Boston Christmas tree inspires man's N.S. trip

A man from Boston is saying thank you to the Nova Scotians who brightened his holidays this year.

Ryan McDermott says hes long been curious about Nova Scotia because of the Christmas tree the province sends to Boston every year.

The tree thanks Boston for emergency aid the city sentin the aftermath of the 1917 Halifax Explosion.

This year McDermott was at loose ends, and when he realized hed be spending Christmas alone he decided to travel to Nova Scotia.

"It sort of seems like the Christmas capital to me, in my mind,"McDermott said of Nova Scotia. "I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it's the Christmas capital in my mind."

McDermott asked readers of the online forum Reddit for suggestions on where to go and what to see.

"I checked the post just a couple of hours later and it had blown up,"McDermott said. "People had lists of things for me to see, music to see, places to see and I had a few offers to stay on couches."

Since arriving hes not had to pay for a room to stay in, norhardly any meals.

McDermott saidhe's had some quintessential Nova Scotia experiences, such as enjoying the music scene in Cape Breton and eating adonair.

"I couldn't be more impressed by the hospitality and humour and good nature of the people Ive met here," he said. "It's been unbelievable."