Thursday, June 15, 2023. Our first night sleeping on the train was a bit rocky (pun fully intended here). As we were planning this trip, we read in multiple places how the rocking of the train would lull us to sleep. Well, WHOWEE! There is nothing about the rocking, jostling, bouncing, rattling, squeaking, shaking of a train that could be mistaken for lull! The girls seemed to have slept pretty okay; Carson struggled a bit; I slept in 45 minute increments with 10 minute breaks in between naps, giving up in the morning to a stiff-all-over body. I’m gonna need to figure out a different sleeping strategy for night number two!

Despite our exhaustion, the day must go on… Breakfast was just as good as dinner last night. Then, we proceeded spending our day bouncing between the upper and lower decks of the Skyline car improving our Cribbage skills, playing other various games, reading in our berths, and eating the best food that Via Rail had to offer.

The highlights:

• Lunch: tuna melt, burger, and chicken strips
• Dinner: pork loin, chicken florentine, mac & cheese, PBJ sandwich
• We’re all getting better at Cribbage but Carson is threatening to teach us all Spades
• Inadvertently ended up in a chair yoga/stretching activity in the Skyline car
• Attended a beer tasting in the upper level over looking the tree tops
• Won Canada trivia against some Canadians. This came down to a double tie breaker question about which 4 Canadian provinces produce wine. Yes, we got all four of them; the Canadians only knew three. 🙂
• All 4 of us got off the train in Souix Lookout, Ontario to stretch our legs and found a geocache in a bush by the parking lot.

We capped off our evening by tucking the girls into bed just as we pulled into Winnipeg. Here we were allowed to leave the train station for a bit to walk around outside while new passengers boarded and got settled and they changed crews. Since we had access to Wi-Fi in the station, Carson was able to add books the girls’ Kindle and update the time on all of our watches. And, with the last 10 minutes of freedom, Carson found a couple of geocaches just outside the station. 

Once back onboard, Carson took the iPad and the Switch to the Skyline to wind down. Meanwhile, I popped in some ear plugs and settled on my bed to read and attempt my second night on the train. Wish me luck!