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!