You will all be pleased to know that we made the transfer needed to get to Vancouver Island. We had to unload our own bags off the train on arrival into Vancouver so that it was possible but we did infact make it. With constant updates from the service manager on the train we realised it was gonna be a close call.
As we were boarding the train the service manager informed us that he had already converted our cabin to the beds for the evening (as it was now 9:30pm) and said there was champagne and canapes down in the dome car (the car with the glass roof). We settled in and made our way down for some bubbles before bed. Unfortunately due to the cloud cover we couldnt see any stars but we got another view of the train.
Once back in our cabin we got changed into PJ's and drew straws as to who had to have the top bunk (isnt it funny that as a kid you all want is the top bunk) . Gordo won out in the end as she mentioned there may be a stop or two to the loo overnight (lots to drink during the day or old lady bladder either way?!).
We both had a relatively pleasant sleep with the rocking of the train. We did notice that we both woke briefly with the stop at a station overnight. We were also informed in the morning that there had been a 3 foot x 3 foot boulder on the track and we had gone straight over it and thankfully there was no damage and NO delay.
We slept through breakfast and enjoyed our little sleep in while we could. Once up and changed we went for a wander down to the dome car and had a seat there while our room was converted back to seats instead of bunks. We returned to our room for a bit and then made our way down to the dining car for lunch. We were seated at the table and joined by a couple of other passengers. One lady was traveling back from Jasper after staying with her daughter and another gentleman, a British man who had lived in Canada for 15 years was on his way to Vancouver for work. They were both lovely people and we talked about travel and family and was a generally easy conversation with two complete strangers while sharing a meal.
Once lunch was over we headed back to our cabin to pack up our stuff and made our way down to the luggage car (we had to pass the kitchen, staff quarters as well as the economy "sitting seats" so glad we paid for the sleeper cabin as I'm sure we would have had to put up with Grumpy Toot if we didn't and ain't no body got time for that!) so that we could get our bags and be ready to jump off once we reached Vancouver.
Our next adventure was to make it to the bus in time (thankfully it was in the same station as the train) and check in to ensure that we got the last bus to the ferry for the transfer to Vancouver Island. If we had waited for the bags to be unloaded from the train we may have not been so lucky. Once we were physically on the bus we had a sigh of relief. From here it was about 4 hours until we would reach our hotel including the ferry across to the island.
We eventually arrived at Swartz Bay after an uneventful 1.5 hour ferry ride across and it was also dark so we couldn't see anything. However it was a very smooth ride and look forward to being able to see some stuff on the way back tomorrow. From here it was another 45 mins to the hotel. We got dropped on the corner a few blocks away and walked with our bags from there. After that it was time to check in, go for a walk to have a nosy and stretch our legs. Then dinner time and back to the hotel to do some washing, shower and settle in for the evening.
Today we really wanted to see Butchart Gardens however this proved more difficult than you would think. Everyone claims that they do tours all year round but it is now clear that there are a few weeks in January where nobody runs them. We were looking at catching the local bus but being a Sunday it was only running late this afternoon and we couldn't justify a $120 round trip taxi fair. We also looked at hiring a car but that all just got too difficult. So we decided to give it a miss and we will just have to come back again during the summer.
So we went to plan B and decided to go for a wander around Fishermans Wharf which is also closed for the season. We were really looking forward to having some clam chowder on the wharf but it wasn't to be. Fine then we just had to shop and just do lots of walking and looking around. This was fun and we made a few purchases. We headed to China Town for a look and some lunch. We both had a delicious dumpling and noodle soup. They were also selling BBQ pork buns and coconut tarts which we couldn't say no to so we got one of them to take away.
After we exhausted ourselves shopping we had some dinner and made our way back to the hotel to pack and get ready for our next ferry ride and the bus trip up to Whistler. Almost time to catch up with Lisa again.
Next time you here from us we may have sore bums from skiing and missing teeth from the tube park.
As we were boarding the train the service manager informed us that he had already converted our cabin to the beds for the evening (as it was now 9:30pm) and said there was champagne and canapes down in the dome car (the car with the glass roof). We settled in and made our way down for some bubbles before bed. Unfortunately due to the cloud cover we couldnt see any stars but we got another view of the train.Once back in our cabin we got changed into PJ's and drew straws as to who had to have the top bunk (isnt it funny that as a kid you all want is the top bunk) . Gordo won out in the end as she mentioned there may be a stop or two to the loo overnight (lots to drink during the day or old lady bladder either way?!).
We both had a relatively pleasant sleep with the rocking of the train. We did notice that we both woke briefly with the stop at a station overnight. We were also informed in the morning that there had been a 3 foot x 3 foot boulder on the track and we had gone straight over it and thankfully there was no damage and NO delay.
We slept through breakfast and enjoyed our little sleep in while we could. Once up and changed we went for a wander down to the dome car and had a seat there while our room was converted back to seats instead of bunks. We returned to our room for a bit and then made our way down to the dining car for lunch. We were seated at the table and joined by a couple of other passengers. One lady was traveling back from Jasper after staying with her daughter and another gentleman, a British man who had lived in Canada for 15 years was on his way to Vancouver for work. They were both lovely people and we talked about travel and family and was a generally easy conversation with two complete strangers while sharing a meal.Once lunch was over we headed back to our cabin to pack up our stuff and made our way down to the luggage car (we had to pass the kitchen, staff quarters as well as the economy "sitting seats" so glad we paid for the sleeper cabin as I'm sure we would have had to put up with Grumpy Toot if we didn't and ain't no body got time for that!) so that we could get our bags and be ready to jump off once we reached Vancouver. Our next adventure was to make it to the bus in time (thankfully it was in the same station as the train) and check in to ensure that we got the last bus to the ferry for the transfer to Vancouver Island. If we had waited for the bags to be unloaded from the train we may have not been so lucky. Once we were physically on the bus we had a sigh of relief. From here it was about 4 hours until we would reach our hotel including the ferry across to the island.
We eventually arrived at Swartz Bay after an uneventful 1.5 hour ferry ride across and it was also dark so we couldn't see anything. However it was a very smooth ride and look forward to being able to see some stuff on the way back tomorrow. From here it was another 45 mins to the hotel. We got dropped on the corner a few blocks away and walked with our bags from there. After that it was time to check in, go for a walk to have a nosy and stretch our legs. Then dinner time and back to the hotel to do some washing, shower and settle in for the evening.
Today we really wanted to see Butchart Gardens however this proved more difficult than you would think. Everyone claims that they do tours all year round but it is now clear that there are a few weeks in January where nobody runs them. We were looking at catching the local bus but being a Sunday it was only running late this afternoon and we couldn't justify a $120 round trip taxi fair. We also looked at hiring a car but that all just got too difficult. So we decided to give it a miss and we will just have to come back again during the summer.So we went to plan B and decided to go for a wander around Fishermans Wharf which is also closed for the season. We were really looking forward to having some clam chowder on the wharf but it wasn't to be. Fine then we just had to shop and just do lots of walking and looking around. This was fun and we made a few purchases. We headed to China Town for a look and some lunch. We both had a delicious dumpling and noodle soup. They were also selling BBQ pork buns and coconut tarts which we couldn't say no to so we got one of them to take away.After we exhausted ourselves shopping we had some dinner and made our way back to the hotel to pack and get ready for our next ferry ride and the bus trip up to Whistler. Almost time to catch up with Lisa again.
Next time you here from us we may have sore bums from skiing and missing teeth from the tube park.
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