On the Road (sort of) Again 2014 # 4

It is 7:30 local time and here we are stuck on yet another siding somewhere between Saskatoon and  Edmonton. At some point last night (I think it was around 4:00 AM) I remember being stopped at Saskatoon for quite awhile as there were a surprisingly large number of people wanting to get on. It must be hard to get on the train in the middle of the night especially when it is so cold and one has been waiting in an uncomfortable waiting room for at least five hours. On the other hand perhaps they were so tired of waiting that they were happy - perhaps even grateful for the chaos of having to get themselves organized in the dark.

The VIA attendants are surprisingly well organized in terms of finding seats for everyone especially the family groups. And there are a lot of families on the train  - more than I have ever seen.  In fact the train is far more crowded than I would have anticipated. The  fact that the waiting room at Sudbury Junction was so crowded should have been my first clue that it was going to be a busy train.  I really thought it would be a near empty train. While I still have both seats to myself, there was a point last night where it looked as if I might have a seat mate.

It has been a strange trip in that I have not really spoken to anyone. Lots of chit chat about the weather and the lateness of the train- but I have not had the opportunity for a longer conversation. Part of that may be due to my laziness and generally contentment to listen to music and read, but some of it is due, I think, to who is on the train. As noted above, there are a lot of families with young children. Some of these families have taken over the dome car. It is a great place for kid to play and if I had kids I were certainly take them there to colour etc. But it has meant that I have not hung out there at all. Secondly there are quite a few couples travelling -couples who seem quite content to just talk to their mates. Thirdly, at least in this car, there are almost no young single travellers looking for a conversation. And finally, because there is only take out - most of the people get their food and take it back to their seats so that there is no chit chat possible over breakfast.

While I occasionally have flashes of concern about arriving really late into Vancouver and being stuck there on New Years Eve, I am not complaining - it is just a different trip than I had envisioned.