Seattle to Vancouver by train

Friday 20th September was our day for leaving Seattle and travelling to Vancouver by train (Amtrak Cascades).

We had to leave our apartment early, arrange a cab to take us to the King street station and drop off our luggage before organising our seats.

It all worked seamlessly.  We phoned the cab which arrived on time. A lady redcap met us at the station and whisked our bags away so we did not even have to do any of that.  We had booked business class (a wise move) which meant we did not have a long line in front of us, unlike those going coach.  Our ticket lady organised seats on the best side (the left on the way to Vancouver) and all we had to do was wait for everything to be ready. We did not have to go through security at the station.

Boarding was easy and the seats were good.

We were close to the water as the train travelled to Vancouver.

When we reached Vancouver, it was a simple matter to retrieve our bags from the platform, wheel them through customs in about 5 minutes and get a cab from the rank.

We were in our hotel at Canada Place in no time at all.

We went exploring, even walking up the hill to Robson street.

Tomorrow our cruise would begin.

Seattle

When we paid the taxi and attempted to gain access to the building, we could not get anyone to respond.  I was about to call the owners when a lady walking her dogs came up.  She was very friendly and told us the same thing had happened during the day.  So we had access.

The next problem was getting the key to open the door.  It was in a secure container hanging on the doorknob.  We eventually got in and found the real keys which we would use during our stay.

I explored the apartment and found it quite spacious but a little noisy from traffic on the Alaskan Way.

I eventually realised that the noise disappeared when the windows were closed so we did that overnight.  We did not mind the noise during the day.

We had not had dinner but it was so late most things were closed so we settled for Subway near home.

Next day, the first priority was washing and there was a washer and dryer in the apartment-a great blessing.  After that, we had to go out for breakfast so we simply went out by going to level 3 and into Post Alley where the famous gum wall is. That took us up to Pike Place market.  We walked the length and saw the original Starbucks on the street opposite.

We went to a cafe looking out over the harbour for breakfast.

We went back home and decided to go to the Space Needle as it was a beautiful sunny day.

We went out our door and along the left corridor which took us to the exit to the terrace. We watched the ferries for a while then went out the glass door to walk up the hill and along the street until we came to the monorail.

We caught it and then bought tickets to go up to the top of the Space Needle.  We did not have a long wait.  The views were great as the sun was shining brightly.

After that, we had a look at the music museum but did not go in.  The Ducks were right there however, so we bought tickets and waited.

The journey took us around the streets showing us some of the famous parts such as the Olympic sculpture park and the waterfront.

We the drove onto Lake Union which was very peaceful.  We saw the houseboats on the water including the one in 'Sleepless in Seattle', and the Gasworks park.  It was very peaceful on the water.

After that,we caught the monorail back and walked to the Pike Place Market to The Athenian (also in'Sleepless in Seattle'), for dinner.  Then we went home.

Our second (and last) day was also to be busy.

We walked to SAM and looked around. This is part of the display at the entry.

We went to the Hard Rock Cafe and shared a tasting platter.  Enormous.

We walked back to the original Starbucks and I queued for souvenirs.

After that it was time to go back to our apartment as we intended to go on the ferry to Bainbridge Island in the evening.

I did go out later for a look around and bought some chocolates at Frans.

We aimed to catch the ferry which would return to Seattle after dark so, before sunset we walked to the ferry and started our journey.

Coming back the full moon rose above the buildings.

It was time to go to the Ferris wheel.

There was no waiting time and the journey did not take very long.

We went to dinner just below the wheel then it was time to go home and prepare for the early start the next day.

Calgary to Seattle

This journey saw us leaving our beautiful b n b and driving to Calgary to catch a plane to Seattle.

We drove through ranch land before we reached the airport.

It did not take long to return the car and, when we checked, there were very few waiting unlike our experience six days before.

The airline desk was not open so we waited.  We got through customs quickly but then we had to wait quite a while because the plane was late.

It was pouring with rain and quite dark before we took off in our small plane.  We were warned of turbulence but it was not too bad.  We had to climb down the stairs and then find the luggage before catching a taxi to our apartment.

Waterton

We started our journey south towards Waterton at a reasonable time.  We were breaking our journey at  Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. We got there around lunch time so, after eating, went to explore the museum.  We walked out to the actual cliff and took photos.  It was then time to see what was in the museum.  There is a recreated cliff with three buffalo at the top and various sections explaining the origin of the Blackfoot people who use the jump.

Then we set off for our next accommodation, Waterton River Suites. This was a great place.  Breakfast provisions were provided but it was not serviced.  We were in the Sunrise suite.  Mike had prepared the hot tub for us but the couple next door got in before us so we missed out. 

We had two full days here.  The first day we spent at Waterton Lake.

We saw bison at a reserve just outside the village. We then drove to the Lake and booked a cruise and relaxed with a drink till it was time to board.  As it was a warm, sunny day we had a pleasant ride down the lake and back again.

We then had some lunch which we had brought with us.

Exploring the town was next, but it was not very big.  It was nearing sunset so we drove to Red Rock Canyon where we were lucky enough to see a mother black bear with two cubs.

We drove to the Prince of Wales hotel to take sunset photos over the lake and then found a place for dinner.

It was dark by the time we reached home.

The next day we decided to visit Glacier National Park in Montana.  We drove to the border where we sat for a little while to get into the USA.  There were no issues so we drove on through quite flat land until we reached St Mary which is on the outskirts of the park.  We had lunch in a hotel there and filled up with petrol.

The park is more interesting as you drive on.  The drive resembles the one to Milford Sound in New Zealand with the lake beside the car and the cliffs soaring to the sky. We did not have time to drive the complete 'Going to the sun' road.  We drove to Big Bend and then turned around.

We made the border crossing on the way back just in time (that one closed at 6pm) and went back to have another look at Mother Bear and her cubs.  We then drove to the Prince of Wales and went to the lounge for refreshment.

It was then time to return.  T told us there had been a bear down in the trees near the river just a short while before but we could not see it.

We ate and then started packing for the next journey back to USA.

Canmore, Banff and Lake Louise

 Canmore

The drive to Canmore was straightforward once we actually had a car. 

We found our motel easily as T had worked out how to use the GPS.

It was a very simple room with some kitchen facilities.  The good thing was that it was in town and easy to walk to get supplies. 

Although it was late we walked to a restaurant at the end of the street.  The meals were not too big but I could not finish mine so we brought it home.  We got some milk at a corner store so we could have tea with milk, not cream.

The next day we were heading to Banff.

After a sleep in, we walked to a bagel cafe for breakfast.  We sat outside in the sun and enjoyed breakfast.

Banff

On the way to the town of Banff, we visited Lake Minnewanka. It was a beautiful day so the lake was looking its best with the cliffs in the background.

Then we drove to Banff.  It does not appear much different to the last time we were here in 2000.

There is the Main Street of shops and the famous hotel is across the bridge.

We drove to the golf course to look for elk but there were none around. We stopped at the Bow Valley Falls and took some photos then went to town to find lunch.

The rest of the day was spent looking at the shops.

On the way home, we shopped at the supermarket.  North American supermarkets have soooomany products but we bought just a few simple things.

Then it was home to cook and go to sleep.

Lake Louise

Today we drove to Lake Louise.  We went up on the gondola to look down on the Chateau and the lake, which was beautiful in the sun.

 The animal centre at the Gondola was interesting as it had many animal skins of the local wildlife.

We took the chairlift on the way down so we were able to get some good photos.

After lunch in the village, we drove to Moraine Lake where we spent a while sitting and looking at the view.  We tried the water but I found it toooo coooold!!!

Finally we drove to Chateau Lake Louise which seems to have grown since we were last here.

It was too late for afternoon tea in the lounge so we had cakes and coffees in the coffee shop near the entrance.  Then we explored the shops.

After reaching home, we caught up on the washing at the laundromat and then had a simple meal using up as much stuff as we could because tomorrow we were leaving for Waterton.

Hello Canada

Vancouver

We arrived in Vancouver in good time but the plane was rather old.  No screens to watch.  It reminded me of the old planes we used to catch a long time ago.

Vancouver customs took forever!!! But there was still more delay.

We did not realise that we had to ring our hotel to get the shuttle to pick us up so we waited 15 minutes then discovered our problem.  The shuttle took about 15 minutes after our call.

The hotel (Holiday Inn Express Richmond Riverport) was fine.  We had dinner nearby at The Old Spaghetti Factory and walked back to the hotel.

The next morning we had the complimentary breakfast and caught the pre booked shuttle (9am) to the airport. 

Our flight was with West Jet.  The plane was newish, had tv in the seat backs and had spare seats.

Our problems began when we went to pick up our rental car.  Almost three hours before we set off for Canmore- not a good beginning, let's hope things improve.

The queue

Terry waiting at Vancouver airport.

USA LAX

Our experience of LAX customs was typical.  A long line.  It did, however, move quite quickly.  Our bags did not take long to collect and then we were through customs.  We had to transfer our bags to Alaskan Airlines but it was simple to wheel the bags to the transfer station and then walk to Terminal 6 which is where we are now. 

We are in the Alaskan Airlines Board Room ( fancy name for their airport lounge) relaxing before the flight.

Farewell Sydney

Today we start our adventure.  We leave 'on a jet plane' for parts known and unknown.  

QANTAS Club, Sydney

We will shortly be on board our aircraft leaving from Gate 9.

Our boarding was reasonable and the flight uneventful.

We arrived at a reasonable time in the morning and are now in USA.

The almost end of the QANTAS flight.