For the rest of 2011, I shall not set foot on foreign soil. I know that, compared to giving up non-Canadian food or television, this self-denial doesn’t feel like much of a sacrifice. But I have had to forego invitations to one of the Carolinas (I can’t for the life of me remember which) and Point Roberts, Washington.

Point Roberts, incidentally, is this idiosyncratic peninsula that’s connected only to Tsawassen in British Columbia. Much like the Russian region of Kalinigrad, it’s a pene-exclave which Americans can only reach by air, water or passing through Canada. It’s full of Canadians who have bought cheap (or cheaper, at least) property for holiday homes. Hence, the invitation I had to decline.

And so I’ll only travel in Canada for the balance of the year. I’ve done plenty of that already. I’ve been to Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax since the start of the year, and I have plans to see Regina and to return to Toronto before the year is out.

That sounds like a lot of Canada, but, of course, it’s just a thumbnail on the body of our great nation. I’m a little ashamed of how little of Canada I’ve actually seen, particular if you remove the big cities from the equation.

I have traveled outside of Canada a lot, though, and I’ve lived abroad in Ireland, Malta and Morocco. Nothing makes you more patriotic than watching your country from a distance, or celebrating national holidays with newfound Canadian expats.

A side note: a few months ago, I had a notion of assembling a slideshow of Google Street View screenshots of big Canadian roadside statues and monuments. This proved more difficult and time-consuming than I imagined, so I leave you with just three of my favourites, and a question: if you were going to recommend a Canadian destination to me outside the major cities, what would it be?

I included a photo of the Terry Fox Memorial in Thunder Bay (by Paul Weimer) because it’s a spot I’ve always wanted to visit, but haven’t had the chance yet.