Day 4 Rocky Mountaineer

Here we go!! Up at 6am to catch a taxi to the train station.
As we pulled up there was a line of around 6 people in their RM uniforms,all smiling and clapping as we got out of the taxi..What the???? Apparently we were the first passengers to arrive and this was the first tour of the new season..As we were escprted to the check in counter it was more of the same..Big smiles and clapping..Felt like we were royalty..Thought we'd try for an upgrade to Gold Leaf Service while we were on a roll but no such luck unless we wanted to pay an extra $400 each!
As it turned out we thoroughly enjoyed our Silver Service and had the best hosts/ guides/stewards that we could wish for.
The train travels on the same lines as Canadian Rail and they have priority,so it was a bit slow going getting out of the city area.Once we were clear we were off and running and we were served breakfast(3 courses),snacks mid morning,then a 3course lunch and then afternoon snacks!!!
The train passed through a lot of farming and dairy areas for most of the morning and some of the little towns were quite rustic and quaint.
The rest of the day was something we did not expect as we were then in mountainous desert country..It had it's own beauty and we saw some bighorn sheep perching precariously on the rocky outcrops.As the train came down out of this area,we were skirting around a huge lake with Canada Geese swimming around.On the other side was more like the brochures as the mountains were covered in pine trees and in the distance there were mountains topped with snow.The scenery was just beautiful all the way to our stop for the night at Kamloops.We settled into our hotel and on the table was a complimentary dinner for two at the restaurant downstairs plus a leather notebook.Nice surprise and a lovely meal was had by all.
Into bed and ready for what is the highlight of the journey.The Rocky Mountains!!

Day 3 Vancouver

Woke up feeling refreshed after a great sleep in till nearly 9am..We're off to buy walking boots for Leanne,a soft backpack for us and hopefully a light rain jacket for moi(they speak a lot of French here!)
Success with our shopping so found a cafe that had organic coffee etc.and relaxed for a while..Caught a taxi back to the hotel where we unloaded all our goodies and back we go down the lift to catch another cab to Granville Island which is famous for it's fresh food,galleries,art and all sorts of other wonderful things to spend money on!!
Bought a few nice gifts to take home and I was absolutely thrilled to find a framed print of BevDoolittles famous painting of American Indians riding through an Aspen forest.Getting it shipped home..
Now we're back in our room and having a wind down glass of wine and crackers while the boys have gone down to Rosie's Bar for a beer and to watch the passing parade!!Guess it's guy thing...
Having dinner in tonight and pack our bags ready for an early start to the Railway station to board The Rocky Mountaineer for Banff..Have been advised that there is a picket line there that we will have to pass through so that should be an exciting start to the day !!

Day 2 Vancouver

View from Gondola at Whistler.

Snow everywhere!!!This is just how I imagined this place to be like..Even though it's the end of their season there were still lots of skiers & snowboarders here.The drive up here was just awesome on the Sea To Sky Highway and our driver was terrific showing us to places we wouldn't have seen if we drove ourselves.The road wound itself up the mountains and we were lucky enough to see a coyote,a deer and cute little squirrels..There were signs to beware of bears but no luck there yet!! Majestic waterfalls cascading down hundreds of feet and crashing over boulders at the bottom and racing off into rapids downstream.Had lunch in a mexican style restaurant where Andrew had Nachos(see photo)

Doesn't look too good does it?But there was nothing left 5 mins later!!!!

Finding it hard to describe just how beautiful the country is here.Tomorrow we are off to a camping goods store to buy boots for Andrew and a soft style backpack for us.

This is for Allison..There are Wallymart stores here!!!! Can't wait to take Leanne through one....

It's 10.30 and the youngins have turned in for the night so Terry & I will have our showers and tuck ourselves in for the night..

Day 1 Vancouver

Up at 4am and waiting for the Mayers to arrive at 5am and we're off down the F3 and head for the airport.Very foggy but not much traffic so we made very good time..
The guys took the car to the carpark while Leanne and I trolleyed all our luggage to a cafe to wait for them..
 Had a surprise visit from Andrew's sister Martina and her son Luke who came to say goodbye.
Waiting for our flight to be announced,it came across the PA system that due to the fog our plane would be 40 minutes late taking off.
Finally on board and settled in our seats we were pleased to see about a dozen late release movies to help while away the time as well as documentaries and oldies.
Up up and away!!! We were well fed throughout the journey and the flight was uneventful..
Flying in over snow covered mountains was just awesome and we had a really smooth landing.
The airport is huge but nearly empty of people as the skiing season has finished and we were on the shoulder season.Through Customs with no dramas and out to get our taxi to our hotel.Our driver was great and filled us with all sorts of info about Vancouver..The city is coming to life after Winter and streets were lined with Magnolias and trees covered in blossoms..It's a very clean city and the view at the end of the road leading through to the city centre was just beautiful with snow covered mountains as the backdrop..
Our suite at the hotel is fabulous.We each have a roomwith a tv,a lounge/kitchen area with big TV,bathroom with a bath.Very swish....
We all had a 2 hour nap before setting off to explore the city and find the Tourist Info Ctre where we booked a tour up to Whistler for tomorrow..Stopped at a bar near the hotel and the boys had a Canadian beer and we each had a margarita to top of the day.Back at the hotel we had happy hour and watched out the 12th floor window as the crowds wended their way down to the stadium for the playoffs in ice hockey between the Kanuks and ? singing their heads off.Quite a sight..
Getting tired after a big day.The bed is going to feel so good tonight!!!!

Sunday 15th April 2012

We're counting down!!! 6 more sleeps till we head for the airport,leaving the Central Coast at 5am.
The car is booked in at a long stay carpark near the airport which saves us the hassle of getting there either by train or shuttle bus.Also it's nice to get back after a long flight and hop in the car and drive home..(Don't want to think about the trip being over!!)
Picked up some more US and Canadian currency which should see us through nicely.
Last minute shopping was for adaptors for recharging cameras,laptops,shaver etc. and a couple of pairs of warm track suit type pants for me..Our thermal underwear is all packed as well as gloves ,beanies & scarves..Terry's bag is all packed and locked.He's so organised!!I'm still putting in and pulling out again.If anything is forgotten we will just have to go shopping!
Next blog will be our first day after arriving in Vancouver.Yeeha!!!!!!!!!!

Our Planning Bible!

The Milepost has been invaluable in planning our trip.We've also defaced a few maps in the process and this is the final one.

18th March 2012

OOPS! Made a slight error on last blog..The trip cost for the 2 of us will be around $12000 not $19000..
We should be getting all our documents in the next week and the excitement is building.We've been reading about the solar flares, and fingers crossed,we are very likely to be able to see the Aurora Borealis when in Fairbanks or even Anchorage.
Also the weather in Fairbanks today is -4c with predicted snow showers!Will be buying my big jacket when we get over there as we've been told that the prices are lower and the quality is the best..
We fly out of Sydney on 21st April so just a little over 4 weeks to go!!
Have changed my mind about the case I will take as it was a good training run going to NZ for 6 days and only just having enough room and that was without buying any souveniers etc.So it will be the big black one going which will leave plenty of room for the anticipated shopping...