At five thirty A.M. we opened the blind to get our first glimpse of the scenery. It’s all lakes and woods with mist coming off the water and the sun shining through. Larry went straight away to the observation deck while I enjoyed the view from our room and took pictures.
Breakfast was great. We had to wait in another area until they called our names- about a half an hour wait but it was a pleasant room with tea and coffee and muffins.
The dining room is beautiful with white linen tablecloths. We were seated with a young couple who were very nice. Instead of little plastic containers of jam they had little miniature jars which I though quite adorable and fancy. Lovely breakfast.
Now we are back in our room. While we were gone the attendant came in and put back our beds and set up two comfortable chairs. Its is quiet and relaxing and we are skimming along to Hornepayne. We don’t have wi-fi but will have it when we get to certain locations.
The woods are very much like the woods in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. There are lots of lakes. I like it.
Lunch today was a salmon cake with mararoni salad and a delicious dark chocolate brownie for dessert. We were seated with a couple from near Sussex, England - they were about our age. We had lots to chat about- they loved Rita McNeil and just bought a couple of her CD's. We talked up the Rankin Family - our personal favorite Cape Breton band. The gentleman was involved with a charity that trained soon- to-be released prisoners with a skill, like driving heavy equipment etc. One such prisoner requested training to be a locksmith, but they said his request was denied. : )
We spent the afternoon watching the spruce and juniper trees fly by. There are lots of lakes and really no towns to speak of. The few little settlements we do see are scrappy at best. I’m not sure what actually goes on there. Otherwise, Ontario is huge- miles and miles of timber. Larry was away from the Internet for the whole day—except for 10 minutes while we had Wifi at one station. (What a scramble that was to get my blog uploaded!) No Wifi on the train and no cell signal all day in Northern Ontario.
The attendant put our beds up in the morning and we sat most of the day in our little room in two chairs. The rooms are air- conditioned and for a while I got really cold- I started to bundle up in socks and a jacket- then by accident I realized I could turn off the fan. All good after that. It’s kind of like being in a tent- no matter how much you organize your things the next item you need always becomes a major panicky rummage through all our baggage. That part is pretty much the only stress we experience, and the whole things sounds much worse than it actually is. : )
At seven o’clock we trundled off again to the dining hall. Our evening meal was a nicely done chicken and potato with chocolate torte for dessert. We shared our table with a very interesting couple from Sweden. They are both architects and were on their way to Vancouver to see their grandchildren. They also have a son in Ottawa. Once I mentioned our eight Ikea bookshelves and thanked them for giving the world ABBA I suddenly realized my knowledge of their country was desperately wanting. But we had a very nice visit with them and exchanged stories back and forth about travels and family. I was so impressed that they spoke English so well – they learned it in school. It makes me wonder why none of us speak French even though we supposedly ‘learned it in school’.
It was a HUGE relief when they put down our beds and we could stretch out and lay down! Who would have thought that sitting up all day could absorb so much energy! We could not even wait until it got dark- it seemed like it was never going to get dark- so in the end we just pulled down the blind and went to sleep for the night!