As of the date of this post, in three weeks time, I will be halfway to Vancouver, BC on #TheCanadian train of Via Rail.
Im getting excited for this 2 week excursion and activity laden adventure. However, I would be remiss in saying that I’m also sad, given that this journey will come to an end.
As of either July 21 or 22, I will have swam or walked in my last beach.
Now what?? Whats next? International, the Caribbean? I don’t know.
Back in April, as I made my laps in one of my favourite community centre pools, I reflected on this swimming journey. It was in July 2009 when I made a promise to take up swimming as a regular consistent form of exercise. That commitment started later that month.
My birthdate is the 15th of a month close to summer. Here I am now, 15 years later and 10 years from when I first conceived of this idea to swim at these Beaches, that my goal will be completed.
Adding to this goal, was my subgoal to travel to or from these Canadian provinces by train.
Ive done Winnipeg to Toronto (2017), Toronto to New Brunswick (2018), Saskatchewan to Alberta (2019), Toronto to Nova Scotia (2022), Nova Scotia to Ottawa (2022). Now, the final trip is almost here.
This will be the longest train trip I take and I hope it will be as enjoyable and as picturesque as all the others. I’ve booked an upper berth in the Sleeper Car this time around. I will have ample opportunities for star gazing, story telling, novel reading and picture taking on this trip.
On the morning that I make my way to Toronto Union Station to board my train, I’ll be donning a very special T-shirt designed and made just for me, by my very talented sister, Carol #groovychickgraphics.
The budget’s been made , the train, car and the plane and hotels are booked, the packing list is being finalized, the itinerary is in its final stages and the appt for my mani/ pedi has been arranged. I’m monitoring the weather channel for optimum sun days. Now to get through 12 and half work days, then I’m off!
Stay tuned – I’ll have at least one more post to share before then.
As I wrapped up this portion of my whirlwind East Coast vacation, I was very excited about the River Cruise I would embark on tomorrow. I’d never been on a river boat cruise before and with the goal of doing one in Europe in 2023, I figured I could get my sea legs on one in Canada that would also stay close to the shore.
My suitcases were packed, water bottles filled, hotel bill paid and taxi booked for transport to the Via Rail Station in Truro. I packed my casual hat and donned my pretty train/boat travel hat, which I bought recently and specifically for the boat cruise.
In my eagerness to “get going”, I got to the station at about 11:30 am and planned to sit and relax inside until my train departure at 1430 that afternoon. Well upon arrival at the station, the doors were locked and the lights were off. This station would not open until 13:00.
There I sat outside, with my suitcase, carry on, and my little lunch bag. Nowhere to sit and no Tim Horton’s close by to get a coffee. So I waited and I waited. Finally at about 12:30, a Via Rail employee turned on the lights and opened the doors. Relief and gratitude, as I now also needed to visit the restroom.
This return train trip would bring me to Montreal at 10:00 on Thursday morning. A 2 hour lay over and then I would continue onto Ottawa, with an arrival time of 1400. The marina is a 20 minute cab ride from the station and boarding would commence at 17:00.
At 13:30, we were advised that the train was delayed in Halifax and our scheduled departure time of 1430 was pushed back. The train finally arrived at 1530. I boarded and was taken to my Cabin. My attendant invited me to the dining car, as lunch was still being served. I was so grateful, as I had not eaten since early this morning and needed some sustenance.
I returned to my cabin to relax and freshen up a bit and then made my way to the lounge car, to meet the other passengers.
I opted for the 2nd sitting of dinner and made my way back to the dining car at 2100 for my evening meal. The quality of these on board meals are top notch and is one of the reasons I choose to travel in the Sleeper Car Class. I enjoyed a Merlot with this meal and then made my way back to my cabin. My bed had been turned down and a fresh bottle of water had been left for me too.
By Thursday mid morning, it became apparent that the train would be delayed in its arrival to Montreal. Now I started to panic. All my planning and researching were for naught. Via Rail has a heat protocol in place which dictates how fast they can travel, on steel rails for a continuous stretch of travel time, when the air temperature rises above a certain degree.
All I could do now was wait and tick off each city station as we arrived and departed. I did not have a contingency plan in place. I either made it to the marina before departure or I did not. With little else to do but read and watch the landscape from my cabin, I made the first of many calls to the office of St. Lawrence River Cruise lines. The kind and pleasant administrator connected me with the owner, who immediately reassured me that the boat would wait for me, regardless of what time I arrived at the marina. He gave me the cell # for Trevor, the Purser, so that I could keep him abreast with any updates.
Finally we arrived in Montreal, I missed my noon connection to Ottawa and sat in the business lounge until the next train departure. I cancelled my Economy Fare ticket and was provided a Business Class seat at no extra charge.
After a quick snack of peanuts and wine, I took advantage of the complementary meal served in Business class. Even though I would still get another meal on the boat later in the evening…..
I arrived at the marina just after 630 pm. I was Covid tested and then brought to my stateroom. I was here! The staff were all so courteous and kind and I was grateful to be onboard.
It turns out the boat had to wait for a few other passengers who were also delayed. One couple traveled from South Africa! and had missed their flight connection! They finally arrived on board and we started our cruise.
Suffice it to say, I had quite a few starts and stops on this trip:
The fear that Via Rail employees would be on strike,
the first train delay to Truro, due to heat,
the cancellation of my return Ferry trip from PEI to Nova Scotia, due to the engine fire onboard,
the subsequent journey to the Confederation Bridge, in order to get back to Nova Scotia,
then this train delay.
These delays were minor inconveniences yet I still got to my destination safely and was able to enjoy this whirlwind vacation.
I cannot imagine what all of those other travelers (internationally, domestic, transborder) had to endure during this same period. in both Canada and abroad – with flight cancellations and delays, with lost luggage etc. I can only hope that when I plan my European River Cruise from the Netherlands to Basel, Switzerland, all will go well and I will be safe.
For this vacation, I found myself without a vehicle and had been using public transit to get to and from work daily.
So it was fitting and rather exciting, that the morning of my vacation, I was up and out of the house at 6 am to take public transit to the airport, where I would catch my Westjet flight to Saskatoon, Sask. This will be a 9 day vacation and I will conquer two provincial beaches – Lake Manitou in Watrous and Devonshire Beach in Alberta.
This post is about my short train trip between the two provinces.
Details about this journey will come in another post.
Once my stay in Sask was complete, I availed myself of the hotel shuttle service and the very kind driver took me to Tim’s first for coffee and then drove me to the Via Rail Station. This trip would be the shortest of the experiences so far. I was training it from Saskatoon to Edmonton – a short 10 hour trip. I booked a cabin for 1 – why not, lunch and dinner provided, a nice view of the landscape and I could visit with the other passengers.
Even on such a short trip, I was still treated like royalty, my bags were brought onto the train, the porter escorted me to my cabin and took my lunch and dinner seating reservations.
It’s truly a feat of super organization on behalf of #VIARAIL as to how well they manage to provide storage, amenities, toilet facilities etc in such a small space while still making the area comfortable and airy. Not an inch of space is wasted, yet one does not feel cramped or claustrophobic. The scenery along this route offered a lot more to see and as such, I spent quite a bit of time upstairs on the Panoramic level of the train. As this trip was during the day, there was so much to see.
By the time dinner was served, I was feeling quite melancholy, as I wished I could have stayed on the train longer.
I arrived in Edmonton, hailed a cab and made my way to my next destination – a local hotel in the City core.
My next trip – back to the East Coast, to swim at Martinique Beach, NS and the Isle de Madeleine, Quebec will be all train and rental car. Stay tuned – as we plan for summer 2020.
In February, over dinner with one of my bff’s, I broached the idea that she join me this summer for my East Coast trip to New Brunswick and PEI.
In our youth when of legal drinking age, we spent many a weekend travelling to Montreal via the train for bar hopping and visits with her boyfriend. So we had a shared love of train travel.
She jumped at the chance to be part of my journey and gave me full rein to do all the planning and booking – “just tell me how much money I have to send you”
On the 19th of August, we met up at Union Station and made our way to the Via Rail Concourse. This portion of the trip was on the Economy car as we were stopping in Montreal to enjoy a pre-vacation spa treatment at #BotaBota Spa.
Now fully relaxed and pampered, we hailed an UBER and made our way to Central Station. We checked in our luggage and met up with the Lounge Staff.
Our dinner seating arrangements were made and we were escorted to our Sleeper Car. The trip from Montreal to Moncton, NB is 19 hours and we were going to travel in style. I booked us a Cabin for two complete with berth style beds and our own bathroom facilities.
We enjoyed a full course meal complete with scrumptious dessert and a glass of red Ontario VQA wine.
We made our way to the Lounge car afterwards and enjoyed an evening with our fellow passengers – including a group of 4 very good looking young men from Brazil who were heading to Nova Scotia for some surfing – not the Internet type, either.
Breakfast was served the next morning. Afterwards we strolled the corridors, then made our way up top to the sky car, where we could enjoy the breathtaking views even more. The sun shone the entire trip.
Lunch was served at noon and shortly thereafter we arrived in Moncton, NB.
Our porter retrieved our luggage and we made our way to the Station. A courtesy shuttle from the Rental Car agency picked us up and took us to the office to get our vehicle- a blue Toyota Minivan which we aptly named the Big Blue Beast….
Stay tuned for our East Coast Adventure – on a 5 day trip, I swam at two beaches in two provinces and we were in 5 provinces! – Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI…..and I drove across the Confederation Bridge.
Single Older Woman - Living Life Passionately 