Trains and Grizzly Bears, A Canadian Roadtrip - Rocky Mountaineer Day 11

Thursday, September 12 – Whistler to Vancouver

Today is our last day on the train and the end of our Rocky Mountaineer journey.  It was a relatively short trip to Vancouver so we weren’t scheduled to be picked up at the hotel until 2:40 PM, which gave us a free morning in Whistler.  After two early mornings, we took advantage of the free morning and slept in.  Our intent was to take the shuttle into the village area, walk around and get something to eat, but when we got up it was raining pretty hard outside so we decided to just hang around the hotel and relax.  One of the options we considered today was a gondola ride, but I’m glad we didn’t buy tickets for that as the weather wasn’t very good for that sort of activity.  We did talk to some people later who did do it and they said they got a little damp, but it wasn’t too bad.  Oh well, we are happy with our decision.

I called the front desk and got an extended checkout until noon so we settled in and did some relaxing until checkout time.  They did pick up the luggage for delivery to Vancouver at 10:00, but we had everything we needed so that wasn't a problem.  As I have said, this room is the best we have had on the trip and we hated to leave it, but noon soon rolled around and it was time to check out.

After checking out, we checked our carry-on bags at the bell desk and found a place to eat lunch.  There was hardly anyone there so we found a nice table next to the window with a view of the landscaped courtyard and watched it rain while we ate.  I had a bison salami and elk pepperoni pizza which was quite good, but too much for me to eat all of it.  Val had fish and chips that she said was really good also.

We had a lot of time to kill so the waiter said we could sit there as long as we wanted just relaxing and sipping our drinks.  Some of our fellow Rocky Mountaineers started wandering in for lunch and many of them said they did the same thing we did; looked out and saw the rain and just stayed around the hotel.

2:30 came around pretty quickly and when we went up to the lobby to get our carry-on luggage, the buses were already there so we were soon on our way to the station.  When we got to the station we were given an unfortunate surprise, the train wasn’t there.  Apparently, the train didn’t stay at the station last night, but traveled about 10 miles down the track where it spent the night on a siding and this morning they had some kind of trouble because of the rain and were delayed about an hour.

It was still raining so we were jammed into the tiny station.  The station crew did everything they could to make us comfortable so we couldn’t really be too upset.  The time went by pretty quickly as we have gotten to know quite a few of our fellow passengers so we spent the time chatting.

Finally the train arrived and we were on our way.  We were going through a beautiful canyon so I made my way down to the outside platform and spent most of the afternoon watching the scenery and taking pictures.  It was still raining, but I kept pretty dry unless I stuck my head out the side trying to get a picture, but for the most part I took my pictures from under the cover.  Because of the rain, I was pretty much the only one out there except for a couple of other diehard photographers who occasionally joined me.  There are three or four of us who have spent a lot of time out on the platform taking pictures and we have gotten to know each other.

As we came down out of the mountains towards Vancouver, there was a very beautiful river canyon.  We had been told about it earlier so I just stayed outside until we got to that spot.  I was glad I did because as we neared the canyon there was a rush of people coming out to take pictures and I had a front row spot.  We do share the good viewing spots, but I thought I had earned my spot and kept it through the best view before giving it up to someone else.

 

I spent most of the afternoon out on the platform, but as it started to grow darker I went up to our seats and joined Val.  There was no planned meal service in the dining room today, but the staff did surprise us with a dinner of tapas that were delicious.  What a great way to end our trip, more great food.

We soon were back along the coast and nearing Vancouver, our trip was nearing an end.  The car attendants and train manager said their good-byes and it was very sad.  Although this staff was different than the staff we had on our Vancouver to Banff leg of the trip, they provided the same wonderful service.  When you are on the train for 12 or more hours a day, you really get to know the attendants and see how hard they work to make our trip so wonderful.

A final toast with the car attendants before we arrived in Vancouver.

I can't say enough good things about the Rocky Mountaineer staff and particularly the car attendants.  They worked so hard and really helped make this such a wonderful journey.

We had mixed feelings when we pulled into Vancouver, we were looking forward to the next segment of our trip, but sad to see this one ending.  We did have one more hotel stay in Vancouver on this trip and we were once again at the Four Seasons, Vancouver.  There was one more bus ride from the train to the hotel and then we were in our room.  Our luggage was waiting for us as usual; tomorrow we’ll be having to take care of it ourselves.

We got a corner mini suite tonight, which was nice with great views of the city.  It’s not as nice as the Whistler Four Seasons, but it will do.  😀  We were still full from our tapas so there was no need to find anything to eat, but we did find some delicious looking chocolate chip cookies in the room, compliments of the Rocky Mountaineer, but we decided to save them until morning.

Downtown Vancouver from our hotel room.

Tomorrow we will be heading over to Vancouver Island on the ferry, but our ferry reservations aren’t until 12:45 PM so we’ll have a leisurely morning before we hit the road.