Nova Scotia Day 1: Train 14 the Ocean

Recently my girlfriend and I went on a 9 day trip out to the Canadian province of Nova Scotia "Canada's Ocean Playground". Instead of flying, we decide to take the train from Ottawa to Montreal to Halifax. We did this for a couple of reasons. 1. I had Via Rail Preference points that basically covered the whole trip. 2. It's better than being trapped on a plane, and 3. You get to see more of the country.

The first picture is taken on train 26 going from Ottawa to Montreal. This is probably one of the few cars in the Windsor-Quebec City corridor that haven't been updated to the new seats.

Inside Montreals station, showing the depatrue and arrival board. Our next trail is train number 14 to Halifax.

We had opted for a cabin for 2 with a shower. This put us in a Renaissance sleeper car, which I found quite comfortable. This is also my first time in a Renaissance car overall, which made this quite exciting. This photo shows the cabin in the daytime configuration, with a bench/couch-like seating area.

This is a photo of the storage that is provided in the cabin. There is also storage for your carry-on bags under the bench/couch.

This is just a photo of the storage closed.

A photo looking out of our door into the hallway. Because the train leaves at 7pm eastern time from Montreal, in the summer you get about 2 hours of daylight to enjoy before it gets dark. We kept our doors open for most of those two hours to be able to look at both sides of the train.

One of the many rivers you will cross on this journey.

This was the dinner menu for the trip.

This was the drink menu for dinner. I had the Domaine de Grand Pere Reserve Riesling from Nova Scotia.

We both had the prosciutto wrapped melon and grilled vegetables to start.

I had the Grilled Salmon, which was excellent. While my girlfriend had the smoked Oka ravioli (sorry no photo of that).

For dessert, we both had pecan pie.

Our cabin for two in its sleeping configuration. I had the top bunk while my girlfriend had the bottom. It was a little tight getting up and down the ladder but still manageable.

Comments

Godda and Booth Lake Trip Report: Algonquin Provincial Park Solo Trip

My longest back country camping trip this year was into Algonquin Provincial Park. I went from September 16-19, 4 days and 3 nights. Originally my plan was to stay until the 20th but circumstances forced me to change my original route. Originally, I had planned on going from the Shall Lake Access Point(17) to Godda Lake for one night, then head down to Boot Lake for two nights, up to Booth Lake for one night, then home. However, during my first day, I realized that I had overestimated my capability to portage with a 75 pound canoe, and I had planned too long of a route. I altered my plans and instead spent two nights on Godda Lake and one night on Booth Lake. Day 1: I got to the access point at 11:10am and had everything unpacked and loaded into the canoe by 11:25am. I made my way through Farm Lake (which has super clear water) to the first portage into Kitty Lake. The portage was only 100M and was the first of the trip. It took 10 minutes to double carry. I was able to do t...

Six Days Alone in Algonquin: Canoe Lake to White Trout and Back

Six Days Alone in Algonquin: Canoe Lake to White Trout and Back My first back country canoe trip of 2025 was to what is normally the busiest part of Algonquin. I left on May 4th from Canoe Lake and returned on May 9th to Canoe Lake. In between, I stayed on Rainbow, McIntosh, Misty, White Trout, and Sunbeam Lakes, each for one night. The total distance for the trip was 99.07 km, as recorded on Strava. The way I recorded my days on Strava didn’t differentiate between paddling and portaging, but I did roughly 36.03 km of portaging. I double-carried each portage, so I did each portage length three times. Waterfall between Timberwolf and Misty Lake Day One – Canoe Lake to Rainbow Lake: 12.18 km, 4 hours 17 minutes I recently got a new car this winter -a Chevy Equinox EV. Since this was my first time traveling with a canoe on the EV, I was interested to see how much it would affect my range. I left Ottawa at 98% and got to Bancroft with around 30%. From there, I charged ...

Driftwood Provincial Park 2023

The first and most likely only camping trip this year was just taken on the July 1st long weekend. It is probably going to be the only trip because we just got a puppy and aren't quite at the stage yet of taking her camping. In some other news I got a new camera. Henrys was having an trade in event and for once was offering a fair deal. I traded in my Nikon D7200 and got a Sony Alpha a6600 instead. I got a 70-350mm lens and have an 16-50mm lens on order that should hopefully be in mid August. That is currently why all my photos are zoomed in and there is no landscape ones. Sunset from the beach before the storm. Taken on my Pixel 6 My new camera with zoom lens. Slug basking in sunlight on a rock. Dragon fly resting. Black and White Warbler Red Eyed Vireo Female American Redstart Ovenbird Mushrooms and Moss. Female Yellow Bellied Sapsucker.

Iain Leitch Photography

Search This Blog