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Published: February 10th 2006
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Off to Winnipeg
On board the Canadian
Get there tomorrow
Wow, another month and the next part of my journey. Today, it's to hop Train Number 1 that heads West through Ontario and has a final destination of Vancouver but I will be hopping off in Winnipeg. The train leaves three times a week in both directions. From Toronto to Winnipeg it will be a +30 hour journey depending upon whether the train is on time or not. As I mentioned yesterday I'm armed with lots of stuff to keep me preoccupied and lots of snacks too. Like I had to mention that. lol
Last night at the hostel I kept myself preoccupied doing my laundry, sorting my bags and writing a couple of postcards. There was this nice Egyptian woman in my room that is in town to write some sort of medical exams. She was so funny. She told me when she arrived that she had it in her head that it'd take all day to fly to Toronto. So she left on the 26th and made a booking for the 27th thinking that she'd be arriving the next day. Little did she know, she was flying west and "going back in time." So when she arrived it was still the 26th. Thank goodness the hostel was able to find a bed for her. We had a good chat and she was a bit disappointed to hear that I'd be leaving today and even more disappointed when I said that I wasn't coming back to Toronto. Guess she didn't grasp the..."I'm going home to Vancouver part." lol Hmm, I wonder what sort of medical exams she is writing?
Anyhoo, to help pass the time I'll chronicle my journey as the time ticks away.
08:41 Finally we're allowed up the escalator to the tracks. There are quite a few slowpokes with lots of stuff in front of me. Haven't they heard of checked baggage service?
08:49 I’ve secured myself a window seat and there is an empty seat beside me. Time to spread out my stuff! Put my free newspaper on the empty seat, unpack my snacks, take off my shoes and start looking really absorbed reading my paper and make no eye contact with anybody.
09:04 We take off.
09:13 We’ve stopped and are now moving backwards. Perhaps we have to change tracks because I really hope it's not because we went the wrong way and are headed to Montréal. haha
09:27 I’ve cracked open my Toffee crisp cookies. Yummy! They were on special too!
09:36 There’s not much happening on the train at the moment. It's been about a half hour now that I've had to listen to the girl in front of me whinge about the fact that she can't get a ticket to Jasper on the day she wants. Hmm, perhaps she should book ahead next time. haha
10:06 The girl across from me has a bag of Munchos. Yum. It makes me feel a little envious and snacky so now I have to open my bag of Miss Vickies Sweet Chili & Sour Cream. Yum! It seems like there are quite a few people headed to Winnipeg today.
10:26 We’re stopped but not at a station. Looking around there are a lot of people napping already. Another observation is that there are a lot of pushy people in this World and they don't understand the concept of waiting in line like everybody else. I won't rant too much about this but there were several people who knowingly butt into line before boarding the train. Like the rest of us were just standing around in a line up for half an hour for no reason whatsoever.
11:16 Nothing interesting to report. They called the first seating for lunch in the dining car at 10:54! The third and last seating for lunch is 14:00. Thank goodness I have lots of food packed. Plus there is a snack car just one car back from where I'm sitting that I can easily walk to if I wanted.
12:26 Still not much to report. I've officially started the back-stitching on my big cross-stitch project. Perhaps I'll have to take a photo to let all see what I'm talking about. I can't remember for sure when I started this but it has been sometime in the last five years? Maybe more.
13:09 I think we're coming up to Parry Sound, ON. KM 241 on my 1943km journey to Winnipeg. Sigh. Backstitching continues...
15:53 This is a really uneventful train journey. All I have to write about is that the back-stitching on my cross-stitch is coming along. I'd say about 10% done. lol Hmm, they just came by to see if anyone wanted to make dinner reservations for 20:30/21:00. She tried to sell us the late time telling us that it would really only be 19:30 because we go back one hour. Well, I looked on the schedule and the time change doesn't actually occur until sometime in the middle of the night. lol Currently I've got my tunes running and I am listening to Rent. I love that musical and saw that they've made it into a movie. Hmm, not sure how that'd be.
17:12 after a +20 minute stop in Sudbury Junction, we are rolling again and they've handed out pillows and blankets for those that will be sleeping on the train overnight. Power of suggestion perhaps...they want all of us asleep sooner rather than later. lol
18:23 I swear the couple across the aisle have either been sleeping or eating the entire train journey. I thought I liked to snack but these guys like snacking even more than me! Now that's saying something. lol
18:25 Speak of the devil! They've come back from the snack car and are getting all cozy for yet another nap. lol
18:27 What to do now? I've finished reading my book (Anne of Green Gables - classic!) and am feeling a bit antsy in my seat. Unfortunately the snack car is kinda busy. Besides, I don't feel like making any small talk right now. I guess I'll do some more back stitching...
22:40 Wow, this is a really uneventful train ride. I've just spent the last couple of hours listening to a kid learn some card tricks all the while back-stitching like there is no tomorrow. Nobody seems to be talking around me so there's no eavesdropping. Mind you most people seem to be asleep already. But I have made an observation. There are all of these people sleeping around me and I've noticed that hardly anybody has washed up for the night...there's gonna be a lot of stinky breathe in the morning! lol
23:52 Time to turn in. Gotta save some of the back-stitching for tomorrow. haha. I'd say I'm about 30 -35% done with the backstitching. Hmm, the train is going really slow at the moment. They haven't made any announcements as to where we are so I'm sure if we're on schedule or not. The time table says we should be around Oba and Homepayne, ON. But that is just a guess. Good night!
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