Day Eight! Bye, Bye Victoria...

So sad to see you go.  Well, this is our last day here and we are off to Cordova Bay for Tea!  We had looked into the Fairmont Empress and well...no way, $60/person is a little out of our price range.  We had been planning to go to Buchart Gardens today, but they were calling for rain.  So off we went.  Cordova Bay is lovely and the place Dave and Christie took us to was great!  Adrienne's Tea Room was a busy place and while we waited for our table we went shopping.  I got some really nice things for some of my friends at home and a new wallet for me!  :)  Mom also got some nice things and then we had tea.  OMG...it was wonderful!  Two people got full on tea, sandwiches, fruit, scones and desserts for $32.99!  Great deal!  And so yummy!  I hope Dave and Christie go back there, it was great!  So then we drove downtown and I got a couple more gifts and we went to the bus station.  Saying goodbye was hard, but we were invited back, so that is a good thing!  LOL  And Mom and I were off to the ferry terminal.  We got on and knowing what to expect is a good thing.  LOL  We got upstairs and found seats.  The ferry was really busy!  I sat next to a really nice girl and started chatting.  She was going to Seattle for the weekend, sounded like a fun time.  :)  We docked and the bus drove us into downtown and we got to our hotel.  Got settled and ordered pizza, it was yummy!  I updated the blog and we went to bed fairly early.  Only one more night after this!  :(  

Rain and more shopping!

Day Seven-More rain, reading and shopping

So I got up made some calls and paid bills.  I know!  Exciting right?  Then we went off to Canadian Tire, had lunch at Original Joe’s and got some groceries.  Dave took us to a place called the lagoon, it is freshwater on one side and sea water on the other.  It is lovely and he says that Christie loves to go there a lot.  I could see why, even with all the fog it was peaceful there and the view  was amazing! 

We went back to their place and made dinner, steak, salad and roasted veggies.  MMmmm...we have plans to go to Buchart Gardens tomorrow but it is supposed to rain all day so we made alternative plans to maybe go for tea and souvenir shopping before we take the bus over to Vancouver.  It is Christie’s Birthday this weekend and they are going camping.  J   So tonight we plan to pack and get ready. 

It has been wonderful to see David and Christie again.  We have missed them.  I totally get why they love it here though.  It is wonderful and a tempting thought to pack up your life and try something new. 

Mmmm...shopping!

Day Six, Rain, laundry and shopping

We got up and gathered our laundry.  Came down and got it started, had coffee and got it done.  We got dressed and headed out to do some clothes shopping.  Got some new stuff and then we went to Wal-Mart.  The wal-mart is HUGE!  Two stories and wow!  The stuff!!!!  We got some duct tape for my poor suitcase and some dinner and headed back as Dave had baseball tonight.  We hung out and watched TV.  I went up early and had a quiet time reading and hanging out with Drama.  She is very funny.  Off to sleep, Good night!  

Off we Go Again! :)

Day Five, and off we go again! 

Bus Terminal, there was a crowd getting on and off, so we manoeuvred our way to the inside of the bus station and texted David as he had passed us sill on the bus.  LOL He came in and we had a big hug!  It was so great to see him!  He said we would pick up Christie and we could go for an early dinner.  Sounded good to me.    We did and then went for a driving tour.  We got off to look at the harbour seals and they were so cute!  Then we drove along the coast and went to different sites.  It is a lovely coastline and absolutely breathtaking.  The houses here are so cute and in the areas we went there were a lot of mansions.  You don’t have to be rich to live here, but I am sure it would help.  A lot! Dave and Christie took us to the base and showed us around. It seems a big place and pretty nice.  He showed us where his ship is and then we went to their place.  At Dave and Christie’s we got all our stuff in and met the kitty’s.  Drama and Daisy are adorable and Drama, well she suits her name.  She is very chatty.  We stayed up a bit but soon went to bed.  All this travelling is hard, well that and the time changes.  We got up and got ready to head to the bus to go to Dave and Christie’s on the Island.  We got there, got our tickets and some McD’s.  Got on the bus and headed to the ferry terminals!  The buses gets on the ferry and you get to get off and go upstairs to watch the scenery.  It was a pleasant crossing and not rough at all.  We got back on the bus and headed into Victoria. 

Vancouver, on stable ground! LOL

Day Four, Vancouver!!!! 

Got up, I slept so well I missed Kamloops and any stops we made last night.  Oh well, I am not too upset.  We are getting close to the coast and the river is very wide.  It even has ships on it!  Cool!  Got my stuff mostly packed and we went to breakfast.  Our last one, till we return of course.  We then headed back to finish up and watch our arrival into Vancouver.  We were stopped and I noticed some lovely wild roses at the side of the tracks.  So of course I took pictures!  LOL Pretty soon we were crossing a bridge into Vancouver and at the station!  We got off and had to wait for our checked bags.  Mom started back towards me with our bags and OMG!  My suitcase did not look well!  Ack!  It was wrecked!!!!  We took it over to the via rail counter where the manager took pictures and filled out a claim form to have it replaced.  He thinks the baggage handlers let it slip off the cart and ran over it.  NOT COOL!  They will have a new case for me on Sunday when we start homeward.    After we got that settled we got a taxi and headed to our hotel.  We got into our room and crashed.  All the travelling, excitement and stress caught us and we just died.  We had showers, dinner and got into bed really early.  It was so great to sleep in a real bed and not move.  LOL And that is not to say our beds on the train were not comfy cause they were.  

Comin Round the Mountain!

Day Three, She’ll be coming round the mountain...

So the sheep slept in my shower bag again.  They seem to like it up there, who am I to argue?  When I wake up today we are nearing Edmonton.  It is really early.  I have been waking early on the train and going to bed early.  So we pull into Edmonton and some people get out for a walk.  I am just getting dressed! So I take some pics of the train station and the planes taking off right next to it.  It is kind of out in the middle of nowhere.   LOL So I get ready to go for Breakfast and plan on staying in the activity car to watch for Mountains.  I know we will be getting to them soon.   Mom and I head up after we depart for Jasper.   We had yummy breakfast and then went to the skyline car.  We sat and chatted for a bit. The scenery started to change and I could tell we were getting closer. 

The first sight of the Mountains is always awe inspiring.  I don’t care who you are, it just is.  It was the same for me this time as it was the last time.  They are amazing!  I managed to get some really nice pictures though.  Everyone on the train was super excited!  J  We were taking pictures and looking this way and the other way. It was awesome and a lot of fun. 

Pretty soon we were deeper in the mountains and we saw a moose, mountain goats, hawks, elk and lots of other birds.  No pictures of these...LOL It happens to fast!  LOL And the stupid trees getting in the way!  Sheesh...my mountain pics are important, get out of the way!  Or bend!  Teehee...

Pretty soon they announced we would be in Jasper.  Mom headed back to our cabins as she had an errand to run right away.  I hung back and left from the next car.  Got into the station and got off and went to the bathroom in a non-moving toilet!  Woot!  Then went over to the shop in the station and got some postcards to send.  We were only supposed to be there for 45 minutes. So I got them and went outside to enjoy the sun and write.  Mom, just got back with timmies iced coffee and they announced we would be staying for longer.  They had to take off 2 train cars.  So we hung out and got some sun, it was hot!  Drank our coffees and socialized.  Finally we were allowed to get back on and off we went heading towards British Columbia.  Back on board we saw more of nature’s beauty.  Pyramid Falls and we saw a brown bear!  Sweet!  He was at the side of the tracks and did not look too happy to see us there.  Pretty soon dinner was called and off we went.  In case I haven’t mentioned it enough the food is amazing!  J  After dinner I hung out with Stu for a bit and we chatted about his plans once we reached Vancouver.  We also talked about how Mom and I came to be on this trip and our plans too.  We headed back and I got ready for bed.  One more night and then we would be off to a new adventure!  

Winnipeg!!!

Day Two Winnipeg!! 

So this morning we woke up still on the Canadian Shield.  LOL In an hour or so we will be in Winnipeg.  Mom and I decided to have breakfast there instead of on the train.  After de-training we went over to the Force Market.  There were some really nice stores in there.  We ate at the pancake house.  Yum!  We bought postcards and stamps and wrote them out to send from the train station.  I bought some drinks and we both bought these lovely paintings!  

The artist is Lesia Anna.  We met her and she was super nice.  She told me I was beautiful and reminded her of her sister.  I bought one painting and a framed saying.  It was fairly inexpensive and well worth the money!  We left the market and ambled back to the rain station, mailed our cards and sat down to wait to re-board.  We smiled and chatted with all our train friends.  And saw a few new people getting ready to get on and join us.  They called re-boarding and we did and off we went!  J  

Into the prairies...dun dada dun!  Can you say mostly flat?  Yeah, everything you heard...true!  Lots of flat ground and growing wheat crops and other crops too, lots of little lakes and ponds, ducks!  The ducks are smaller here!  So cute!  Lots of birds along the tracks, Red-Winged Blackbirds are predominant.    After dinner I decided to be brave.  LOL I had a shower on the train.  Let me explain something.  We had lost a lot of time because of freight trains.  They take predominance in certain areas and we had to stop and let them pass.  This takes time.  So the train engineer was making up for lost time and travelling fairly quickly this evening.  So...you are in a fast moving train, in a small cubicle getting jostled around, a lot.  I didn’t even use the conditioner, the shampoo got in my eyes and it was soooo not a lot of fun, but very funny all the same.  So I got out of there and wouldn’t you know it as soon as I got back to my cabin the damn train stopped.  What the hell?  So not fair...LMAO 

I went to bed and called it a day...LOL

Tomorrow we will be in Alberta!  Edmonton is early am, then onto Jasper early afternoon.

Day One, Northern Ontario

It’s Day One!!!! 

I woke up super early and moved my bed after some manoeuvring out of it, so I could pee.  I then sat in my seat and watched the scenery go by.  I have no idea where we are exactly; I just know we are for sure in the Canadian Shield.  I was watching the sun fully rise when I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye.  It was a Moose!!!  It did not have antlers so it could have been a female, or it was too early in the spring for them to have them.  (They shed them at some point yanno!)  I am awed by the amount of lakes and silver birches around .  If you don’t like the lake you are looking at wait a couple minutes, there will be another one.  LOL  Mom and I headed towards the dining car, which is 5 cars away.  It is quite a trip and when we get there we had to give our name to Bill the activity car steward for seating.  I must say everyone in this train is super nice and we were soon seated.  We both had omeletes and they were super yummy!  There are so many people here from so many places.  There is a group from all America called Road Scholars.  There are people from Portugal, Japan, China and those are just the ones I have seen!  And of course the requisite contention of Canadians!  French and English speaking.  We hung out in the activity car after Breakfast.  Lots of coffee, water, juice, fruit and snacks.  Mom and I played a dice game and then several rounds of crazy eights.  I totally kicked her butt!  LOL 

With this trip we are continuing the story of the sheep.  We brought along Number 58 and 1/16.  They played the dice game.  58 cheats.  Last night they slept above me in my shower bag.  What can you do?  Sheep are funny creatures.  They are enjoying the ride and hanging around.  Teehee. 

 After lunch we decided to hang out in our cabins.  I know I napped. I got some stuff ready for tomorrow and I am getting my blog ready to post for you all in Winnipeg.  There is no wifi service on this train, kinda sucks but there it is.  I am going to get ready for dinner. I might continue this later.  So Caio for now!  

I want to add, dinner was fabulous!  Yummy food and really nice servers!  

Bed soon, Winnipeg tomorrow!  Yay!  

Dad and the Sheep

I add this here because it is part of the train trip.  We brought along 58 and 1/16th for the trip.  We have some pics of them having fun with us!  


I was just told the funniest story about my Dad and the sheep.

This from the e-mail I got today:

To take his mind off things while we traveled through the eastern Canada last summer

I brought along a Serta sheep #8. We made up stories and adventures about 


#8 and blamed anything that went wrong on his mischief.

Your dad really got into it and was always asking what's #8 done now and how

was #8 today. He would put #8 up on the dash and talk to him while he drove.

I told your dad that #8 came along to look after him and that while he wasn't much 

of a talker he was a good listener and fun to be with.

Since your dad was getting into the story telling I mailed him two sheep to keep

him company at home.


I just want to say again, thank you Mark!  Thank you also for the idea of the continuing 


adventures of the sheep!  They are enjoying the trip!  :)  

This train...She moves!!!

WE ARE MOVING!!! 

LOL  It is 10pm on May 24^th and we are officially on the way.  A couple snafu’s.   When they say pack light they mean it!  Only bring enough for the train ride on the train.  Check your other bags.  Smart thing to do!  These cabins for one are super small!  As I sit here before putting my bed down and going to sleep, I watch the city lights.  I am off on a big adventure and I am so excited.  

NO MORE SLEEPS!

OMG!  We leave tonight!  I am leaving home at 6pm and am mostly packed and ready, just some minor stuff to pack and a couple chores away from being ready to go!  :)  Clothes, camera, shoes, laptop (last thing to be packed), snacks...Woohoo!  I am stoked!  


I will try to do a post from the train later on.  If not, hopefully tomorrow morning!  With a few pics of course!  LOL


:)

THREE MORE SLEEPS!!!!

Could we be anymore excited?  HECK NO!  Well, if we had our suitcases already packed...maybe.  LOL  No, instead as I tidied my room yesterday I set stuff aside to pack.  :)  I have a whole basket of stuff and hardly any of it was clothes....


I am so excited to be going.  We have our hotel booked for the nights we need it, we know when we are going across on the ferry...it is just tooooooo exciting.  I do not know how I will stand it the next few days...oh wait...I have last minute shopping and packing and laundry and sorting out of kitty stuff...ya, that'll work.  Teehee...

Till later!  

Nine More Days!!!

The reason for this trip besides Mother/Daughter fun and excitement is that Mom and I both need this.  Over this past year we have suffered along with my Dad through his illness.  Then we lost him and had to bury his ashes.  We did that on Friday.  We actually lowered him into the ground.  It is a strange feeling.  That part of our mourning is over and now we get to go on this amazing trip in 9 days!  I am so blessed to have a Mom that is willing to take me along for the ride!  :)  I am including a picture of my Dad's final resting place.  He is with his parents, close by is the mausoleum where my brother Jeff is.  He is in a lovely quiet place, with a carpet of wild strawberries.  How cool is that?  

20 Days!!!! :)

20 Days till we leave! Sooooooo excited! Cannot wait to see Dave and Christie and all the adventures ahead. Life is a sweet thing.

I saw them! LOL

I SAW the tickets!  One of them even has my name on it!  Yay!  LOL  We are so excited about our trip and cannot wait!  48 days to go!!!!  Hard to believe, and can we go now?  LOL  

 

We have tickets!!!

After some communication issues with Via Rail (conflicting stories and mis-understandings)  WE HAVE TICKETS!  Yay!  


We leave on May 24th and return June 7th.  We are so incredibly excited!!!  We still have some details to iron out but we are going to sit and do that together on Easter weekend.  


The whole baggage thing confused us for a bit but we figured it out and I am getting some new luggage out of this!  LOL  Yay!  I have to call via and ask a couple more questions but we are pretty happy with everything so far!  We looked at the menus and drooled a bit.  The food is supposed to be really yummy!  I am planning to bring a few snacks.  


We had to go with two one bed cabins as both Mom and I would not be able to  use an upper bunk.  But on the trip there our cabins are close together and on the way back they are side by side.  So we are in the same car and close and that makes us happy!  


That is all for today, lots to do still but we ARE going for sure tickets are in hand!  LOL  

Some Background

Into how this trip came about!  


Ok, so last year in February/March my Dad found out he was very, very ill.  He had a form of cancer called Neuro-Endocrine and by the time they found it he was already at stage 3-4.  Which means there was basically little they could do.  It had already spread to 4 or 5 organs and this type of cancer is hormonal which just makes it that much worse.  He did chemo to give him a little more time and he got that. My Mom was amazing through all of this.  We dealt with realities.  They didn't want people to know how bad it was at first.  So others were told very little.  I got the reality of it right away.  There was little hope.  Anything that was being done was being done to extend his time with us.  Chemo did little but it did hold the cancer at bay for a bit.  He tried an experimental drug that he was doing really well on, but had to be taken off it and things went downhill pretty quickly from there.   He died on December 19th, 2011.  


Well after the funeral and Christmas were over Mom (Linda) and I (Annie)  were talking about taking a trip.  We have a nephew/cousin in the Armed Forces and he and his wife had just moved out to British Columbia that summer.  We offhandedly said...well we should just go out there!  We both love trips out West.  I hadn't been since I was 18, when my youth group from Church (yes, I went to church at one point in my life...LOL)  took a trip to Edmonton for a Youth Conference.  When I was a little girl we went out West I think Mom said 8 times.  Always involving some driving in the mountains.  If we flew out there to meet Dad we drove home.  (My Dad was into car rallying and on Team Datsun/Nissan for most of those years.) On one of those trips Dad and I drove out there alone and it was one of the best trips!  :)   


So we put the idea on the back burner while Mom dealt with all the things you have to do when someone dies. (I helped, mostly with support and research when required.)  


Come to just the other night...
It's March, Mom went back to work at the beginning of the month.  Decided she was done with working and will be retiring as of April 5th.  


She called me telling me she was talking with a friend and it would be expensive for us to fly because I am a larger size person.  Well crap...then she mentioned the train and how we should look into it.  On those trips I mentioned before, I remember the train.  I remember watching for it as it wove in and out of tunnels in the mountains and thinking I would LOVE to do that.  Needless to say...I was sold on that idea.  But how much would it cost?  Off to the Via Rail website.  It was confusing.  So I called them, got the information, called Mom back.  Discussed the costs, got told to stop thinking about expense.  LOL  "This is the trip of a lifetime Annie, we will likely never do this again." Ok, Mom.  


I shut my mouth and went with the flow. 


We contacted David and Christie, found out when David would be home.  He leaves in June for a bit.  Well, ok...so we either go in May or in the fall.  Mom is going to be starting renovations on the house in the summer.  I think we had better go in May.  


That interferes with our plans to bury my Dad.  (he was cremated)  So we adjusted that (we are burying him the week before we had planned instead). I am sure he is ok with that. :)  


I ordered some tourism stuff from Vancouver and Victoria, and have been dreaming of all the places I would like to go that we may not get to, but it is good to dream.  I think I forgot how for a while.  Reality was just needing to be dealt with this past year.  Oh dreams...I missed you.  Thank you for returning to me.  


Today (Saturday) Mom is off to a travel agent.  Hopefully we will have even more solid details later on!  Yay!  


I am more than excited about this.  I have been on a train before but not like this!  Till later!  

OMG! OMG!

I am going on a trip!!!!

I am so excited! It is a trip of a lifetime and something I have always wanted to do! My Mom and I are going to travel the rails and take the train across Canada and through the Rocky Mountains to Vancouver!!!!! How exciting is that? I can remember as a little kid watching those trains go in and out of the tunnels in he mountains. And now I get to go and do it! :) Sweet!!!

We are also taking the train back! OMG! I am thrilled to fricken pieces!!!!

While we are there we plan to visit family and it is going to be awesome!!!!

Here is a link to the Via Rail site where you will find a video of the train we will be taking!