On Friday We Catch our Train and Head East

The Vancouver Pacific Central train station was very busy on Friday when we arrived around 10 AM and we saw that security measures were being taken.

We left at noon and soon saw these Blueberry bushes outside Vancouver.

It wasn't long before we started to enter the Canadian Rockies.

There are four dome cars on the train and they became popular places to sit as we ran into snow.

Saturday morning we arrived in Jasper where many passengers got off.

Outside of Jasper Bill got this shot of a Bull Elk.

The scenery in the Canadian Rockies is wonderful.

Each morning Via Rail gave us a champagne talk.

This is the stairway to one of the dome cars. 

There is no wi-fi on the train so we only hit occasional cell towers to get on the internet. Sunday morning and we are now stopped in Saskatoon, Saskarchewan.  We have seen snow all the way from Jasper which the locals say is unusual this time of year.  Because of heavy freight traffic our train is running about six hours behind schedule.  Oh well - we will just go sit in the dome car and watch the Canadian scenery go by, as it is warm on our train.

🚞

A Rainy Thursday in Vancouver

The skies were cloudy and dark in the morning so we decided to stay closer to the hotel but still wanted to see what the downtown had to offer.

We wandered into a really upscale mall where Karen enjoyed looking at the newest fashions.

This Apple store drew our attention as Karen will soon be needing a new phone.

But by late morning the rain started so after lunch we headed back to the hotel to catch up on a few chores and relax.

Directly across the street from our hotel we found this high-end grocery store that was great for any needed supplies.

In the afternoon Bill turned on the Canadian TV only to find this mysterious woman on channel 2.

Whoever it was - sure knew her way around the laundry room!

And for anyone who thought we were kidding about almost being assigned to Trump Tower --

We realized that the tall high-rise tower directly across the street had this name at the bottom.

So there....

Today we catch the noon train to Toronto.

We hope.

🏢

Soaking Up Some Sights in Vancouver

The weather was cool and clear on Wednesday so we headed outside to look around the city.

This is what our hotel looks like.  Notice the small balconies on the near corner.  Bill found them to be rather scary with just a small railing for comfort support.  However, Karen pointed out that they were great to walk out on in the morning to feel what the weather was like.

We walked in Stanley Park where we thought it was an outstanding idea of have separate lanes for pedestrians and bike traffic.

We started out on this tour that you see above to get our bearings.

We want to compliment the horses for a job well done.  We were told that the draft horses came from an Amish farm in Iowa, and the younger horse was bothered whenever he got close to the ocean as it seemed to baffle him.

We saw this "Girl In A Wet Suit" in the harbor.  She was modeled after the mermaid in the Copenhagen Harbor in Europe.

Of course out here we saw totem poles.

Stanley park had beautiful flowers in many locations.  We were told the park is the third biggest municipal park in North America.

After lunch we visited the Vancouver Aquarium that had stunning displays to sea creatures like these Jellyfish above.  They looked like floating fungus.

These two giant sea lions reminded us of Sumo Wrestlers as they tried to push each other off the platforms.

The displays were bright and probably the best we have ever seen.

We believe we made the best of one of our extra days in Vancouver.  It is a great city to visit.

🏬

We End up in Trump Tower (well almost)

So much for a smooth well-planned vacation!

When we got to the Vancouver train station last evening we were only six hours too late.  The train scheduled had changed two months ago after we booked the trip and nobody bothered to let AAA or us know.  So we are still here instead of on the tracks to Edmonton this morning.  

But now for the good news.  We had the option of flying to Edmonton to catch up to our train but we chose to see the Rockies from the train instead.  Via  Rail put us in a taxi and booked us into a rather swank two-bedroom suite 25 floors up in a downtown hotel.  It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, three televisions, a dinette and a living-dining area.  We are getting two extra days to explore Vancouver before we catch the next train on Friday.

Oh yes - and we even have an outdoor balcony, but who wants to look down from this high up?

Here is the dinette. 

This is the living room and dining area.

Here is the main bedroom.  

It felt like our Puffy bed at home and so much better than the train beds.

The extra bedroom.  The suite is made for a family.

Here is the view from our widow.  We are going to make the best of our extra two days in Vancouver.

🏨

Sightseeing In Vancouver, British Columbia

We arrived in Vancouver late Sunday evening and took a taxi to the downtown Hampton Inn.

Then Monday morning we jumped on a ....

....hop-on, hop-off tourist bus like you see above.

The weather was cool and clear: great for sightseeing.

Here is the World's only steam powered clock that blows its steam whistle every quarter hour.

We went up into the Vancouver Lookout which is a tall building with a glass viewing dome at the top.  The port was busy with shipping containers.

The Lookout was a great place to view the city and ocean.  Note the tall building in the middle of this picture.  Notice anything unusual?

How about the tall trees growing at the top?  Rather unusual we thought!  The roots only have to go down about about sixty stories to hit real dirt.

The city has hundreds of pleasure craft.

We found this floating gas station to be rather unique and a good way to avoid congestion.

This carriage ride in one of the big city parks reminded us of Mackinaw Island.

These huge drive-through storage tanks at a concrete business were different.

We enjoyed a good pizza lunch.

and

We found Vancouver to be the most environmentally friendly city we have ever visited.  You see trash containers like this everywhere to encourage recycling.

Tuesday evening we board the "Canadian" Train on the Via Rail system for Toronto. 

👨👩

We Make It to Portland, Oregon with Interesting Passengers

 

On Sunday morning we awoke in the middle of Washington state and followed the Columbia River for a stretch before arriving at the Portland Union Station. (above)

Just like in Chicago as "sleeper car" passengers we are allowed to enter the Metropolitan Lounge to wait for our next train.

These lounges are very comfortable with complementary hot beverages and bottles of water.  Union Station in Chicago even had complementary snacks set out.

On the train going west we were surprised to be traveling with quite a few Amish families who were going mostly to Montana.  Here are a few who are getting off to play at one of the stops.

We have found them to be very pleasant to be around and to talk to.  Many got off at White Fish Montana where a young man told us he had started a sawmill and his family was coming back from an Indiana wedding.

In Portland we found many bicycles and electric scooters to rent - but we did not take the plunge.

This is our next train, The Cascades, bound for Vancouver, B.C.

The Empire Builder was an excellent traveling experience.

🚉