Going West, Day Two

I remember, or think I remember, from previous train trips, that the second day is better than the first. You have settled in, your space is claimed, the routine is...well, routine. We had dinner in the rocks of Northern Ontario, and breakfast in the plains of Southern Manitoba.

I slept well, even though I had had a good nap in the afternoon. I woke in a panic, groggy with sleep, afraid I had missed supper (not that I needed the calories). But I hadn't and tucked into lovely Prime Rib like I was eating my last supper! Back to my room, read for a while, and then to bed.






And when I awoke, we were in Winnipeg. Breakfast overlooking the Forks, then over to the Museum of Human Rights to see the Freedom Blanket that I had missed seeing when it was in Hamilton. And I was not disappointed. While it is made of wood segments, each segment being 3-6 inches square, they are held together with wire. So the structure moves sort of like a blanket.






And then we were off. We had arrived in Winnipeg ahead of schedule, and left on schedule. The other big accomplishment of the day was to have a shower, somewhere west of Winnipeg. It felt good.

Some characters I have met on this train:
- Josh, a late 20's man who graduated from University of Waterloo in Engineering with a B.A., got a job in Europe working in the development of green buildings, travelled all around Europe for this company, but decide it was not for him, so has moved back to Canada to meet up with his Polish girlfriend in Penticton. He hopes to live off the grid, and grow all his own food, something he says is normal in Germany, but still considered experimental in North America. Had a long talk with him about environmental buildings, the lack of public transit in Canada, and the pros and cons of living in Europe.

- Alan, a retired psychiatrist from Minneapolis who loves trains. He told me early on that he is gay, married to a man who is now in Venice on vacation. But he preferred to come on a trip across Canada (which he has done before), and will get off in Jasper, to go hiking, and then will return to home.

- Bill, a retired bus driver who grew up in Denver, now lives outside Boston, also a lover of trains. He took the train from Boston to Toronto, now on VIA to Vancouver, the ferry to Seattle, and train back to Boston. Does this every year.

- another man, probably sixty, seems to be alone, was with us at the back end of the train (the Cub Car) listening to music. Was wearing a Bob Marley knitted cap, and Montreal Canadiens slippers. And part-way through the performance pulled out his knitting quite casually.

- and the lesbian couple (that's how they describe themselves), who played music for us in the evening. Guitar and fiddle, some nice reels and tunes, a couple of so-so love songs. At one point, the woman playing the fiddle switched to a viola for a while, and what a wonderful sound that was: a violin/fiddle, but a third or more lower in pitch.

So the day ended with music, after beginning with museum culture. A nice day with terrific scenery over the prairies (the Assiniboine Valley), some grain elevators (of course), and an amazing moon.




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Location:Winnipeg