Jennifer Bain
@jenniferbain.bsky.social
Canadian travel writer, Canada editor for National Parks Traveler, Lowell Thomas award-winning travel writer, journalist, 3 x guidebook author and 2 x cookbook author. Home base: YYZ. Fogo Island cottager.
Pinned
Jennifer Bain
@jenniferbain.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Lonely Planet got me through Europe + Asia, so it was an honour to co-author Lonely Planet Atlantic Canada (May 2024). I wrote the Newfoundland & Labrador chapter + essays on knitting culture + wildlife like puffins. These guidebooks are updated every two years so that work begins in 2025 for 2026.
The @tdsb.on.ca is forcing out beloved RHSA Principal Barrie Sketchley who has served this public art school for 33 years, ignoring students, parents & staff. We urge MPP Paul Calandra to act — reinstate Mr. Sketchley & help restore trust in TDSB governance. #SaveSketchley
June 9, 2025 at 9:46 PM
The @tdsb.on.ca is forcing out beloved RHSA Principal Barrie Sketchley who has served this public art school for 33 years, ignoring students, parents & staff. We urge MPP Paul Calandra to act — reinstate Mr. Sketchley & help restore trust in TDSB governance. #SaveSketchley
Happiness is searching for salamanders with a scientist in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a trip to Townsend, Tennessee: www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/03/expl...
Exploring The Salamander Capital Of The World
On a recent trip to Tennessee, I lost count of how many people told me the same strange and unusual thing about Great Smoky Mountains National Park. If you stacked up all of the park’s salamanders aga...
www.nationalparkstraveler.org
March 20, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Happiness is searching for salamanders with a scientist in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a trip to Townsend, Tennessee: www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/03/expl...
As a tiny reprieve from all the madness in America right now, I bring you sea beans (note: harvested from Padre Island National Seashore on the Gulf of MEXICO): www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/03/seab...
Seabeaning Among Marine Debris At Padre Island National Seashore
The first time that I went seabeaning, I triumphantly scooped up what looked like a shrivelled brain from a national seashore that was dotted with plastic trash. I turned the fist-sized oddity over in...
www.nationalparkstraveler.org
March 9, 2025 at 10:27 AM
As a tiny reprieve from all the madness in America right now, I bring you sea beans (note: harvested from Padre Island National Seashore on the Gulf of MEXICO): www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/03/seab...
Reposted by Jennifer Bain
"There was a mass shooting tonight in Canada." That's a sentence you don't hear often, but it's true. It happened.
I have some thoughts about guns and grief... and the measure of a nation.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqB...
I have some thoughts about guns and grief... and the measure of a nation.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqB...
Guns and Grief: The Measure of a Nation
YouTube video by Tod Maffin
www.youtube.com
March 8, 2025 at 6:32 AM
"There was a mass shooting tonight in Canada." That's a sentence you don't hear often, but it's true. It happened.
I have some thoughts about guns and grief... and the measure of a nation.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqB...
I have some thoughts about guns and grief... and the measure of a nation.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqB...
In Grenada (which you can get to on a non-stop flight from Toronto), I developed a micro-obsession with a tree. My latest for @moderntraveller.bsky.social: www.moderntraveller.ca/home/rainbow...
Rainbow Trees, Cold War-Era Planes and Other Reasons to Love Grenada — Modern Traveller
Sipping on the pungent liquid reminds me of everything that grows here, and feels like the perfect way to wrap up my first weird and wonderful visit to such a spicy island.
www.moderntraveller.ca
March 4, 2025 at 10:28 AM
In Grenada (which you can get to on a non-stop flight from Toronto), I developed a micro-obsession with a tree. My latest for @moderntraveller.bsky.social: www.moderntraveller.ca/home/rainbow...
Reposted by Jennifer Bain
El Capitan displays a massive American flag upside down—the traditional signal of distress or extreme emergency.
February 23, 2025 at 6:01 PM
El Capitan displays a massive American flag upside down—the traditional signal of distress or extreme emergency.
When in Memphis, walk the red carpet at the Peabody Memphis with the resident ducks and duckmaster Kenon Walker. I spent a lot of time polishing this ode to microadventures for @journeywoman.bsky.social.
*****
journeywoman.com/uncategorize...
*****
journeywoman.com/uncategorize...
March of the World-Famous Peabody Ducks: Adventures in Memphis
Women travellers can become a duckmaster for a day by walking the red carpet with the famous Peabody Ducks.
journeywoman.com
February 22, 2025 at 11:07 AM
When in Memphis, walk the red carpet at the Peabody Memphis with the resident ducks and duckmaster Kenon Walker. I spent a lot of time polishing this ode to microadventures for @journeywoman.bsky.social.
*****
journeywoman.com/uncategorize...
*****
journeywoman.com/uncategorize...
Reposted by Jennifer Bain
I hope America is as lucky as the delta jet - everyone survives but the right wing explodes
February 18, 2025 at 3:49 PM
I hope America is as lucky as the delta jet - everyone survives but the right wing explodes
On a recent group media trip to Grenada, I was poking for a national park story to write about for National Parks Traveler. I thought I was going to write about Grand Etang National Park. Then I spotted a national park/dove sanctuary on the map. www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/02/savi...
Saving Grenada's Critically Endangered National Bird
Every seven seconds we hear it — the long, drawn out “hooooooo” of one of the world’s rarest birds. The Grenada Dove may be shy, elusive and critically endangered, but it’s cooing its heart out on thi...
www.nationalparkstraveler.org
February 19, 2025 at 11:12 AM
On a recent group media trip to Grenada, I was poking for a national park story to write about for National Parks Traveler. I thought I was going to write about Grand Etang National Park. Then I spotted a national park/dove sanctuary on the map. www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/02/savi...
Why do I love seeing the Canadian arctic on expedition cruises with Adventure Canada? My latest story for Zoomer (the Feb/March issue is on newsstands): jenniferbain.co/wp-content/u...
February 1, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Why do I love seeing the Canadian arctic on expedition cruises with Adventure Canada? My latest story for Zoomer (the Feb/March issue is on newsstands): jenniferbain.co/wp-content/u...
Have you toured the mid-century modern international lounge (a public space) at Gander International Airport in Newfoundland? Sometimes the best part of a story (this one is for Zoomer: jenniferbain.co/wp-content/u...) is the chance to run a photo.
February 1, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Have you toured the mid-century modern international lounge (a public space) at Gander International Airport in Newfoundland? Sometimes the best part of a story (this one is for Zoomer: jenniferbain.co/wp-content/u...) is the chance to run a photo.
When I was told that Memphis has twice as many wing joints as barbecue joints, this former food editor and two-time cookbook author knew what her angle would be for @moderntraveller.bsky.social: www.moderntraveller.ca/home/when-in...
When in Memphis, Don’t Miss the Whole Honey Gold Chicken Wings — Modern Traveller
Luckily I had an entire roll of paper towels to myself and nobody to see the mess I made.
www.moderntraveller.ca
February 1, 2025 at 1:16 PM
When I was told that Memphis has twice as many wing joints as barbecue joints, this former food editor and two-time cookbook author knew what her angle would be for @moderntraveller.bsky.social: www.moderntraveller.ca/home/when-in...
That time I hopped a plane to Newfoundland just because a super rare Steller's Sea Eagle was spotted in a national park. Another @parkstraveler.bsky.social story: www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/01/rare...
Rare Steller’s Sea-Eagle Visits Terra Nova National Park
“Are you a birder?” the woman asked from the front seat of her pickup truck in the parking lot of a Newfoundland national park on New Year’s Eve.
www.nationalparkstraveler.org
February 1, 2025 at 1:14 PM
That time I hopped a plane to Newfoundland just because a super rare Steller's Sea Eagle was spotted in a national park. Another @parkstraveler.bsky.social story: www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/01/rare...
Really interesting things going on with caribou in Jasper National Park. My @parkstraveler.bsky.social story: www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2024/12/firs...
First Look At Jasper’s Caribou Conservation Breeding Centre
Behind an electrified fence along a seasonal road in Jasper National Park, a trailblazing Caribou Conservation Breeding Centre is nearing completion despite setbacks from a massive summer wildfire.
www.nationalparkstraveler.org
February 1, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Really interesting things going on with caribou in Jasper National Park. My @parkstraveler.bsky.social story: www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2024/12/firs...
I went to Jordan in October 2023 + sold two stories as soon as I returned. But it took until now to find a happy home — with @journeywoman.bsky.social — for this last piece: journeywoman.com/destinations...
Lessons from Petra, Jordan: What Hiking the Back-Door Route Taught Me
A back-door hike to Petra, one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites, gives you precious time away from the crowds.
journeywoman.com
February 1, 2025 at 1:10 PM
I went to Jordan in October 2023 + sold two stories as soon as I returned. But it took until now to find a happy home — with @journeywoman.bsky.social — for this last piece: journeywoman.com/destinations...
I've always been a newspaper-style writer - writing each story as it comes. Every now and then, I get to write a retrospective, — like this "birds I've seen around the world" piece for Zoomer (in the Feb/March issue on newsstands): jenniferbain.co/wp-content/u...
February 1, 2025 at 1:02 PM
I've always been a newspaper-style writer - writing each story as it comes. Every now and then, I get to write a retrospective, — like this "birds I've seen around the world" piece for Zoomer (in the Feb/March issue on newsstands): jenniferbain.co/wp-content/u...
A good story writes itself, we learned at journalism school. You have to write your way through the rest of them. That was my challenge when I went to the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site in Nova Scotia to write about Christmas.
#travelwriting www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2024/12/chri...
#travelwriting www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2024/12/chri...
Christmas By Candlelight At The Halifax Citadel
It was a reminder of Christmases past, a time when simplicity not splashiness ruled.
www.nationalparkstraveler.org
December 22, 2024 at 11:53 AM
A good story writes itself, we learned at journalism school. You have to write your way through the rest of them. That was my challenge when I went to the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site in Nova Scotia to write about Christmas.
#travelwriting www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2024/12/chri...
#travelwriting www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2024/12/chri...
Sometimes you go to a city a million times before finding the spot that really speaks to you. I finally caught a guided tour of Habitat 67 in Montreal & geeked out on the Brutalist spot whose creator insists it's actually anti-Brutalist:
**
#travelwriting www.moderntraveller.ca/home/touring...
**
#travelwriting www.moderntraveller.ca/home/touring...
Touring Habitat 67, Montreal’s Brutalist Icon — Modern Traveller
Still our intrepid guide freely admitted that Habitat 67 is an isolated apartment building that never realized its full potential.
www.moderntraveller.ca
December 10, 2024 at 10:32 AM
Sometimes you go to a city a million times before finding the spot that really speaks to you. I finally caught a guided tour of Habitat 67 in Montreal & geeked out on the Brutalist spot whose creator insists it's actually anti-Brutalist:
**
#travelwriting www.moderntraveller.ca/home/touring...
**
#travelwriting www.moderntraveller.ca/home/touring...
Woody the Talking Christmas Tree, I am your new + biggest fan. I met you twice since you refused to wake up the 1st time. I hit the Halifax library microfiche to try to learn more about your 1983 origin story. Does anyone have 1983-2021 Woody intel/photos?
***
www.moderntraveller.ca/home/waking-...
***
www.moderntraveller.ca/home/waking-...
Waking up Woody The Talking Christmas Tree in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia — Modern Traveller
In search of quirky Canadian Christmas traditions, I flew to Nova Scotia this month for the Evergreen Festival in Halifax and to meet Woody across the harbour in Dartmouth.
www.moderntraveller.ca
December 5, 2024 at 11:42 AM
Woody the Talking Christmas Tree, I am your new + biggest fan. I met you twice since you refused to wake up the 1st time. I hit the Halifax library microfiche to try to learn more about your 1983 origin story. Does anyone have 1983-2021 Woody intel/photos?
***
www.moderntraveller.ca/home/waking-...
***
www.moderntraveller.ca/home/waking-...
I've spent the weekend communing with Woody the Talking Christmas Tree in the Mic Mall Mall in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Story to come in @moderntraveller.bsky.social on this freakish indoor roadside attraction (ballpark 55 feet)!
#visitnovascotia #compellingnovascotia #travelwriting
#visitnovascotia #compellingnovascotia #travelwriting
December 2, 2024 at 1:05 PM
I've spent the weekend communing with Woody the Talking Christmas Tree in the Mic Mall Mall in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Story to come in @moderntraveller.bsky.social on this freakish indoor roadside attraction (ballpark 55 feet)!
#visitnovascotia #compellingnovascotia #travelwriting
#visitnovascotia #compellingnovascotia #travelwriting
I spent 3N/2D in Jasper to gather 3 stories on how the town/park is recovering from the devastating summer wildfire. My 2nd story is for US-based @parkstraveler.bsky.social and is wrapped around bizarre-looking trees I photographed @ Lake Annette:
**
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2024/11/jasp...
**
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2024/11/jasp...
Jasper National Park Emerges From The Ashes Of A Wildfire
In a mountain forest ravaged by fire in Jasper National Park, charred trees stand alongside a few that look like giraffes, their blackened trunks dotted with golden patches. Locals have taken to calli...
www.nationalparkstraveler.org
November 29, 2024 at 2:14 PM
I spent 3N/2D in Jasper to gather 3 stories on how the town/park is recovering from the devastating summer wildfire. My 2nd story is for US-based @parkstraveler.bsky.social and is wrapped around bizarre-looking trees I photographed @ Lake Annette:
**
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2024/11/jasp...
**
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2024/11/jasp...
Winning awards brings $ and the chance to revisit favourite stories. My story on the feral cats of San Juan won bronze in the SATW Canadian Chapter awards + my photo of Inuit drum dancers in Nunavut won gold.
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2023/08/mari...
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2023/11/insi...
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2023/08/mari...
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2023/11/insi...
November 28, 2024 at 1:08 PM
Winning awards brings $ and the chance to revisit favourite stories. My story on the feral cats of San Juan won bronze in the SATW Canadian Chapter awards + my photo of Inuit drum dancers in Nunavut won gold.
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2023/08/mari...
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2023/11/insi...
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2023/08/mari...
www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2023/11/insi...
When is the right time to return to a beloved tourist town that has been ravaged by wildfires? For Jasper, the time is now. I travelled to Jasper National Park, took food + van tours + wrote about it for @moderntraveller.bsky.social #travel #travelwriting:
***
www.moderntraveller.ca/home/jasper-...
***
www.moderntraveller.ca/home/jasper-...
Jasper is Ready for Winter — and for Visitors — Modern Traveller
I can’t get enough of the charmingly goofy black bear, making pilgrimages to him on my own and with tour guides.
www.moderntraveller.ca
November 26, 2024 at 2:43 AM
When is the right time to return to a beloved tourist town that has been ravaged by wildfires? For Jasper, the time is now. I travelled to Jasper National Park, took food + van tours + wrote about it for @moderntraveller.bsky.social #travel #travelwriting:
***
www.moderntraveller.ca/home/jasper-...
***
www.moderntraveller.ca/home/jasper-...
Reposted by Jennifer Bain
I have to go to bed, so sadly I'll miss the big moment, but knowing that when I wake up Bluesky will have reached its 20 million-user target is incredibly exciting to me, and I expect too many of you.
So glad this place is blossoming! And so glad to be experiencing its blossoming with all of you. 🦋
So glad this place is blossoming! And so glad to be experiencing its blossoming with all of you. 🦋
November 19, 2024 at 8:14 AM
I have to go to bed, so sadly I'll miss the big moment, but knowing that when I wake up Bluesky will have reached its 20 million-user target is incredibly exciting to me, and I expect too many of you.
So glad this place is blossoming! And so glad to be experiencing its blossoming with all of you. 🦋
So glad this place is blossoming! And so glad to be experiencing its blossoming with all of you. 🦋
An extinct flightless bird known as the great auk was my summer obsession while I was at my Newfoundland place on Fogo Island. @moderntraveller.bsky.social gave my story a happy home. Now if I just had the gumption to write a book about Canada + the auk.... www.moderntraveller.ca/home/on-fogo...
On Fogo Island, Artists Celebrate the Extinct Great Auk — Modern Traveller
Like the penguin, it was a flightless seabird that was agile in the sea and vulnerable on land. Like the puffin, it was part of the Alcidae family of birds. Like the dodo, it went extinct on our watch...
www.moderntraveller.ca
November 19, 2024 at 6:58 PM
An extinct flightless bird known as the great auk was my summer obsession while I was at my Newfoundland place on Fogo Island. @moderntraveller.bsky.social gave my story a happy home. Now if I just had the gumption to write a book about Canada + the auk.... www.moderntraveller.ca/home/on-fogo...