting to see Poe’s home was something I really wanted to do. I have read his work for years, so standing inside the place where he once lived was a special part of the trip for me. We also visited his grave before continuing on with our journey.

From Baltimore, we boarded our cruise ship and headed north.

We had about 2,500 miles of ocean ahead of us before reaching Greenland. The ship carried us across the Labrador Sea, the lungs of the ocean, and it took six days to reach Greenland without stopping. Six days at sea is a long time, especially when you know you are traveling farther and farther from home with every passing mile.

Eventually, we reached Qaqortoq, Greenland.

Stepping foot on the shores of Greenland was one of the biggest moments of the entire trip. After six days and 2,500 miles at sea, I finally got to stand in Greenland and see the country I had wanted to visit.

The icebergs were incredible.

We took a private boat tour to see them up close, and that was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip. Getting out on the water in a private boat and seeing the icebergs from that close was something I will never forget. Some of them were enormous, and seeing them from the water gave us a completely different view.

I have seen photographs of Greenland and its icebergs many times, yet photographs cannot compare with actually being there.

Then we saw whales.

Seeing whales in Greenland was another highlight of the trip. After traveling 2,500 miles across the ocean and spending six days reaching Greenland, being there and seeing whales in those waters was incredible.

Qaqortoq was beautiful. The mountains and water surrounding the town made it unlike anywhere I have ever visited. I had traveled a long way to get there, and standing on those shores made every mile worth it.

Then Greenland gave us one more surprise.

That night, as we were leaving Greenland, we got to see the Northern Lights.

After everything we had already experienced, seeing the Northern Lights that night was an incredible way to leave Greenland. We had traveled 2,500 miles to get there, stepped onto its shores, taken a private boat tour among the icebergs, and seen whales. Then, as we were leaving, the Northern Lights appeared.

I could not have asked for a better ending to our time in Greenland.

We then began the 2,500-mile journey back toward Baltimore.

Our return journey brought us through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The people we met there were so nice and hospitable, and that became one of the things I appreciated most about our time in Canada.

Coming from Appalachia, I recognized something familiar in their hospitality. It reminded me so much of the Southern Appalachian hospitality I grew up around. We were welcomed warmly, and I will always appreciate the way people treated us while we were there.

Then we reached St. Anthony, Newfoundland, where I decided to take on a 476-step staircase up a mountain.

I knew there were 476 steps before I started, so I had nobody to blame when the climb got tough. I kept going until I finally reached the top.

The view was worth every step.

I also learned something during our time in Newfoundland that made the trip even more special to me. Newfoundland is home to the northernmost part of the Appalachian Mountain range. As someone who grew up in Appalachia and has spent so much of my life around those mountains, finding out that the Appalachian range continues all the way to Newfoundland was something I really appreciated. Now I need to add five more provinces to my new cookbook.

I had traveled all the way from the Southern Appalachians to the northern end of the range without even realizing that was part of the journey when we left home.

That connection made Newfoundland feel even more special to me.

Sydney Nova Scotia is also in the Appalachian region.

Eventually, our journey brought us back to Baltimore, where we got back in the car for the nearly 500-mile drive home.

When I add everything together, the numbers are pretty amazing. We drove nearly 500 miles from home to Baltimore, traveled approximately 2,500 miles by ship to Greenland, traveled another 2,500 miles back to Baltimore, and then drove nearly 500 miles home.

That is roughly 6,000 miles.

Six thousand miles in one trip.

Along the way, we visited Edgar Allan Poe’s former home and his resting place. We crossed the Labrador Sea, the lungs of the ocean. We spent six days reaching Greenland. We stepped ashore in Qaqortoq. We took a private boat tour to see the icebergs up close. We saw whales. We watched the Northern Lights as we left Greenland. We traveled through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, visited the northernmost part of the Appalachian Mountain range, and I climbed 476 steps up a mountain in St. Anthony.

Now I am home again.

The trip is over, the suitcases are unpacked, and those 6,000 miles are behind me. Still, I find myself thinking about Greenland. I think about standing on the shores of Qaqortoq after six days at sea. I think about being out on that private boat surrounded by icebergs. I think about seeing whales in those waters. Then I think about that night when we were leaving Greenland and looked up to see the Northern Lights.

I also keep thinking about Newfoundland and realizing that the Appalachian Mountains I grew up with continue all the way north to there. That was something I never expected to learn on this trip.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit Greenland, I urge you to go. See Qaqortoq. Take a private boat tour and get close to the icebergs. Watch for whales. If you get the chance to see the Northern Lights, take it all in. Greenland is a place I am incredibly glad I had the opportunity to visit.

And if you get the chance to visit Nova Scotia or Newfoundland, go there too. The scenery is beautiful, and the people we met were so nice and hospitable. Their hospitality reminded me of the Southern Appalachian hospitality I grew up with, and that made our time there even more special.

From Edgar Allan Poe’s home in Baltimore to the shores of Greenland, from Greenland back through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, to the northernmost part of the Appalachian Mountain range, and finally home again, this was one incredible journey.

Nearly 6,000 miles later, I am home.

And I would do it all again.