A long way gone.

It's crazy to think, three days ago today we could be spotted miles and miles away from where we are now. Back in the days of pre-civilization a trip across Canada would be unheard of, a great adventure taking weeks, even months. Me and mama-bear managed it in three very relaxed days and nights. The food they would have seen would have been barbaric; elk or bear meat caught and cooked over an open fire, grimy fingers grabbing at any remains, feeling the need to have enough energy to last them a couple days. Our trip, in contrast, consisted of three generous meals a day, ranging from rack of lamb and carrot cake to the omlette of the day with a side of hashbrowns and orange juice. We can safely say, food was not scarce in the least.

The people we met...well, we met some characters for sure. An irish man out for a good time and a few beers, a women who almost broke down when she came to the realization her puzzle (which she put 10 hours of labour into) was missing. There were americans, canadians, australians, french, english, spanish and german travellers aboard the VIA Canada. Some of the travellers took the train to get to a destination to continue their travels, some took it as a 3 day vacation. Whatever the reason, people were found to be having a good time.

I met a retired man named Bill, and his friend Jerry. Bill coached basketball, volleyball and track and field for 30 years during his time as a highschool teacher. We met him in Jasper, only to realize that he was getting on the same train as us. I spent a few hours in total with him, sharing track incidents and telling each other of the trip we were both taking, enjoying each others company.

There were another couple of guys, Don and Brad, who we spent some time with. Wether it was relaxing in the viewing car at the back of the train where we could be found reading a book, playing cards and making bracelets. Or in the activity car playing a game of Phase 10 after bonding over a nice dinner in the diner car. These are they people we met, became comfortable and eventually will begin to miss. Looking back on these people will be just the beginning to a trip of fun events and people from around the world.

Currently we are on a commuter train heading to montreal from toronto, my dad has joined us, soon to be followed by my brother who flew in. The next few days we will be spending in montreal, where the two will fly home and me and mama-bear will continue on our journey to St.Johns, Newfoundland.

Tip of the day: Expand your horizons.