Tag: Truro Nova Scotia

Single Older Woman – Canadian Vacations – July 2022 – Travel Day

July 17, 2022

As is so typical of me, I was awake before the sun came up and eager to get on the bus to start my vacation. The house was in order and my felines would be cared for by my neighbour.

My trip on Via Rail, would depart from Toronto Union Station at 11:30 am, by 10:15 I was already at the Station with coffee in hand and sitting in the lounge chatting with other travelers.

The first leg of the trip would be in Economy class to Montreal Central Station. It’s a five hour trip and as I’m prone to travel sickness, I always get a window seat. The train was packed as so many other Canadians were just as eager as me to be able to travel anywhere!.

Alot of the passengers on this car, would be travelling to the East Coast, in Economy class. I’m one of the lucky ones – I will disembark in Montreal and switch to the Sleeper Car for the overnight journey to Truro, NS. I can’t imagine, sitting in these small seats for another 19 hours and having to purchase a la carte meals from the attendant. As well as having to get up constantly to use the facilities.

We arrived in Montreal around 17:00 and I made my way to the Via Rail Business Lounge, where I could stretch my legs, have some refreshments, and wait for the priority boarding call to be escorted to the Sleeper Car.

This is my stateroom for the trip.

Turn down service while I enjoyed my dinner with a glass of red wine.

And the views – hands down – spectacular!

The weather during this trip was quite hot and humid. As such, Via Rail had a heat protocol in place, which prevented them from travelling at excessive speeds. To reduce friction on the steel rails, our travel time took a bit longer. We arrived in Truro late the next day at approx 6:30 pm. I hailed a cab for the 10 minute ride to my hotel and checked in. The evening was warm and calm, the sun started to set, I sat outside my room with a coffee and gave thanks that I had arrived safely in Nova Scotia.

Tomorrow I pick up my rental car and make my way, via Ferry to Prince Edward Island.

Thank you for reading and letting me share.

Joye

Single Older Woman – Cdn Vacations – Itinerary planning methods

July 2022

With the River cruise dates booked and secured, my entire vacation itinerary had to be “turned around”. Instead of the cruise being the start of my vacation, it would now be at the end.

My plans had to include a swim at Martinique Beach and a visit to the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, NS – more details to follow.

I ordered travel brochures from both PEI and Nova Scotia and reviewed their online tourism websites. I sourced local restaurants, locally owned wine stores, provincial parks, gift shops, banks and grocery stores, etc. Lets not forget all the Tim Horton’s coffee shops for my driving beverage needs. I thumbed through my Parks Canada brochure for any National Parks I could visit and found “Dalvay by the Sea”. I would book a lunch there one day.

I retrieved all my paper maps of both provinces and used them as guides for potential places to visit and to give me estimates on travel times and distances.

I mapped out the location of the train station in Truro, NS to my desired hotel in Truro, I calculated the distance from Truro to the Ferry Terminal in Caribou, which would take me to Woods Island, PEI. I discovered the rental car agency would be only 10 minutes from my Truro hotel….bonus….

I decided I would visit only the Eastern section of PEI, as my BFF and I had done the central area back in 2018.

I found the ideal motel in Souris, PEI and planned accordingly where I would visit. I mapped out too picturesque Lighthouses to visit and added their locations to my list….

As long as I was in NS, I would make a day trip to Cape Breton Island – there were a few waterfalls that looked nice, so they were added in. The island is also home to the Alexander Graham Bell National Park.

By the time May 2022 rolled around, I was counting down the days to July 17.

One aspect of this vacation, different from all the others, was for 10 days, I would don my comfortable walking, outdoorsy attire – shorts, t-shirts, leggings, sneakers, baseball cap, etc. Then for the next 7 days, I would be more comfortable in dressier shorts, leggings, capri’s, nicer tops and blouses, summer dresses, as I would be a passenger on a river cruise boat. For this special adventure, I bought myself a very pretty hat. All of this additional clothing would require a bigger suitcase and an extra carry on bag…..Oh my….

Then on Friday July 8, a week before my awesome vacation, comes news that the staff at Via Rail Canada were in negotiations with their union for a new contract!!! They were close to going on strike……NO, tell me this is not so……!!!

For 3 agonizing days, I waited for updates on the news…. If they went on strike, I would not be going out east!!! I was quite despondent over this and started to look at my options- how would I get to Ottawa for July 28, so that I can go on my cruise…..

Finally, at the 11th hour on Monday July 11, a deal was struck and all the staff would be at work. I was gonna kiss them all when I got on that train…..no, I did not. I thanked them though for their service.

Away we go!!!!

Thank you for reading and for letting me share.

Joye