Not much to report today. After a harrowing night aboard our berths dealing with the constant rocking of the train, we awoke to partly cloudy skies and sunshine.  We passed through Ontario province during the night and maybe all of Saskatchewan province, but it’s difficult to tell where you are.  We have a map, but it doesn’t show the rail lines.

We weren’t planning on eating breakfast because of the caloric content of the previous day’s lunch and dinner, but a passing couple enticed us to join them in the dining car. Mom chose the healthy menu (a fruit bowl, hot oatmeal, and a muffin) while I opted for the more nourishing fare of an omelet, hash browns, and rye toast. We sat with a retired couple from New Hampshire, Ann and Bob Hargrave; he’s a retired school teacher. They’re part of a group affiliated with a Dartmouth College program where adults can study foreign countries and then travel to visit them for cultural information and sightseeing.

After breakfast, we took Mom’s computer to the Activity Car, one of the few places where we have access to an electrical outlet to power the computer. Mom worked on her photos from our trip and some updates to her genealogy database while I went upstairs and sat in one of the observation areas and watched the passing scenery.

We became increasingly aware that our train was severely behind schedule, because it seemed that just as soon as we picked up speed we slowed and stopped. We stopped on the tracks several times, but also once, in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada to change engineers and pick up fuel and water. We were at least able to get off the train to stretch our legs and walk along the station area for a few minutes to take advantage of the cool fresh air.

We had another gourmet lunch, and sat with a woman from McLean, Virginia, and her father who lives with his son in Mt. Airy, Maryland. She works for a U.S. Government agency responsible for overseeing private pension plans, savings accounts, and other investment activities, and had a few interesting tales to tell us. Unfortunately, none of us introduced ourselves, so we don’t know who’s who.

After lunch we returned to the Activity Car. It was during the afternoon that our train stopped twice for lengthy periods to wait for oncoming freight trains. It seems that freight traffic has priority over passenger trains in Canada (and, I think, in the U.S. as well), which seems odd because passenger trains have published schedules compared to freight trains operating when and where the need dictates. So our train arrived in Winnipeg, Manitoba Province about four hours late.

We spent about an hour in Winnipeg while our car and diner crews changed and to pick up fresh supplies for the remainder of our trip. We dined with the same woman and her father as during lunch, and got into some interesting conversations. He’s 75 and has wanted to make this train trip for years, so she decided to accompany him and “keep him in line.” It was funny to watch her remind him to eat a salad and also to eat his vegetables, as well as to prevent him from drinking too many cups of coffee.

We’re becoming increasingly concerned about the delay in our schedule, because we have only four hours between our arrival in Vancouver, British Columbia and our departure from the airport there. Delayed arrival means additional airline charges to change our flight as well as possibly another night’s charges to house our dogs in the Pasco kennel. We discussed the situation with our new crew and they advised us that we’ll probably make up some time during the night while passing through Manitoba Province due to its flat terrain and the relatively straight course of the tracks. We’ll just have to wait until tomorrow morning to find out if their prediction was correct.

The scenery along our route today was interesting and quite beautiful. There were trees galore and lots of little lakes and other water facilities along the way. But it changed as we approached Winnipeg to a flatter, more agriculturally-oriented environment.

We gorged ourselves on another fine meal at dinner while sitting in the Winnipeg station. Fortunately, the portions although delicious aren’t too large(at least not the “normal” American portions that we regularly experience in restaurants around home).

After diner it was back to the Activity Car to continue to document pictures and correct the database. I found a Friday edition local Winnipeg newspaper, so I was able to read a little about the over-hyped vice-presidential debate last night. So much for the media prediction that Sarah would fall on her face! There were also some baseball scores from the league playoffs, but I was disappointed that the Dodgers-Cubs score wasn’t available due to the time the game was played and the printing time of the paper. I want to see a Los Angeles World Series; if the Dodgers and Angels can pull off the caper, that’s what it’ll be this year.

It’s approaching midnight, but there’s another time change over night (we gain another hour), so I’ll close this report.

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