Slow Route To Victoria Pt 2

New York to Victoria

For Part One of the tale of my mega trip from my home in Troon to see my daughter in Victoria, Canada, using surface transport, click HERE.

I finished Pt 1 of this two part blog having disembarked the Queen Mary 2 in New York and getting a taxi to the Moynihan Train Hall in the middle of Manhattan. To get to Victoria within the rules I’d set myself I had to get across the North American continent without using aircraft. There are limited options for doing this. I quickly decided that train was the only mode of transport I would consider – Greyhound Bus never entered my thoughts – so I had looked into the various rail routes from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Whilst rail travel is by no means popular in the USA or Canada, there are a number of ways to cross the continent by train. I could have caught a train to Toronto and then taken The Canadian, a fantastic four day trip across Canada to Vancouver. I had done this before though and wanted to try something different. I decided that the US operator Amtrak had the best option, a three day journey to Seattle utilising two different trains. On reaching Seattle I could have taken an Amtrak bus to Vancouver where I could then get a ferry but I decided to stay the night in Seattle and get the FRS Clipper ferry the following morning directly to Victoria. I reserved roomettes on the trains some ten months in advance along with the transatlantic crossing on the QM2. The first train was The Lakeshore Limited. This runs from New York to Chicago, a 21 hour overnight journey. After five hour wait in Chicago, The Empire Builder would take me to Seattle in a total of 46 hours over two nights.

The Moynihan Train Hall is a new expansion of New York’s Penn Station. It was completed in 2021 and is rather magnificent. They say that first impressions count which meant my initial thoughts on Amtrak were very positive. On long distance trains you can check your luggage through to your destination which is a particularly good idea if you have a roomette. There isn’t a lot of room in there for a couple of suitcases. On the last day of the transatlantic voyage I had made sure to pack a small bag with the stuff required for three nights on the train and headed to the main Amtrak ticket office where the two suitcases were checked through all the way to Seattle. I then headed to a very nice business class lounge which is open to sleeper passengers. A much needed sandwich and a couple of drinks whilst overlooking the main concourse was very pleasant, especially after being in a bit of a rush to get there. About twenty minutes before departure we were called to head down to the train. I was in luck. I had been given an upgrade. Instead of a roomette I was in a bedroom which had more space and an en suite. Things were going well! It wasn’t a long train and it was easy enough to find my room. Sure enough, it was a bedroom rather than the roomette. That was about as good as it got for this first journey. We departed bang on time into the labyrinth of train tunnels beneath New York before emerging into the daylight in the north of the city. The car steward introduced himself and congratulated me on the cabin upgrade. He then mentioned the downside which was the best views were on the other side of the train. The track runs alongside the Hudson River for quite a long way and my views of this were through the corridor window. It wan’t much of a problem to be honest but it put a slight dampener on the joy of the upgrade. The room itself was, well, tatty. Trains to the east of Chicago use Viewliner stock which is old and badly in need of refurbishment or better still, replacement. Size is limited by the tunnels that run through New York and whilst they seem big enough, when you compare them to the Superliner stock that runs on the services to the west of Chicago they feel inadequate. The train consists of a couple of Viewliner sleeping cars, a restaurant car, baggage car and two or three coach cars but doubles in size when it reaches Albany and is coupled up to the Boston service. The bedroom features a bench seat that converts to a bed, with another bed that can be pulled down to form a bunk. There is a strange looking extra chair that serves no purpose other than to reduce the available space. I tried sitting in it but it was in a bad state of repair that I got straight out of it again. The en suite was a wet room so a bit of planning may be required as to the order of one’s ablutions. It was perhaps the best feature of the room as everything else was tired and worn. There was a little sink with a couple of plug sockets and a table by the window. When I booked the trip I seem to remember a room cost quite a bit more than a roomette. I’m glad I didn’t have to pay that premium.

Sleeper Car Bedroom. An upgrade from the Roomette. Complete with pointless extra chair and compact en suite.

We progressed along the eastern bank of the Hudson for a couple of hours before we reached Albany. I spent much of that trying to connect to the train’s wifi. I had bought a sim card before I departed the UK to use data in the USA and Canada. I was kind of hoping that the train’s wifi would mean I could stay connected to the outside world. It didn’t work. I was destined to be ‘off grid’ for my entire trip across the USA except for a couple of wifi hotspots I managed to briefly connect to. It was quite a major downer for me. I know we are supposed to enjoy being unconnected to the world from time to time but on a solo journey like this I do like to keep in touch with friends, family and above all Elaine. We had about an hour in Albany where I was able to use the station wifi and that was me off grid until I arrived at my hotel in Seattle. Down on the tracks the other half of the Lake Shore Limited had arrived from Boston and was shunted into our half to double the size of the train. We set off again into the evening. I had a dinner booking for 7:15pm so headed along to the dining car. I plumped for the Chicken Enchiladas. It wasn’t great. The meals are prepared in advance and heated up on the train and compared with my previous experience of train food across the border in Canada, it was poor. Later I wandered along the train to the cafe/bar where I bought a Twix. I mention this only because it got me a walk through the rest of the train to see how the coach passengers were getting on. They were making themselves comfortable for the night in their seats. These looked decent but I’d have hated to try and sleep the night on them. Stops at Utica and Syracuse gave me a brief chance to stretch my legs – such stops are called ‘smoke stops’ although smoking wasn’t compulsory – and eventually it was time for bed. With a little bit of difficulty I worked out how to set the bed up – I’m sure the car steward would have done it for me had I asked – and I settled down to try and sleep.

The Hudson, from the bedroom and from the corridor.

Albany Station, an oasis of WiFi and Coach seats. They look comfy enough but I wouldn’t want to spend a night on them.

It wasn’t a great night. I slept on and off but along with the general rattling of a fifty year old Viewliner car and a very whiney A/C, every so often the train would make a rather violent sideways motion, possibly as we passed over the points onto another track. I got up and used the en suite. It was a bit bijou of course but the water was warm and at least I didn’t have to wander down the corridor to the ‘public’ shower. Breakfast was another reheated effort, ok but nothing special, and I settled back in the room as we passed through midwest farmland and the industrial outskirts of Chicago. We arrived five minutes early. I wasn’t unhappy to get off the train.

Maumee River and Toledo Station with many platforms no longer in use.

The long and industrial approach to Chicago before a glimpse of the downtown skyline.

I had five hours in Chicago before the next leg of the journey. I happen to have relatives in Chicago, or, to be more precise, north of Chicago. What’s more, I had only met one of them before. We’ve known each other for a few years now through social media via other relatives in Canada who had got in contact with my mum via a genealogy website. David is my third cousin and was there with his wife Jane and daughter Erin. I had met Erin before when she was over in Edinburgh. The three of them were there to meet me getting off the train and later joined by Erin’s cousin Kiersten and we spent a happy few hours together wandering round downtown Chicago and enjoying one of the famous Chicago pizzas. It was delicious! Alas, Amtrak waits for no man, just freight trains, so I was back at the station in time to catch The Empire Builder to Seattle, a 2206 mile journey through seven states. I didn’t receive an upgrade on this train so on boarding I went to find my roomette. This wasn’t as easy as it should have been. It was Room 1 in car 730. I couldn’t find car 730. I found car 830 but if I know one thing about the number 830, it isn’t 730. I walked up and down the train a couple of times before I found an Amtrak employee. I was getting a bit flustered by then. I was informed that car 730 was down there. I’ve been down there I said and can only find car 830. She informed me that that was the correct car. It is called car 830 on the eastbound service and they don’t bother changing the number, presumably just to confuse first time passengers on the service. I finally discovered my roomette just as we made an on time departure from Chicago.

The Chicago Welcome Committee at Grand Central Station

Willis, formerly Sears Tower from the bottom and the ‘Neil in a 91F Chicago’ shot.

What can be more Chicago than Pizza Pie and the elevated railway?

The stock used on trains to the west of Chicago is an improvement on that used to the east. The Superliner cars are double deckers and whilst not exactly new, my car was in a much better state than the Viewliner that had delivered me to Chicago. The roomette contained two seats facing each other which converted into the lower bunk with a pull out table between them. There was a small closet with a couple of hangers that should immediately be removed as they annoyingly clunk about with the motion of the train. Above is a pull down bunk which suggests the roomette can be used by two people but it would be a bit of a squeeze. It came in useful, however, as there is no space for bags on the floor. With the bed half pulled down my two pieces of hand luggage were placed on top out of the way along with the bedding for the lower bunk when in day mode. The downside was I cracked my head on the bunk whilst getting out of the seat on several occasions. There are two 110V US power sockets. The nearest toilet was across the corridor and downstairs there were more loos and a shower which was stocked with towels and bars of soap. There was also a luggage stack for larger items if you didn’t fancy checking in your suitcases. Carlos, the cabin steward, was in a roomette across the corridor and a thoroughly decent chap. The rest of the train consisted of more sleeper cars, several coach cars with similar seating to that on the previous train, a dining car and the panorama car which had a cafe on the lower deck. Thanks to the panorama car and the overall state of the train, it was a marked improvement on the Lake Shore Limited.

Roomette. Fine for one person, a bit of a squeeze for two.

Panorama Car. Only available to Spokane.

Two of these locomotives were required to haul us across America. The smoke stop at Minot was utilised for some DIY window cleaning. Alas, my roomette was on the other side so remained dirty for the entire trip.

The train headed northwards to Milwaukee and then northwest towards Minneapolis. Progress was stop-start due to passing freight trains and a tech issue. Long distance Amtrak trains utilise lines owned by the fright companies in much the same way as ViaRail do in Canada so it was no surprise. As it turned out, these were the last delays of note we encountered and we were pretty much on time for the rest of the journey. I headed for dinner which as before is included in the fare for sleeper passengers. Coach passengers can pay $45 and are fitted in at the end of service for sleeper passengers. Like the train in general, the food was a big improvement on what I’d been served on the Lake Shore Regional. You are allocated a specific time for dinner and when called you are seated at the first available table. As a solo traveller this means you get to meet some interesting people. For the first dinner my dining companions were a university lecturer, an orthodox presbyterian minister and a young mum with an eleven month old baby. I’d end up sitting with the first two on other occasions but the mum got off somewhere in North Dakota in the wee small hours. Amtrak do a signature dish of Flatiron Steak so I decided to give that a try. It was pretty good. An alcoholic drink is included and along with the lecturer and minister I went for a beer. I headed for bed at around 10:30pm. I asked Carlos to make the bed up and took notes so I could do it myself the following evening. The bed and bedding were comfortable and I had high hopes for a decent night’s sleep.

Dinner. I managed to score an extra delicious Brie for my starter as the bloke across the way didn’t want his, Amtrak’s signature flatiron steak for the main course. No photo of the cheesecake, sorry.

It was a decent night’s sleep. I did wake up at 04:50 but that was a good thing as I witnessed the most glorious pre-sunrise with northern skyline a shade of crimson that I have never seen before. We had just passed Fargo, North Dakota and after another couple of hours sleep I awoke again to the endless flat lands of the Great Plains. I headed to the lower deck to try the shower which was very good and after getting dressed I went to the dining car to get my name on the breakfast waiting list. Once called I had a good breakfast of omelette, sausage, potatoes and a croissant at a table shared with a grandad, mum and son on their way to Glacier Park. As usual, interesting stories were swapped and friendships that lasted for a whole day were forged, such is the nature of long distance train travel in these parts. At lunch I was sat opposite Bruce and Becca and next to Jim. Bruce was a recently retired dairy farmer from Wisconsin whilst Becca had homeschooled many daughters indeed. Jim was the presbyterian minister I’d met the night before. Once Bruce and Becca found out what Jim did that was it. I found myself in the middle of a long and involved doctrinal discussion and before long Bruce was thanking God for our Amtrak lunch. I was respectfully silent when it came to the ‘Amens’. As it happened I was wearing a Genesis tee shirt. Becca’s curiosity got the better of her. Sorry Becca, in this instance Genesis is a rock band who take their name from the first book of the Bible. She took it well but I could see the disappointment in her eyes. Eating aside, I spent most of the day in the panorama car. The Great Plains are pretty much the same as the Canadian Prairies. A few small towns, including Glasgow Montana which I was determined to get a photo of, and a lot of flat, dull countryside. I had loved it on The Canadian, just losing myself in the whole big country and even bigger sky thing. Was it the same on this journey? Almost, but not quite. I did enjoy the big country aspect but the big sky was overcast and rainy at times. There was, perhaps, a bit more of humanity’s odd endeavours to see, even if it was only a field full of abandoned cars or a line of nodding donkeys. No different to Canada but more frequently encountered. It wasn’t all plains either, the North Dakota Badlandnds provided some relief (literally) to the landscape. There were a number of smoke stops which meant I can now say I’ve set foot in North Dakota and Montana. Despite the summer solstice being just a few days away, it was getting quite chilly outside, just 5C in Shelby Montana. As the afternoon turned to evening and I went for dinner, the Great Plains started to give way to the Rocky Mountains.

Pre-dawn near Fargo, the camera fails to reproduce the crimson red. However, it perfectly captures the excitement of Great Plains.

North Dakota Badlands bring some relief to the views. Then it is back to the plains and, if you are lucky, some cows.

Glasgow, Montana. Just like the real Glasgow?

There were many fields full of abandoned cars and even one for abandoned motorhomes.

The Rockies are the scenic highlight of the trip. If you make the trip in winter, however, you aren’t going to see much of them due to lack of daylight. My trip was mid-June, close to the longest day which gave me an evening of Rocky action before the light finally faded. The views were good, though low cloud obscured some of the peaks. After a couple of hours we reached Whitefish, the final destination for a number of passengers and a smoke stop for the rest of us. When we commenced our journey the light had faded and the rest of the Rockies passed by unnoticed.

Rocky Mountains with low cloud eventually giving way to allow…

Whitefish, MT, Glacier National Park. Light fading, no more Rockies for us.

I didn’t sleep particularly well and with gaining another hour overnight I was up and ready to go by 06:30. During the night we had stopped in Spokane where the train had split. One half, along with the panorama car, was going to Portland, Oregon with my half heading to Seattle. The dining car came with us which meant a decent breakfast whilst the fruit farms of eastern Washington State passed by. It was all rather pleasant. After breakfast, however, things started to drag. The train passed through the Cascade Mountains. This sounds scenic and they possibly are but deep in the valleys with tall trees lining the track views were fleeting at best. The route is by necessity meandering which limited speed to 25mph and with the panorama car on its way to Portland rather than Seattle I was pretty much restricted to the roomette for the rest of the journey. We eventually emerged from the Cascades and through more fruit farms before reaching the coast just beyond Everett. The track turned south and followed the Puget Sound into Seattle where the train would terminate. We were actually half an hour ahead of schedule which was a little bonus as by then I was ready for the rail part of the journey to end.

My one glimpse of the Cascade Mountains between the trees. There was some nice river action though.

Cherry trees and blueberry farm. Washington State loves its fruit.

Puget Sound and the end of the line, Seattle.

I would have to wait until the following morning to complete the journey though. Amtrak does operate to Vancouver but the train departs before the Empire Builder arrives and the afternoon service is by bus. I didn’t really fancy that so I had booked a night in Seattle and a seat on the FRS Clipper ferry direct to Victoria the following morning. I took a taxi to the Moore Hotel due to the fact I had no idea where it was thanks to my lack of internet access. There I was able to check in early which was a big bonus. The hotel had an air of faded glory but was perfectly fine for my needs. Importantly it had wifi and I managed to reconnect with the world. I also had an afternoon and evening to kill which I did do by wandering round the local area. It was a good area as it happens, with tourist hotspots like Pike Place Market and the aquarium just a few minutes away. It was a little less desirable in the evening as the hotel appeared to be just a block away from where the many homeless of the city gather but that is a problem in most major western cities. It was only a brief visit but overall I liked Seattle and will have to go again.

Mount Rainier along with a cloud pretending to be Mount Rainier

It was an early start the following morning. I needed to be at Pier 69 by 07:00 to check in for the FRS Clipper to Victoria. It wasn’t too far a walk from the hotel, even with two heavy suitcases in tow, and I was there in good time. Victoria Clipper V is a twin hull high speed passenger only ferry. Whilst it can be used simply for ferrying folk between Seattle and Victoria the schedules are timed for those Americans who fancy a day trip or short break to the capital of British Columbia, hence the 08:00 departure. At check in I had to pay $20 for each suitcase which was on top of the fare. A single fare isn’t much less than a return which is another indication that they prefer day trippers. There are three classes on board, I took the basic one which was perfectly fine. The journey took three hours to travel the 72 miles between Seattle and Victoria. It was a good run in perfect weather, up the Puget Sound and across the Strait of Juan Da Fuca at a healthy 29 knots. Slowing to a snail’s pace we entered Victoria Harbour and moored at our berth just a short distance from the BC Parliament Building. It took a while to clear Canadian immigration but once through, Rebecca was there to meet me and with the bags deposited in the boot of her ageing VW Beetle, I considered that this was Journey’s End.

FRS Clipper (in Victoria a couple of days later)

Fast boat to Victoria, all the way from the Bahamas apparently.

Pulling into our Victoria Harbour berth, who is that waving at me?

Eleven days and nine hours after leaving my house, Journey’s End.

Conclusion

At the beginning of Part One of this two part blog I explained why I set out on this adventure. Was it possible to get from Troon to Victoria on the far side of Canada using surface transport. The answer is, of course, yes as I have shown. Is it a practical way of getting between the two? It is, but only if you have a lot of spare time on your hands and are prepared to spend a fair amount of amount of cash or if you are really, really keen to avoid flying. From start to finish the journey took eleven days and nine hours. That is a significant chunk out of anyone’s life. You could possibly shave half a day off that time with different connections at either end but that’s about it. I’ll detail the cost below but we are talking in the region of £3,300 for the ‘fare’. That could be significantly reduced if you take a coach seat on the train rather than sleeping accommodation or sleeping in a hostel rather than hotels but had they been the only options, I wouldn’t have gone as I’m not a masochist. Of course there was more than practicality to my trip. For me the journey is part of the travel experience and it was an experience I enjoyed. As mentioned in Part One the QM2 crossing was great to do once but as a ‘cruise’ it was a bit of a dead loss with five days out of sight of land. They treat you nicely and everything but it does get a bit, well, boring. That arrival into New York though… As for the train, again I enjoyed the journey but I was a bit disappointed with Amtrak. The Lake Shore Limited wasn’t great, despite my upgraded room. Shabby carriages and below average food means I won’t be taking that train again any time soon. The Empire Builder had much better rolling stock and the food was pretty good. On both trains the car stewards were great but otherwise the service wasn’t the best. I can’t help but compare the journey with my rail trip across Canada in 2022. That was an epic journey that I’d do again in a heartbeat. Just about every aspect of it was better than the Lake Shore Limited and Empire Builder including the scenery. I believe the California Zephyr is the Amtrak service to go on if you want to be wowed by the scenery so maybe I’ll put that on the to do list. I might be sounding a bit ungrateful here as I really did enjoy the journey. I met some interesting people, saw some things that I’ll never see again and have memories that will last a lifetime, or at least until the dementia sets in. Would I do it again? As I’m unlikely to develop a fear of flying it’s a big ‘no’.

Costings:

Train Barassie – Glasgow £5.00
Train Glasgow – Southampton £61.19
Hotel Premier Inn Southampton £103.00
Ship Southampton – New York £1388.00
Train New York – Seattle £1450.44 ($1836)
Hotel Moore Hotel Seattle £152.00
Ship Seattle – Victoria £89.86 ($113.75)
Checked Bags Seattle – Victoria £31.60 ($40)
Taxis New York and Seattle £27.65 ($35)
TOTAL £3308.74

Notes: Above costings in US Dollars are converted at a rate of £0.79 to the dollar. In addition I would add the following ‘essentials’, Internet on board the QM2 £81.90 (special offer) plus at least £80 towards drinks on board the ship. I was in a shared taxi in New York which probably saved me £40. You might want to tip your cabin steward on the trains so maybe add another £30. The Barassie-Glasgow train was bought on the day with a Scottish bus pass discount. Train from Glasgow to Southampton was booked on trainline using a ticket split. Both the QM2 and Amtrak fares were booked ten months in advance. Premier Inn was booked direct online a few months in advance. The Moore Hotel was reserved through Expedia. FRS Clipper was booked online several months ahead.

Oh Canada

I’m unlikely to leave Britain any time soon. I know the place is in a bit of a mess at the moment, the dark forces of the extreme left and extreme right are waiting to pounce on the Brexit mess, nationalism is out performing patriotism in certain regions and frankly, the weather is a bit shit, but I still feel the pros outweigh the cons even if I can’t really put into words what those pros are at the minute. If, however, I was forced into exile then I’ve got a pretty good idea where I’d like to spend the rest of my days. From the title of this piece you will have realised by now that this place is Canada and be wondering why when the weather there is probably worse than here but having spent over three weeks in the country recently, interspersed with a couple of weeks back home, I’ve become rather smitten with the place.

First of all the bleeding obvious: Canada is big. Huge. Enormous. Massive. Only Russia can claim to be a bigger country and I’ve no desire to go and live there. I’ve visited bits of it before but it would take rather a long time and some seriously thermal underwear to get the feel of all of it. My recent visits have been restricted to the West and even in three weeks I only really scratched the surface. But what a surface it was. The reason I went there at the beginning of May was to support my daughter who had entered the Vancouver Marathon. She currently resides in Victoria which is three or four hours, no time at all in Canadian terms, by road and ferry from the large cosmopolitan city of Vancouver. In the end I entered the Half Marathon and you can read about that event in the blog two before this. Here’s a link so you can avoid the trauma of scrolling past the Sunday Swim blog: https://gladtobegrey.blog/2019/05/15/run/

Away from the race I spent most of the time staying with Rebecca in her boyfriend Warren’s flat in Victoria itself and got to like the place. It is the capital of British Columbia and whilst quite large – over 300,000 live in the Greater Victoria metropolitan area – has the feel of a smaller, more friendly place than it’s expanding neighbour of Vancouver across the water. It has, in Canadian terms at least, a mild climate. It also plays on its British heritage being named after Queen Victoria and with architecture, gardens and place names proudly remembering its colonial past. There are social problems of course – homelessness is a big issue as it is in the other cities we visited – but it came across to me as a genteel place where most people live happy lives. This comes at a cost as house prices have rocketed lately but that only goes to prove what a desirable place it is to live.

A couple of weeks after that trip I returned with Elaine and our friend Caryn for a two week holiday. The itinerary was as follows: three nights in Victoria, fly to Calgary and pick up a hire car and drive to Canmore in the Rocky Mountains. Three nights were spent there before we moved on to Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley. Another three night stay was spent there before a two night stop in Whistler. After that we were to spend three nights in Vancouver before heading back to Victoria for a night and flying home. Rebecca was to accompany us on the road trip. Victoria again proved to be a most pleasant destination despite it raining quite heavily on the first day. There’s plenty to do there – we visited the Emily Carr House and the Royal BC Museum which kept us out of the rain. With the sun out, wandering round downtown was pleasant, Fan Tan Alley off Chinatown is supposedly Canada’s narrowest street and a popular place; in particular the Kid Sister ice cream shop impressed me no end on both occasions I visited it. The harbour is a great place to wander around and the unique water taxis are a fun way of seeing the city from the water. The harbour also serves as a floatplane base – more of floatplanes later – and if you are lucky you will see seals in the water and dogs on boats trying to out stare each other. Staying a couple of miles from the centre meant we got a feeling of what suburban Victoria was like and the pleasant theme continued there too. We watched Rebecca compete in the Oak Bay 10k to a backdrop of the Olympic Mountains in the USA, just across the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Large houses with well kept gardens, numerous specialist coffee shops and cafes and the odd babbling brook suggested a very nice place to live. Outside the city there are plenty of hikes – on my first visit we went out to the Sooke Potholes, a riverside trail a few minutes west of the city – and gardens to visit. The Butchart Gardens are well known but the HCP Garden, which we visited, is less so. Bald eagles circled overhead, hummingbirds buzzed around and, unusually, wild deer could frequently be seen in people’s gardens nibbling the lawn. As an avgeek I was also delighted with the BC Aviation Museum up at the airport. As you might have gathered, Victoria impressed me greatly. It is popular with Canadian retirees attracted by the mild climate and year round golf, though maybe not the deer eating their rhododendrons.

The Yellow Taxis of Victoria are rather quaint.

Our flight from Victoria’s small airport to Calgary turned out to be an hour and a half’s delight. There was barely a cloud in the sky all the way and the views were stunning. They were also a reverse order prelude of what was to come with Point Roberts, the Okanagan Lake and the Rocky Mountains all looking at their best from 25,000ft. With a rather large hire car collected, there was much luggage to be carried after all, we immediately headed back west eschewing the delights of Calgary, a rapidly expanding city from what we could see. Our destination was Canmore. Located in the Rocky Mountains, it is some twenty miles from the larger and more well known Banff. A former mining town, the Trans Canada Highway passes through it as does the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is becoming a popular tourist destination in its own right and is situated just outside the Banff National Park meaning it is a cheaper option than it’s rather well to do neighbour. We were billeted in an Airbnb in a holiday village complex with views of the Three Sisters peaks. It proved to be an ideal base. The stars of the show are the mountains themselves and there are many activities to keep visitors happy. We drove the ridiculously scenic Icefields Parkway to visit the Athabasca Glacier where large snow buses take you on to the ice and later you can walk the glass floored walkway over the edge of the valley. Whilst in itself this was worth the early start and long drive, the sight of a black bear nonchalantly strolling down the hard shoulder of the road was one we will all treasure for the rest of our days. We saw several other bears that day though none as close as this one. We visited Banff on the way back. We avoided the hot springs but did discover the Bow River walk from the town to the huge luxury Banff Springs Hotel. It was delightful in the early evening sunshine. The following day Canmore itself provided the entertainment with a hike up to the small yet glorious Grassi Lakes and a raft trip along the Bow River. Here our fauna count increased significantly with, amongst others beaver, elk, ospreys and a Bald Eagle who appeared to be the boss of the area. Rebecca was particularly taken with Canmore and after only a short visit I can see why. It’s a very nice place in the summer, though I can only imagine how cold it gets in the winter.

Just a passing bear, thankfully not too hungry.

It took us a long time to get to West Kelowna. That was partially due to us stopping at Lake Louise. This is a popular stop on any tour of the area. It is extremely easy on the eye and the vivid turquoise colour of the water makes for a special photograph. The preceding winter had been harsh, however, and the lake was still covered in ice for our visit. It didn’t really matter, it was still outrageously picturesque, especially if you hiked up to the Fairview Lookout. This was made tricky by patches of ice and snow but Rebecca and I made it up and almost down again before I slipped and inelegantly landed in the slush. It was still worth it though. Much of the rest of the day was on the road. We passed from Alberta into British Columbia and later from the mountain to the Pacific time zone. The extra hour we gained came in useful. The Trans Canada Highway is being widened along the stretch we were driving on leading to some roadwork delays, and an accident caused a ninety minute hold up. As previously mentioned Canada is big. On a day like this it seemed it. Eventually we rolled into our accommodation in West Kelowna, another Airbnb with a view not quite as spectacular as the one in Canmore but not at all bad.

The Okanagan region of southern British Columbia is the area around the large Okanagan Lake. It has its own micro climate which is milder than the rest of the country. Indeed, whilst we were there the temperature hovered around the 30C mark. A fertile region, it was popular with fruit farms and still is today, though the major fruit produced is now the grape rather than the apple. Vineyards cover the slopes that rise from the lakeside. Sampling all the wines that are produced could take a very long time indeed though it doesn’t stop people from trying. Kelowna is the major city and is somewhat larger than we had expected. It has a lovely aspect, however, with the lake on one side and mountains on the other. Up in those mountains once ran trains. The Kettle Valley Railway connected the region with the main Canadian Pacific line further north. For some reason known only to the surveyors it was built high in the hills, through forests and across canyons, so high in fact that it didn’t even visit lakeside Kelowna, the largest town in the region. The last train ran in 1973 but since then a section has been restored as a cycle and hiking track. We walked some of it which entailed a drive up a distinctly dodgy access road to its start. The route across Myra Canyon is spectacular and all the more impressive being where it is. Tunnels and cuttings were carved out of the rock as the track clung to the hillside but the standout attractions are the eighteen trestle bridges that traverse the chasms that shoot off the sides of the Canyon. Further south there is a section of the railway that is still operational as a heritage line. We didn’t get to try it unfortunately but did view it as we sampled cider in what was a break from the vineries. Like Canmore and the Rockies, Kelowna and the Okanagan is a place that warrants further attention.

Trestle Bridge, Myra Canyon, Perfectly Safe

It was another long journey to our next destination, Whistler. The quickest way would to have stuck to the freeway and passed through the Vancouver suburbs. For a short time penalty you can also go the scenic route via Cache Creek and Lillooet. The views on this route are spectacular and if you can, take it in turns to drive so everyone gets a chance to enjoy the views. You can also do worse than stop at Historic Hat Creek just outside Cache Creek. This was a roadhouse on the Cariboo Trail goldrush of the 1860s and remains as a tourist attraction, and a handy refreshment stop, to this day. Thankfully there were no hold ups on what was a quiet road, though the temptation to stop and just take in the views was high, and we arrived in Whistler for a couple of nights of R&R. Whistler is a ski resort and the village itself is less than fifty years old. Out of the ski season it still receives hoards of tourists drawn to the mountains for the many outdoor pursuits that take place, or just the scenery. It is a party town and sometimes those parties go on a bit too long. Our hotel was in the middle of the village and just across the way from our room was one bar that proved rather noisy. Lesson learnt, stick to out of town accommodation next time. The cable car up the resort’s two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, is expensive and as the hiking trails up the top were not yet open we gave it a miss choosing a walk that commenced in the village itself. Zip wire runs, white water rafting and mountain biking were just three of the activities that could be sampled. Rebecca and I decided to try the RZR off road adventure. These 4×4 buggies bounced us around trails through the forest where no vehicle should have been able to pass, covering us in dust and affording us some spectacular photo opportunities. It was great fun and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. If that doesn’t really sound like R&R then the hotel pool provided that but I was sad to leave Whistler with the zip wires untested.

The drive to Vancouver was a short one but, as with just about any drive in BC, scenic. The Sea to Road Highway offers a direct connection between the popular resort and the huge metropolis and, after a brief stop to admire the Shannon Falls just south of Squamish, we hit the inevitable traffic before reaching our Airbnb in a suburb just a few minutes southeast of downtown. Vancouver frequently pops up as people’s ideal city. It’s true that it is located in a lovely setting with the harbour backdrop being mountainous, the other side of downtown having English Bay with the large green space that is Stanley Park to the north. The city itself is, however, a fairly typical north American grid, the blocks populated with high rise office blocks and numerous apartment buildings to accommodate a burgeoning population. To the south the suburbs seem a nice place to live but go on for many kilometres, again in a grid pattern of named streets and numbered avenues. One tip is to avoid East Hastings street on the edge of downtown. We went down it on the bus and we were shocked at the amount of people living rough there. Homelessness is a big problem everywhere it seems. Here it appears to be monumental. I had run one street away in the Half Marathon and was completely unaware of what was happening just a block away. Vancouver does have its attractions, however, beyond the aforementioned setting amongst water and mountains. Grouse Mountain is one of the peaks that provide the backdrop to the harbour. You can ascend it by cable car or, if you are feeling energetic, you can take a trail that is worryingly called the Grouse Grind. We did. It was serious hard work. You climb 2800 ft over less than two miles. It is stepped, though the word step has a rather loose meaning here. It took Elaine and I an hour and a half, Rebecca with youth on her side did it in twenty minutes less. It’s not a task to be taken lightly but it is some sense of achievement when you reach the cafe and a welcome beer at the top. Once there you have a choice of activities to enjoy – falconry and lumberjack displays, chairlift to the peak, zip wires, a full waiter service restaurant amongst others, or you can simply admire the views. Don’t even think of walking back down, however, it’s dangerous and against the rules. A one way ticket on the cable car gets you back to the car park in six minutes.

Vancouver From The Peak of Grouse Mountain

I previously mentioned the seaplanes in Victoria Harbour. This neck of the woods is a seaplane heaven and both Harbour Air and the smaller Seaair operate services out of Vancouver Harbour. There are many scenic flights operated alongside scheduled services. On my first trip, the day after the Half Marathon, I indulged in Harbour Air’s ‘Mail Run’. This involved an early start with an 08:40 departure from Vancouver Downtown Airport (ie, the harbour) but was a magnificent experience. I flew to Ganges on Salt Spring Island. There I transferred from a fourteen seat Otter to a six seat Beaver to make the short hop to Maple Bay on Vancouver Island. The stay there was brief before returning to Ganges where I was left to discover the town for two or three hours. That’s plenty of time, believe me, nice though the place was. Then you take the scheduled flight back to Vancouver completing a memorable morning with four water take offs and landings. I don’t know why but there is something special about taking off and landing on water.

If you happen to be in Vancouver in the summer you can take in a Bard on the Beach performance, a Shakespeare festival that has been running for thirty years now. We just about made it – the performance of Taming of the Shrew was the festival’s first preview of the season. We enjoyed it greatly but if Shakespeare is not your thing there is another open air theatre in Stanley Park that performs shows like Mama Mia. Remember to take a few layers as it can get a bit chilly in the evening. Our final day in Vancouver saw us do a day trip to the USA. Point Roberts is a geographical oddity, a Canadian peninsula south of Vancouver that dips below the 49th parallel meaning the five square miles of it are in the USA. This tiny piece of land is the home to 1300 people and full border checks take place both ways at the one point of entry. It costs $6 for the visa waiver – your ESTA does not apply on land crossings -, a recording of your fingerprints and an honest answer to the question “why are you visiting Point Roberts?” Tourism worked for us. Once you are cross the border there really isn’t a lot to see but just being there felt strange, a US enclave where the 5th grade and over kids have to travel 27 miles through Canada each way to get to and from school at Blaine in Washington State. It is possible to walk along the border on Roosevelt Way, a road where the demarkation line is the northern grass verge. Whilst it is illegal to cross the border without presenting yourself to the border officials there really isn’t much stopping you. Just for a photo I stood in the USA with my left hand on a low wall in Canada. I wasn’t arrested. Having crossed legally back into Canada we met up with my third cousin for dinner. That’s the thing about Canada, you are almost assured to have relations there. My family and hers found out about each other through genealogy a few years ago, I share a common great great grandad with Donna on my mother’s side.

And that was about it. We needed to get back to Victoria for two reasons – firstly to deliver Rebecca back home and secondly because our flight went from Victoria Airport. It meant a scenic cruise through the Gulf Islands on the ferry, a night in a traditional B&B which was an interesting but comfortable experience. The girls took the opportunity to go to the Fairmont Empress Hotel for afternoon tea as one really should when in Victoria – hint, the Earl Grey wasn’t very good – whilst I went on another seaplane ride, a forty minute jaunt round the local area, just for the hell of it.

Short Final, Victoria Harbour International (Really) Airport

Canada is a magnificent place for a holiday. It has so much in its favour it is almost embarrassing. It’s easy to get to, the scenery is beyond compare, it might be big but the travel is generally easy, there’s activities aplenty to try and the people are warm, hospitable and speak very good English! In the bit where we were the weather was good, though it can of course be harsh in winter in the mountains. I get the feeling that the Canadians deal with the harsh conditions well, they have had enough practice by now. I’ll maybe have to go in the winter just to experience it. The country is, of course, more than just what lies west of Calgary – there’s an awful lot of North of course but the other areas that are likely to be visited are quite a long way to the East. I visited in Ottawa and Niagara last year and have also been to Toronto and Quebec in the past. I hope at some stage to visit the Maritimes, the eastern extremities of the country and nearer to where I live in Scotland than they are to where Rebecca resides in Victoria. As I said, Canada is a big place. I love it.