Day 3:  Vancouver To Whistler; Sea To Sky

Well, Marc says it’s my turn to blog today and I couldn’t be happier.

Today was full of excitement as it was our first real “rail” day. We started our morning with an early wake up call at The Fairmont Waterfront. After slowly waking up and getting ready, we made our way down to the lobby of the hotel to await our transfer to the train station.

Our train was scheduled to leave at 8:30 AM, and at 7:35 we started to worry since the rep for Rocky Mountaineer had not arrived yet, however the concierge reassured that the train company was very reliable and we needn’t worry. Sure enough about 10 minutes later the bus for the transfer arrived. Checking in for the train and receiving our rail vouchers was a breeze, and before we knew it we were on the bus headed over the Lion’s Gate Bridge to North Vancouver to catch the train. Our journey throughout the rocky mountains is in Rocky Mountaineer Vacation’s “Gold Leaf” service, the highest level of service available on this journey, and it feels great to be treated like a star. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Adventure, Alberta, Banff, BC, British Columbia, Columbia Icefield, Glacier, Jasper, Mountaineer, Rail, Rockies, Rocky Mountain, Train, Vancouver, Whistler

Day 2 – Vancouver at Leisure

We had a full day today, totally unplanned of course. An early (for us) wakeup call was a good start to the day for handling online chores, and the modern conveniences we cannot seem to part with even while on vacation. By 10 we were ready for a bite, and wanted to go out and hit the town.

As part of our rail journey, Rocky Mountaineer Vacations provides an attractions pass booklet which, for Vancouver, included a hop on hop off bus tour service. Not normally our cup of tea, we decided to try something different and ‘hop on’ at the second stop on the tour across the way at Canada Place. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Adventure, Alberta, Banff, BC, British Columbia, Columbia Icefield, Glacier, Jasper, Mountaineer, Rail, Rockies, Rocky Mountain, Train, Vancouver, Whistler

Day 1 – Transit to Vancouver, Vancouver

Never wait till the last minute to pack your suitcase(s)…. at least don’t wait until that last minute to launder and pick out the clothes, fold them, and organize your travel gear. Wise words to live by, and ones we always strive (yet, sadly fail) to adhere to. It’s the curse of the frequent and experienced traveler. Subconsciously, we think we have all the time in the world; we’ve done this a thousand times before, after all.

Of course, as is always the case with travel-day, there are over a million things that needed to be done: chief among them, one high-visibility deliverable that MUST be emailed, bills that MUST be paid, chores, chores, chores to prepare for the almost two weeks away…. and OH! don’t forget about who’s baby-sitting the cat! Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Adventure, Alberta, Banff, BC, British Columbia, Columbia Icefield, Glacier, Jasper, Mountaineer, Rail, Rockies, Rocky Mountain, Train, Vancouver, Whistler