Day 5 - Manitoba to home, sweet home

Saw a moose in the muskeg, yesterday. Also moved the clocks ahead one hour, for the last time on this adventure.

Stopped to let a passenger off at Sudbury Junction. Sent a text to my (curling) skipper to let her know that of all the people I know in Sudbury (1), I was thinking of her. 

I’m still the funniest person she knows. 

She needs to get out more.

I haven’t addressed showering. There are three sleeper cars in our part of the train. Each one has:

4 single curtained berths - during the day it is a single seat, plus a toilet (with just the curtain for privacy). At night the chair unfolds over the toilet. 

6 cabins with private toilet (door included!), basin, two chairs during the day. At night, the chairs fold up & two berths fold down (upper & lower). 

3 pairs of facing loveseats which convert to upper & lower curtained berths.

There is a separate mens & ladies roomy bathroom.

...and one shower. 

So...if the car is fully occupied, there would be 22 people sharing the shower. Not all at once...it isn’t THAT large!

But only six people using the bathrooms. Although, if I was in a single berth, I’d be using the “public” facilities, as the private one isn’t really all that...private.

Towels are provided as well as soap & shampoo. The shower room is quite large. It has an ante room for changing & a proper shower stall. Push the button & out comes the water. It runs for about 90 seconds. Enough to wet yourself thoroughly & soap up the hair. Push again to rinse. Then soap up & rinse again. No long showers.

Just coming around the top of the Bay (Georgian Bay). You may recall we had massive forest fires in the area last summer. We are passing areas where you can see the the devastation...but also the beginnings of re-growth. We haven’t seen where the hearts of the fires were. Just the outer pockets, where the many firemen & women were able to stop the spread from crossing the tracks in most places. 

We went over Parry Sound or through the town (same name) while we were at brunch/lunch. Home town of Bobby Orr!

The VIA app SAYS we’ll be arriving at Union Station at 5:42pm. 

Passed Bala & beautiful calm waters, blue sky & trees. 

App says arrival is now 5:16

Every level crossing gets long horn warnings from the train. Day and night. They have been few and far between, until now. We have hit cottage country.

Even though we have a room with a view, we have taken to sitting on the love seats on our train. No one has been in/on them since Winnipeg. So comfortable. I’m on one side of the train. Sarah on the other. 

We have actually stopped at Washago - someone must be getting on or off.

****

Unfortunately, we arrived just outside of Union Station during peak time, so had to wait our turn to get to a platform.

But! Arrived eventually, got our bags from the carousel. Then out to get a taxi. Which took FOREVER. Roads were closed for the Raptors away game. The downtown area was being transformed into a very large “jurassic park” for the fans to watch the basketball game on big screens.

Dropped Sarah off at her place (and WHOOSH, she was off to the cottage). Sushi dinner with curling team mate (order in), then bed. Don’t recall the head hitting the pillow. So disorientated when I woke up in the middle of the night! Had to think long & hard as to where I was...

But now, it is tomorrow. Up at 5:45am. In the car & on the road by 6:07am. On the verandah, sitting in the sun.

And now. NOW! I am home.

Dorothy was right, there’s no place like home.

Day 4 - Exiting Manitoba, Returning to Ontario

Beautiful Manitoba. It really is. We saw bison but, they were vacationing in Saskatchewan. Lots of red winged blackbirds - my favourites, deer and prairies. That was west of Winnipeg. We also must have gone through the bug capital of Manitoba! The observation car (front window) is covered in bug splat. Eeeew.

It was fascinating watching the transition from prairie to...not. There was a wide valley starting just inside the eastern boundary of Saskatchewan and continuing into Manitoba.

Still six hours late. Now we are east of Winnipeg & it is lakes, trees and pre-cambrian shield.

Welcome to Ontario. Lakes, trees, pre-cambrian shield. 

Regardless of train traffic, it takes over 24 hours to get from the western border of Ontario to Toronto. 

Something I didn’t realize...thought our time zones were tied to the borders of the provinces. Not the case for Ontario. NW Ontario is in the same time zone as Manitoba (Central Time). The rest of Ontario is in the Eastern Time zone. 

Who knew?

A little disappointing...the train no longer goes along the northern edge of Lake Superior. Not that there’s anything wrong with the route we are taking...wherever we are! The north Superior route took you right along the edge of the lake. Trestles high above gorges. Lots of trees, small lakes...and freight trains. Fewer freight trains than yesterday...thank goodness!

We’ve been sitting now, for over an hour...in the middle of nowhere. We stopped while at dinner and were told there’d be a short stop for smokers. I suspect that was a “smoke screen”. A freight train went by about 30 minutes ago at a fair clip & still no movement from us. 

Oh well. Our beds are turned down & it’s a pleasant enough evening. And still 24 hours to go, until we reach Toronto. 

We were told by our new crew (all changed in Winnipeg, in the wee hours this morning) that we can make up time. Yes. I’m sure we can. But doubtful we can make up 7+ hours.

Finally started moving...backwards! After three freight trains. Back out from the spur & then on to the main line.

Hopefully.

Day 3 - Prairies

We have been caught by lots of freight trains...and something which I only thought of when driving...the summer season of road works. It is also the season of rail works. Makes sense. 

We must be over 4 hours late. But...once we start moving again, they believe we can still get to Winnipeg on time! Wonder how fast the train will go, once we start moving...

We were able to get out & stretch our legs at the Saskatoon rail station. Train now about 6 hours late. But glad we got out. Suspect we won’t be in Winnipeg until...well...after bedtime. So no walking there. 

Sioux Lookout...now that was supposed to be around 6am. Stopping for just under an hour. Perhaps we’ll be able to get out then. Be interesting to see how much we’ll have caught up. Currently, still west of Winnipeg...about 5.5 hours late.

****

At school, I had many wonderful teachers. They gave the greatest gift of all: The desire to keep learning.

One will get special mention here: Mrs McRae. She taught english in senior school. Doesn’t matter what grade. But she was trying to get across the concept of “magnitude”. I didn’t get it. She said...Think of the magnitude of the skies on the Prairies. I’d never seen them. Not until this morning.

Prairies: Magnitude of the skies

Thank you, Mrs McRae. I get it, now.

Day 2 - Crossing the Continental Divide...and on...

We had the second seating for dinner, which worked out perfectly. A lovely couple from Guelph were seated with us. Lots of laughs. That is one of the (many) fun things I remembered from crossing Canada by train...WAY back when. Meeting new people at dinner. 

Now that I have been aboard a ship...there are parallels. Think of this leg as a land cruise. But maybe with a bit more motion.

There was enough noise that Sarah didn’t hear me get up twice and knock the ladder to (my) upper berth across the passage way. The bunks were comfy...and surprizingly roomy. I was able to sit up to put jeans & socks on to wander down & along to the head (bathroom).

For anyone not aware of how our train system is set up in Canada. The company that runs cargo owns the rails. The company that runs the passenger service...does not. Therefore, the cargo trains have the right of way which causes the passenger trains to be notoriously late. 

Which is what has already happened. We were originally supposed to get to Jasper by 11 or 12. Now they are saying we’ll be there by about 2pm.

Amazing scenery, going through the mountains! From brilliant blue sky to moody clouds, mountains, rivers & muskeg. 

We even saw a bear out the window at lunch! The food service manager ran through the train to draw everyone’s attention to it. That’s service!

We had about an hour to get off the train in Jasper & stretch our legs. We have moved to our cabin. And now we wait as a car is removed from the train, before heading to Edmonton. Estimated time of arrival: 10pm.

Time was revised...closer to midnight. 

Berths were pulled down & made up by the time we were back from dinner. So tired, my eyes hurt. So hauled myself up to my second floor apartment, got in my jammies & listened to a book (think I started at 9pm). Stopped at 1am...it is possible I slept through some of it. We were just leaving Edmonton, I think.

Final leg! (Day 1)

Since cutting our teeth on sea planes, way back when in Ketchican, in the back of my mind I was thinking it might be an option in the future.

The very near future. 

After we had the long commute from the ship to Tsawwassen, ninety minute ferry ride, 40 minute taxi ride...it seemed reasonable to look for alternatives.

So...that’s the plan. We booked our flight on the way back from BIG walk on the first day. 

So civilized! Combo flight & sightseeing all in one package.

Clockwise from left: Victoria fly port; flight-seeing; Vancouver fly port

Arrived in Vancouver, where I watched the sea planes take off & land...WAY back when, before heading out to Japan. 

From there, we walked up a very steep ramp from the sea plane docks (low tide!), to get a taxi to the train station. Good thing I checked on the internet ahead of time. The trans Canada train leaves from an inland station & not the one near the Pan Pacific Hotel. THAT would’ve been a mistake!

Quick ride to the station. We were able to check our bags to be put in the baggage car & leave our bags that we’d have with us. Still civilized. Then off for a pub lunch, before boarding the train.

Layout of the “Canadian”

What I booked & what I THOUGHT I’d booked...well...let’s just say it was something of a surprize. 

I THOUGHT I’d booked a cabin with an upper & lower berth, with our own bathroom/head. 

A scene from White Christmas?

Room with no view…at least from the upper bunk

We climbed aboard our car & couldn’t find our cabin. Because it didn’t exist. What I apparently booked (sigh) can only be described as two love seats facing each other. With an upper bunk which will be dropped down at night time.  I suspect this will be like a scene out of the movie “White Christmas”. We’ll see.

In the meantime, I’ve asked for us to be moved to an ACTUAL cabin. One will become available in Jasper, tomorrow.

Until then...we’re going to live the life of movie stars. Or at least the characters they play. 

The good news is...we have our table booked for dinner tonight. At least we will be fed!

And I have biscuits from the ship & a package of Walkers’ shortbread. We’ll survive.

Day 2 & 3 - Victoria

How unusual...three days in a row AT THE SAME PLACE!

Wonderful to explore Victoria on foot. The only plan we had, was to meet a cousin of Douglas’ who lives here, for a high tea/lunch at the Empress Hotel. 

Tea at the Empress Hotel

Before that, we’d heard a ship’s horn, so wandered over to the port to see it dock, but we were too late. Apparently there are three more ships expected today, so all is not lost. 

On the way back from tea/lunch, we stopped at the Bateman Gallery. Robert Bateman is an artist originally from Toronto, but now makes his home in BC. 

As an aside, I shouldn’t put off making notes of what we do on any particular day! What did we do & on what day?

Oh well...digging deep into the memory banks, the key seems to be (sadly) what we did for meals.

Breakfast has been fruit in our rooms...that’s easy to remember. 

On day 2 (Saturday) started as mentioned above & finished up with a walk BACK into town. The one thing I have wanted (even more so since leaving Japan) is sushi. Apparently not REAL sushi, but our Canadian version of it. So on the recommendation of a lady here at the hotel, off we went. It was sooooo good. And not a squid or snail in sight!

Day 3 (Sunday), no cruise ships in port. But we still had some excitement...laundry! Last laundry until we get home. Walked to a tapas spot recommended by a family for lunch. Afterwards a short hike to Craigdarroch Castle. Similar to Casaloma in time & structure. Sadly, the fellow who built it (Dunsmuir) died before moving in. His wife enjoyed it for 18 years, though. Built on top of the hill, it would have had stunning views. 

Yummy tapas

Dinner, this time...we were looking for a place with a harbour view & TVs to watch game 2 of the NBA finals (Raptors). The first place on our list was fully booked with a wait time. We walked out at the same time as another pair. They overheard us chatting & said we weren’t missing much & that it was over priced. They asked what we were looking for & suggested a place we’d already been to. Then we were directed to another spot...just down there, turn right and up a block. Very nice folks, so followed their advice.

The directions were close...except if it was a block, it was a very long one interspersed with a fair number of crossroads. But it was yummy. Boisterous and had TVs with the game on (it was close, but we lost).

Back to the room(s). Time to re-pack and get ready for the last leg of this adventure.

What’s next? Wait & see!

Day 1 - Victoria (May 31)

We accomplished quite a lot today...off the ship into a car, out of the car, onto a ferry, off the ferry, into a taxi, out of the taxi, into the hotel...

...and ate lunch.

Then out for a walk. Across the bridge, and followed the footpath all the way to the Westbay Maritime Village. About fifty minutes. Glorious weather. We were wearing our QE hats & were stopped by a fellow walking his dog. Compared his trip on the QM2 with the QE.  Very nice fellow. Great way to spend the afternoon. Then took a “pickle” boat or water taxi back to town.

View across the bay: Hotel; cruise ship; mountains

Float homes at West Bay Marine Village

Pickle boat

Booked our return mode of travel for Monday.  Back to the hotel, which even though it has a restaurant is also geared towards self catering. Very large rooms with livingroom and kitchen. 

Out for dinner (not far away), then back to the hotel. I failed to mention that Sarah booked the hotel. Two rooms, separated by two floors! I guess my snoring really IS that bad.

Oh well.

Day 11 Vancouver - End of leg 4, beginning of leg 5

Woke up, just before the alarm. Peeked out the curtains & we had just gone under the bridge. Quickly woke Sarah & out to the balcony she went.

Breakfast was earlier than usual, such that everyone could be out of their rooms by 8am (which we didn’t know).

Last breakfast aboard, while we were still docking. Thought we weren’t seeing our table mates again, but they arrived a little after us. Joe looked fine. No extra bruising! Still had a great appetite. The ship doctor said he’d change the bandage before they leave the ship. Hope they took him up on the offer!

We had arranged via the concierge, a private car to take us to Tsawwassen to catch a ferry. Yes. More time on the water. But just 90 minutes. 

The pre-arranged car meant we were provided with “special” tags & were able to get off the ship early & quickly. We were reunited with our bags & then sat & waited. 

It sounds all very civilized...which it was. And fast. And organized. The possible disaster was caused by me. There are comment cards for the passengers, to recommend employees for the “white star” award. These cards needed to be dropped off at the Purser’s office on deck 1. We started out of the cabin, when I decided I wanted to grab a small bottle of perrier. Sent Sarah ahead & dashed back in. I moved fairly quickly & zipped down the stairs to deck 1. No sign of Sarah. How did I miss her??

I went back up the stairs to deck 3 (departure deck). Down to deck 2 (waiting area) no sign. Finally, I remembered we both have cell phones. Sent her a text. She was still on deck 7 waiting for me at the elevators! Oops! Forgot that Sarah had a heavy carry on bag & wouldn’t be taking the stairs. Never occurred to me.

Finally found each other. Off the ship. Found our bags & the waiting area for the limos.

Took almost an hour (should be 40 minutes). But no problem...ferries to Victoria are every hour. 

Victoria? Weren’t we just there? Well, yes. But we have a few days to kill before the last leg of our journey. Wonder how we’ll spend our time? 

For now, fair winds & following seas...

Day 10 - Victoria

Well...today, is our last full day with the ship. 

Soon after we docked, a large cruise ship appeared out of the mist. We were enjoying our view of the distant mountains on the coastline. Gee...I hope it doesn’t dock in front of us.

No such luck. Right between us and the view. 4000 passengers. Ship comes complete with what I can only describe as a sightseeing ball at the top of the ship. It is on a long hydraulic arm, which raises it WAY up. No thanks. Ship is Ovation of the Seas. It looks like a really big apartment block.

We waited until about 10am for all the tours to leave the ship, before making our way ashore. Took the shuttle bus to the town centre (near the Empress Hotel). Wandered around, then stopped for lunch at the aforementioned Empress Hotel, on their verandah. Nice to be able to eat outside. 

After lunch, walked along the shore back to the ship. Just before turning in to the shipyard, saw a chandlery selling a strap on conversion to a paddle board, such that it becomes a sliding shell seat. Complete with oars. Very cool.

Sat on the balcony. Also, darted in to pack...planned packing, as eventually when we get to our last leg, we are allowed only one small bag with us. 

Last hors d’ouevres & the heel of our wine in the room. Watched the first half of the Raptors’ game, then dressed for dinner. Our last one...and it’s a curry!

Our table mates all arrived. The older couple last. Joe...sporting a broken nose! They had taken a taxi to town & he tripped on a bollard of sorts, getting out of the taxi. Back to the ship to see the doctor there. They sent him to the hospital, to have him completely checked out. I think they wanted him to stay overnight, but he wanted out. Nothing wrong with his appetite!

We split up, back to our rooms to do the final packing & get our big bags out to the hallway.

Final sleep on the ship. Alarm set for 6am, to see the approach to Vancouver.

Day 9 - LAST SEA DAY!

Very cleverly, we arranged the pillows and folded bedspreads on the window sill, to block the VERY EARLY sun from coming in under the curtains.

Slept until 6am!

Hot sun on the balcony! Glorious! Tepid, low pressure shower first...not so glorious, but in the grand scheme of things...who cares? Soap still worked.

We are cruising south, probably 12 or so miles off the west coast of Canada. 

Sarah solved a problem for me...we were given our landing cards (customs/immigration) for Canada two days ago. How could I be absolutely sure I wasn’t going to be buying anything further before arriving in Canada? I couldn’t. But the form was signed, dated & handed back. So it WAS true at that time & place. I went with that. Sarah’s added argument (which would have become valid sometime, yesterday evening): We had left US waters & entered Canadian territory. 

We had a pairing lunch: Italian wines, this time. Thankfully, less food. Still lots of wine, though. 

Fog rolled in over the morning, so sitting on the balcony was a bit cool. A good reason for napping.

Tonight is our last “gala” night. We already ordered our last two dinners. Beef Wellington tonight. Curry, tomorrow.

We got back to our rooms to find it as usual (beds turned down, chocolates for gala night, news sheet & daily programme), PLUS, rose petals arranged to form a heart on each bed, around our daily programmes! How sweet is that? Our roses had become a little long in the tooth & they found a lovely way to reduce, reuse, recycle.

PS - sorry for the delay in posting...no internet, yesterday. When Gina left the ship, my account was closed...but it wasn’t fixed until late the day before. That seems to have the unintended result of losing my internet account. Oh, well. Back in Canada with internet via cell phone.

Day 8 - Ketchican

A bright and early morning. Sky was light by 3:30am! Managed to stay in bed until 5am. It is going to be a long day...

Today our exursion was “exclusive flightseeing and crabfest”. 

Yes, even after the two air crashes (3 planes), we still went. We apparently, were originally booked with the company that lost the 3 planes. Re-booked with someone else. 

Left the ship at 9am. Driven down the shore to board our sea plane. First time on a seaplane, for me! Very cool! Flew around and over the island for about 20 minutes, then landed at George’s Inlet Lodge. It was about 10am. After some instruction on the most efficient way to eat crab, we had 90 minutes to eat as much as we wanted. 

Flightseeing: Top left four of the five ships in port; view along the way & our plane docked at the crab shack.

Did I mention this was 10am??? Nothing like crab for breakfast! They also provided bottomless beverages: Wine, beer, soft drinks, lemonade. A fair number of people were drinking wine. 

At 10am.

Champagne is okay, anytime...but wasn’t on offer.

Back by bus to town. Walked around & up to totem pole museum, then back to the ship. Including us, there were five ships here. We were the fourth in & last to get a spot at the dock. The fifth ship, came in after us, anchored in the harbour & used tenders to get their passengers to shore. 

Ketchican

Note to self...and anyone else...check out YouTube video of a bear in a supermarket in Ketchican.

Tomorrow is a sea day. We have planned a pairing lunch...seems only fair to let Sarah experience this. Hopefully, we remain conscious for our journey through the Seymour Straits...if that’s the route we are taking.