The Evolution of a Trip

Last September, Tim and I booked a Canadian Rail Adventure, two scenic rail journeys on the Rocky Mountaineer and VIA Rail’s Canadian. We are scheduled to arrive in Vancouver on September 21, and we will travel across Canada from Vancouver to Toronto. I included more information about the itinerary here.

Our Canadian Rail Adventure

Several months ago, I started to think about including a pre-trip adventure. In keeping with the train theme of the trip, I decided that this might be the perfect time to take Amtrak’s California Zephyr from Denver to San Francisco. It’s a scenic train ride that’s been on my bucket list for years, so I went ahead and booked it. Tim decided to pass on this one, so I’ll meet him in Vancouver.

Amtrak's California Zephyr

I opted to spend two nights in Emeryville, California. Emeryville is the actual termination of the California Zephyr and is located just across the bay from San Francisco. Here, I’ll rent a car and visit four National Park units, thereby completing my visits to almost all the California parks.

I won’t be flying directly from Oakland/San Francisco to Vancouver, however. No, I will fly to Portland, Oregon, to visit my friend Kevin, and I’ll stay there for two nights.

Finally, on the morning of September 21, I’ll fly to Vancouver, where I will meet Tim. We will spend two nights in Vancouver before boarding the Rocky Mountaineer on September 23. At the end of the trip, we will spend three nights in Toronto before flying home to Colorado.

It was a great itinerary, and I thought everything was set. The tour, rental car, all hotels, and flights were booked.

After returning from my road trip, I happened to browse the Post Viking Promos thread on Cruise Critic and noticed a Canada & East Coast Explorer cruise from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale. Hmm... I wondered what the sailing dates were. Lo and behold, the cruise departed Toronto on October 8. We were scheduled to fly home on October 4. Hmm... An extra four days in Toronto would be very nice since we’ve never been there. Hmm... Interesting!

Canada & East Coast Explorer

What was the itinerary and which ship? The cruise listed five interesting ports in Canada, as well as two in the U.S. There were also lots of sea days, which we enjoy. Hmm... The kicker was that the cruise was on the Viking Polaris, an expedition ship identical to the one we’ll be sailing to Antarctica. Hmm... Even more interesting!

The dates were good, but what about the cost? This promotion offered cabins at almost 40% off the original price and included free airfare. Viking cruises rarely have such a steep discount. Hmm... Maybe...

I hemmed and hawed and kept changing my mind. Tim listened patiently and made the decision that we should just do it, so we booked the cruise on May 23. What a perfect birthday present! Are we nuts? Probably, but I don’t care.

A special bonus is that disembarking in Fort Lauderdale will give me an opportunity to spend additional days with my friends in Miami. We didn’t have much time when we were there just before Christmas, so this will be a great opportunity.

I’ve put together a map of the entire journey. What to call it? It’s not Planes, Trains and Automobiles. What about Trains, Planes and a Cruise Ship? I think I’ll just leave it as two separate trips for the blog since that’s the way it started. Thus, Canadian Rail Adventure (with a pre-trip adventure) and Canada & East Coast Explorer will be the categories I’ll continue with.

Trains, Planes and a Cruise Ship - What an Itinerary!