I woke up around 5 o’clock this morning, we had moved to the central time zone, though because I don’t have Internet my phone hadn’t updated to the correct time. I listened to my audiobook for awhile – I am listening to Matthew Perry‘s autobiography, Friends, Lovers and the Big, Terrible Thing. It’s fascinating how many connections he had to other famous people even before starring on Friends. His dad was the Old Spice man in the commercials, his mom was an assistant to the PM Pierre Trudeau (he once beat up Justin Trudeau when they were kids), starred in a movie with River Phoenix that did not do well, and was in a TV show with Valerie Bertinelli. Fascinating! Once I knew coffee was ready I headed to the activities car to get some, then went up to the dome car to journal and enjoy the view. There were a couple other people up there doing the same thing. Jane, the Kiwi I had dinner with last night, came up and we chatted for a little while. She’s also been keeping a blog of her different adventures. At breakfast I sat with Andy, a very quiet man from Toronto on his way to Winnipeg to visit family and Dorothy, from Newfoundland, a sweet woman my moms age who is traveling with her two sisters and brother to Vancouver to visit her son and grandchildren. She told me stories about her adventures when she was a Girl Guide in the 50s and took her first train trip to Toronto and Niagara Falls.
I came back from breakfast to the bed folded away and the seats set up. It is nice to not have to worry about anything except getting dressed. I spent time enjoying the view then joined the bingo game, again lots of laughter and fun, everyone teasing each other.
We stopped briefly at Sioux Lookout, it felt good to get outside and walk a bit but it was COLD. We had signal so I was able to post about yesterday. Later the sun came out so I decided to take a shower, the water was very warm but it was challenging to wash and dry with the rocking train!
Before dinner I played bingo again, this time while wine tasting, leading to interesting results! It’s fun to do when you have gorgeous views all around. The view today was often of birch trees with flaming yellow leaves and lakes.
After dinner, we had a 45 minute stop in Winnipeg to change train crews. Not much was open, but we were able to check out the Forks Hall that has all kinds of artisan stalls, food, and a community workspace. The Museum of Civil Rights is just across from the train station, unfortunately, it wasn’t open when we got there. I have heard it’s a must do in the area. The building has a very unique shape, it’s like an unfolding flower, to symbolize the continuous work of civil rights. Pretty soon it was time to climb into bed, it was clear tonight, so I was able to see the stars, in particular, the Big Dipper. Already the scenery has changed to become very flat.
