Call us today at 1 800 347-0645 to book YOUR customized train vacation!
TED & SYLVIA BLISHAK'S UPDATES
ON AMTRAK, ROCKY MOUNTAINEER, AND VIA RAIL CANADA
May 7 to May 15, 2006
by Ted
& Sylvia Blishak
MT. BAKER INTERNATIONAL TO VANCOUVER
Day 3. Tuesday, May 09, 2006. Seattle to Vancouver
We receive our wake up call at 5:00 am, with a follow up at 5:10 am. Another delicious breakfast at 6:00 am, and by 7:00 am we are at the motor exit to take a taxi to Amtrak's King Street Station.
On arrival at the station, we are panhandled by one poorly dressed unfortunate, while another watched from a short distance away, as we exit the taxi and assemble our luggage, the first incident of this type that we have ever experienced at the Seattle Amtrak Station. Since there are no police officers, Red Caps, or any Amtrak employees in sight, and our taxi drive left as quickly as he was able, we are left to handle it on our own, no easy task. We have heard travelers are sometimes panhandled by pairs, and while one is distracting you by begging, or offering to carry your bags, another is picking your pocket, or grabbing your laptop and running. One must be on the alert at all times.
Entering the station is more difficult, as the automatic door has been removed and replaced with a 1906, manually operated, heavy brass door. In the light of day, I realize that the restoration project has not advanced as far as I had guessed Sunday night, and I wonder how they could ever complete the project by September 2007 at this rate of progress. We have never actually observed anyone working and wonder when these small advances occur.
At 7:15 am we present our tickets and passports at the Business Class check in counter and are presented with boarding passes with seat assignments, along with the advice that boarding will begin at 7:30 am.
We arrived at the station just a little too late to check our large piece of luggage, so we must load everything on board our Business Class car. Fortunately, the conductor assists us with the large piece and helps us stow it in the baggage racks at the end of the car.
Mt Baker Talgo
Departing Seattle, the train immediately enters a tunnel, emerging along Alaskan Way, where we see the new Marriott Waterfront, the cruise terminal, the Washington State Ferry Terminal, the Edgewater Hotel, and the Victoria Clipper Terminal. Much of the route is very scenic, running along the edge of Puget Sound. Although we reach 79 mph on one straight, smooth stretch of track for a few minutes, most of the route is slow and bumpy. These Spanish designed Talgo Trains were built to operate on smooth, well maintained track, such as is found in Moldavia, Great Britain and Japan. On this segment of BNSF Railway, track maintenance must be minimal, just enough to keep the slow freights from derailing. In fact, as I write this, we are rocking and rolling behind a slow freight, and our expected arrival time in Vancouver , as displayed on the TV screen, keeps moving further out in the future. Scheduled arrival is 11:40 am, something that we have never personally experienced. Now, over a half hour behind schedule, the predicted arrival is 12:20 pm.
We roll slowly through the sunny coastal village of White Rock, BC, which reminds me of a seaside resort from the 1940s. Lawns, flowers, waterside promenades, and rows of shops and eateries face the blue waters of Semiahmoo Bay.
White Rock, BC
Semiahmoo Bay
As we rock and roll along the Fraser River, we find excellent views of the Sky Train Bridge, a cable stay suspension design, and the Trans Canada Highway Bridge, a graceful steel arch structure.
Sky Train Bridge over Fraser River
Trans Canada Highway bridge over Fraser River
All Business Class passenger at check in are given a $3.00 coupon which can be spent in the lounge car or applied towards breakfast in the dining car. These coupons are still burning a hole in my pocket, so we spend them on a cup of coffee and a fresh cinnamon scone in the lounge car. This should tide us over until our eventual lunch after our arrival at the Pacific Palisades Hotel in Vancouver. This will be the beginning of the Canadian portion of our trip, a pre-paid independent package we have booked through Brewster Vacations.
We finally arrive at 12:25 pm, and progress through customs and immigration is slow, as usual, but at least the Canadian agents are soft spoken and friendly. After being cleared to enter Canada, I change a US $20 bill for CAD $21.20, which will come in handy for taxi fare and bellman gratuities. Then we seek out the Hertz Car Rental counter, as we will be renting a car to drive back to Seattle this coming Sunday. We find our reservation in good order, then find a taxi at the cab line out front and proceed to the Pacific Palisades Hotel, where we will spend our one night in Vancouver. We both have been looking forward to an Indian lunch at the Taste of India restaurant across the street, but today's meal was not as good as we remember it from our last trip. This is so often true of dining out, making the Coldwater so unusual with its consistent standards.
The desk clerk invites us to a complimentary wine tasting at 5 pm in the lobby, then we settle into our room on the 17th floor, with views of Vancouver Harbour. The Pacific Palisades Hotel is now a part of the Kimpton Group, and shares some of the funkiness which seems to be a feature of many Kimpton hotels. The furnishings are 1950's, but not old worn out 1950's. The restaurant is Zin's and seems to be a gathering place for young people on the town. The scallops at Zin's are prepared with curry, and rival even Coldwater's for tastiness.
Robson Street is the heart of downtown Vancouver and is lined with shops and restaurants of every description. We are thinking of breakfast already, and since Zin's does not open until 7 am, and our bus leaves at 7:10 am, we find a Starbucks across the street which opens at 5:40 am. Hey, we can finally use our Starbucks Gift Cards that we received for Christmas!
NEXT: Day 4. Wednesday, May 10 2006: North Vancouver to Whistler on Rocky Mountaineer’s brand-new Whistler Mountaineer
How
to Book a Tour
