Tag: British Columbia

Single Older Woman – Final Canadian Beach – British Columbia

July 14, 2024

The early morning sunrise promised a glorious warm sunny day to sit and look out the large picture window of my Via Rail train to Vancouver.

I had all the transportation details worked out to the tee. A bus trip to the GO Station, a quick 15 minute trip to Union Station, a short walk along the concourse to the Business Lounge of Via Rail and then the walk to my Sleeper Car.

Well that didn’t happen……lol..

The Mississauga transit buses don’t run that early on a Sunday morning and the GO train only travels every hour. My train’s departure time was 09:55 am.

So instead, my son drove me to the local TTC stop where I sat on a very crowded noisy bus with my pink suitcase taking up the aisle, my knapsack straps cutting into my shoulders and my coffee and water bottle teetering on my lap…. Quite a sight. But I did have on my very pretty hat!. By the time I made it into Union Station and handed off my suitcase to the baggage desk staff, I had already logged 4700 steps as recorded on my Iphone 12… Good thing, though, as the only steps I’d be taking over the next 4 days would be back and forth along the train corridor to the dining car and activity car…….

As I checked in with the Lounge staff and looked for a seat to rest a minute, it became very apparent, why the seat selection on the Via Rail website was getting scarce. The Lounge was packed!!! with people! Everywhere, sitting, standing, talking, chatting, drinking coffee, checking messages, etc. I’d never seen the Lounge so busy….Who were all these people? Were they all headed to Vancouver? Wow! Amazing – so much interest in this cross Canada train journey!

With over an hour until our Boarding Call, I had lots of time to chat with all the various people sitting in the Lounge. Most of these travellers were from the US and many were with travelling groups. Some had never been to the West Coast of Canada and they were either departing in Calgary, or Jasper or Vancouver.

Time to Board!

I made my way to the Sleeper Car where my berth was situated and got myself settled in. The couple across from me, were headed to BC for a friends wedding and had never travelled with Via Rail.

The train departed on schedule and off we were on an epic cross country journey!! In four days, we will arrive in Vancouver, BC. What adventures behold me on this phenomenal train experience.

Our daily onboard activities for all to enjoy!

Stay Tuned!

Joye

Single Older Woman – Life’s Passion – Canadian Beaches – Sandbanks, Singing Sands and Long Beach

July 2023

With 4 weeks of vacation available to me each year, by the time 2022 wrapped up, I was already planning how and when to complete my final 3 beaches on my list – Sandbanks in Prince Edward County, Singing Sands in Tobermory and Long Beach, on the Pacific Rim, in British Columbia.

The trip to BC would start with Via Rail, a 4 1/2 day trip from Toronto to Vancouver. This vacation would require at least 10 days away from work.

Sandbanks and Tobermory could be done as a long weekend road trip.

My 2022 whirlwind 2 1/2 week East Coast vacation together with the river cruise, put quite a dent in my budget, so a little less extravagance would be necessary in 2023.

At the end of 2022, my boss announced she would be retiring in October 2023 and herself had 4-5 weeks of vacation time to use up. So respectfully I had to alter my desired plans to accommodate her weeks away.

With that being said, next week I head out east to swim at Sandbanks Beach. I’ll embark on a 5 day solo road trip and will do some local sightseeing as well, Brockville Rail Tunnel, Presqu’ile Park ( Ontario Parks), Long Sault Parkway and a few other touristy spots.

In August, I’ll embark on a 4 day road trip to Singing Sands Beach in Tobermory, but with one of my dearest friends along for the ride.

In the summer of 2024, I will head to BC to swim at Long Beach. With that beach complete, my Canadian Beach experiences will come to an end. More on how I feel about this later.

In the fall of 2024, I plan to river cruise along the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland with a return by train to the Netherlands to visit with family.

Thank you for reading.

Stay tuned!

Joye