chuckography

O Canada........

It's been 7 years since I took the train across Canada.

That was a long time ago.

Time to do it again.

Last one was in the Spring. I wanted a sneak preview of Fall Foliage.

I sure got it!

The creature comforts aboard Via Rail's Le Canadian were as good as I remembered.

Maybe even better.

I found a discounted price online that made it possible.

Actually about what I paid all those years ago.

And, again, the price included a private roomette (they call them cabins) and all the gourmet meals during the 4-day trans-continental passage.

Added new features were two live musicians performing in activity cars, presentations by staff on such diverse topics as  local Provincial history, ghost stories, railroad lore and even beer tastings.

Yes, each day there was local craft beer flowing as well as a selection of Canadian wines.

A couple in the observation car announced it was their third wedding anniversary and champagne was served to all 24 passengers sitting around them.

This was about a 20-car train so it had four raised dome observation cars, various lounge and activity centers with tables and chairs and two dining cars.

You quickly settled into your "neighborhood" instead of trekking back and forth the length of the train.

One exception was the last car on the train, the observation car with a bullet-shaped rear.

This was worth the journey because it afforded a view of the receding tracks as we sped along.

I waited until we had one of our stops and stepped down off the train and easily walked back to the last car.

As a blogger, I often take pictures of my food.

This trip was no exception.

The prime rib on my final night before we arrived in Vancouver was perfectly prepared and served as were all the meals.

Breakfast each morning was offered from 6:30am to 9:00am on a first-come basis.

The lunch and dinner had three seating times.

We stopped to add a unique car just before we got to the Canadian Rockies.

It was called the Panorama and lived up to its name!

It was about as open as an observation car could be and seated 72 passengers at a time.

This was in addition to all the other domed cars already in use.

As I spoke to fellow passengers in the dining car and in the lounges, I realized I was hardly the only repeat traveler.

I did see one man in an observation car reading a newspaper.

Guess he was not a first timer.

We traveled far enough north that we were snowed on in Jasper when we had a stop to walk around.

My jacket and hat felt good and warm.

When we dropped back down south and were in Vancouver on the west coast, we saw that leaves were still starting to turn.

More on that later.

Did I mention whale watching? Seaplanes?

(Click on the photos for more details.)

The reality is I came home with 2,000+ digital images and am reliving the trip as I select and edit them.

There will be more pictures if you care to stop by again.

Thanks.

Labels: aspens, Edmonton, fir and birches, Jasper, Le Canadian, Parliament, red maples, Toronto, trans-continental train adventure, Vancouver, Victoria Island, Winnie the Pooh, Winnipeg

posted by chuckography @ 3:42 PM