June 28, 2025 The Ocean- Halifax to Montreal

Last night was the first of six nights on the train. For some, sleeping on trains is not easy. The bed is narrow, and it was very firm on this train. The curtains didn’t block out a lot of light, and there was enough background light coming in that the ambient light in the room was enough for me to see. In this room, I’m perpendicular to the track, so being right next to side is a bit scary. The Ocean left Halifax at 11:30, and since my hotel was right by the train station, it made for an relaxing morning in Halifax. I woke up before 6 o’clock on Friday. I made the awful room coffee and spent the first part of the morning writing the blog about my day in Halifax, and then went to a small cafe for breakfast. This was a cafe that I had heard about from the guys I talked to at the bar in Dartmouth, and I was the only one there at 8am. That kind of surprised me. I expected to see a crowd, or at least an active. The guy running the cafe couldn’t have been nicer, and once again the standard egg, bacon, and toast breakfast was quite a bargain. This was $1 more, but came with sausage and 4 slices of toast, instead of just bacon and 2 slices of toast. For the record, i didn’t need the two extra slices of toast, nor the sausage. My next quest was the get some lens cleaner for my glasses. I left it at home, and I saw there was a optometry shop a few blocks from the cafe. I walked to optometry shop, and they gave me the lens cleaner and cloth to clean my glasses. That was nice, but even better is that I walked closer to the older part of town where the old churches are. Halifax is an old enough town that each group tried to top each other by building larger and more magnificient cathedrals. While larger have the same thing, they tend to be spread out, where they are right next to each other in Halifax. I’m a big fan of that old style architechture, so it was great to see each church. The government house was also close by, and ofcourse the govenor couldn’t be outshined by the church, so that was also a very spectacular building. I made my way back to the hotel by 9:30, packed back up for the train, and decided to head to the train station after I realized I was watching golf just to pass the time. I checked my bag, and then went to a small lounge for sleeper passengers in the Halifax train station. For a station that gets three trains a week, the Halifax train station is quite nice. Train stations tend to be built in the grand style that was popular, and the smaller cities still had their version of the grand lobby. That’s Halifax, which is sized perfectly for the one train that comes through, especially because that train gets a lot of people. Check-in and boarding started an hour before the train left, so I was able to get settled into my room before the train started moving. There are two styles of rooms on The Ocean. One is on the newer cars, which they call the Renansance train, and the other is HEB cars, which are the cars from the 1950’s. I made my way to the whole train, so I got to see them, but those are the cars that I’ll get on the Canadian.

The car that I was in was the newer one. It is called a sleeper plus, which is like a mini-room. It is similar in size the a roomette on Amtrak, but has a ensuite bathroom and shower. During the day there is a couch that only faces one way, and the room is just wide enough to spread my legs out and touch the other side. At night, the lower bunk fold down on to the couch, and then you can pull down the upper bunk from above. The biggest drawback is the couch doesn’t recline, and only faces one way. I’m going backward, which is never preferred. I definitely prefer the Amtrak roomette, even without ensuite bathroom. Actually, I prefer not to have the toilet so close to where I sleep. However, I liked being able to lock my door from the outside. The Ocean has more lounge space than Amtrak trains, with 2 lounges on either side of the diner car, and two empty cars that were built for the Chunnel and then sold to Via Rail. Those are wider and comfier seats than the sleepers, so I think some passengers preferred it to their sleeper. I can definitely see that if you’re not by yourself. Coach looked very nice, and not at all hectic. I still wouldn’t want to sleep in coach, but it is a lot nicer than an airplane.

The Ocean also had activities throughout the day, which spaced the day out pretty well. I went the first activity, which they told me about the train, and then it was soon time for lunch. After a fresh air stop in Moncton, it was the second activity, and then a few hours later there was wine tasting with two Nova Scotia’s wines. After another hour, it was time for dinner, and then my bed was set up. I showered, watched some videos, and tried to sleep. With each meal you get three choices, including one vegetarian. i had beef stir-fry and a baked cod with lobster sauce. Both were fine, but I’d prefer something more sandwich like for lunch. You get a starter and desert, plus free beverages. As a solo traveler, you will likely get seated with a stranger, which is not a bad thing. The interesting thing is that you often see the same passengers on Amtrak, so there is a sense of community that develops, while there are a lot more sleeper cabins on the Ocean. I ended up being sat with two diametrical opposites. At lunch, I was seated with an older woman from BC. She was pleasant, but not the most talkative person. I have no idea how old she was, but I would assume over 80. At dinner, it was an 18 year old on his way to move in with his dad after living with his mom in Nova Scotia. He was on the train because he is afraid of heights and didn’t want to take a plane. He was a very young adult on one of his first solo adult trips, and I immediately noticed simiar traits to what I see in my students. I talked to him about his future, which I hope was in a non-confortational way. Maybe I helped him find a path, or at least narrow it down, and maybe his parents will find tthat putting him on a train and dealing with strangers was good for him The terrain in that part of Canada was amazing. Now that I have data on my phone, I can tell when I get outside of the civilization when my phone doesn’t recieve a signal. Most of the way from Turro to Moncton was in an isolated forrest area that I didn’t recieve a signal. The was some farmland, but it felt like we were in wilderness with a mixture of bogs, creeks, and woods. After we left Moncton, it became more farmland, but still there a lot of rivers and lakes that you would see along the way

Day 1: June 26, 2025 Halifax, NS

June 26, 2025 Halifax, NS 27,141 Steps!

First of all, Halifax is one of the most stunning places I’ve ever seen. The pictures aren’t doing it justice. It is a port town, land on both sides, kind of like San Francisco, but much narrower. There are aren’t mountains, but there is enough terrain to give it character, and the Halifax waterfront has a boardwalk that extends pretty much the length of downtown. I walked from the train station to the ferry terminal, and it was a nice boardwalk area the whole way. It has a ton of restaurants and shops, mostly geared towards tourists, but still wonderful. It doesn’t matter, because the scenery is looking at over the water. My trip started at home with a inauspicious start. I was eager to go, and completed packed up by 1pm. One of my goals on trips like this is to limit public transportation, so I wanted to take the bus to the BART station. My flight left at six, but I hate rushing to get to the airport, so I decided to catch the 1:50 bus to Castro Valley Bart. A minute before the bus comes, I realize I’m wearing my older tennis shoes, that have worn down soles. Right now, they are like old slippers, that are super comfortable, but can’t stand up to lots of walking. Fortunately, I was close to home, and could quickly change the shoes. However, that meant that I would miss the bus I planned to take. The next bus was the opposite way, to Hayward Bart, in 15 minutes. It should have been much of a debate, because I would be stuck with shoes that couldn’t stand up to test, and it would cost me less than 30 minutes time getting to the airport. In the end, connections hit, and I think it was one train. My first time flying West Jet, and it is acceptable. Maybe it was a bad day, or just a cranky attendant, but my flight attendant from San Francisco to Calgary had the pleasant demeanor of veteran teacher after the substitute left an unpleasant note about their classes behavior. In here defense, I watched passengers in her section, and it was probably deserved. No IFE, so the only option was downloaded, and noise cancelling headphones are a godsend for solo travellers. I was concerned about the connection in Calgary. AI had warned thatat going from international to domestic in CGY meant clearing customs, including checked bags, leave the airport, and then rescreen at the domestic terminal. Clearing Canadian immigration was a level-7 on hassle, but it was quick. The automated passport control was easy, but then I was interviewed by a screener, who then sent me to be interviewed by a second, and finally there was third who took my declaration and scanned my boarding pass. Three people, but there were all Canadians, and exhibited typical Canadian politeness. The flight from Calgary to Halifax was shorter than I would expect. It was only four hours, and we arrived at 6:30 (30 minutes early). The biggest issue was that my phone couldn’t access wifi, so all I had was the airport wifi. I had a day pass on HFX transit, so I took the bus from the airport into Halifax. The problem came when the bus didn’t have public wifi, and I couldn’t remember which bus that I needed to connect to. Fortunately, the connection was about a mile from my hotel. I ended up getting help to find the correct bus, found the right bus port, and it ended up taking me more time than it would take to walk. I got to my hotel far too early to check-in, and spent about 25 minutes on the phone trying to get the wifi situation sorted out. I found a nice place for breakfast, which was light (two eggs, bacon, and toast), which along with coffee came to $7! The best value tour package in any city is a day pass on the public transportation system. It’s always good, and in Halifax that includes the ferry. From downtown there are two ferries, Woodside and Alderny, and there is a 3K hike along the shore that connects the two.

The walk was perfect for what I wanted, and looked back on Halifax from the east side. I originally was going to take the ferry back to Halifax, get lunch and then check back at my hotel, but a lovely tourist information lady in Alderny told me where I could get a donair in Dartmouth. It was early, I wasn’t that hungry, but it felt rude to ignore her, so I went to the pizza that she recommended, with the caveat that she had no favorite for donair because she couldn’t eat them. Let’s just say, I tried a donair. It you don’t know, it’s a version of doner kebab, which is a popular German street food. In this case, the beef was over cooked, and it had a super sweet sauce that made my hands sticky. Nonetheless, it was next to a bar with a lovely outside terrace and I had a wonderful conversation with two locals while drinking a beer overlooking the waterfront. After getting to my hotel and recharging (phone and body), I went for my next outing, which was a park south of the train station. It was a long walk, or a bus ride, but waiting took as much time as it took to walk there.

It was a nice urban park with trails, and the old fort that protected the Halifax harbor in the 1700’s. The trail is a nice walk. The fort is a berm built into a hill, and from inside it looks like a berm on top of a hill. If you climb it, you look out over the entrance to the harbor. The highlight was look at the shipping port, and realizing that Halifax has an active shipping port. It was time for dinner after I got home and showered, and that was at a lovely pub restuarant, which had my next food bucket list. That was much nicer than the Donair!. I finished my night with a walk along the boardwalk in early twilight.

PS- if I ever comeback as a dog, I want it to be in Halifax!

Final NCAA College Football Rankings

Rnk Team
1 Florida
2 Texas
3 Oklahoma
3 USC
5 Utah
6 Alabama
7 Penn St
8 Boise St
9 Texas Christian
10 Georgia
11 Texas Tech
12 Ohio St
13 Pittsburgh
14 Oregon St
15 Virginia Tech
16 Florida St
17 Cincinnati
18 Oregon
19 Mississippi
20 Missouri
21 California
22 Boston College
23 North Carolina
24 Oklahoma St
24 Wake Forest
26 Iowa
27 Nebraska
28 West Virginia
29 Michigan St
30 Georgia Tech
31 Ball St
32 Brigham Young
33 Rice
34 Tulsa
35 East Carolina
36 Rutgers
37 Kansas
38 Connecticut
39 Maryland
40 South Florida
41 Vanderbilt
42 Louisiana St
43 Arizona
44 Northwestern
45 Houston
46 Clemson
47 Navy
48 Air Force
49 South Carolina
50 Miami(Fla)
51 West. Mich
52 Southern Miss
53 North Carolina St
54 Buffalo
55 Troy
56 Notre Dame
56 Cent. Mich
58 Virginia
59 Kentucky
60 Wisconsin
60 Nevada
62 Colorado St
63 Stanford
64 Minnesota
65 Louisiana Tech
65 Bowling Green
67 Tennessee
68 Illinois
69 Fresno St
70 Arkansas
71 Hawaii
72 Auburn
73 Colorado
74 Duke
75 Florida Atlantic
76 Arkansas St
77 Louisville
78 UTEP
79 Northern Ill
80 Purdue
81 Memphis
81 New Mexico
83 Marshall
84 UNLV
85 Arizona St
86 San Jose St
87 La.-Lafayette
88 Middle Tenn St
88 Mississippi St
90 UCLA
91 Temple
92 Baylor
93 Michigan
94 Texas A&M
95 Kansas St
96 Akron
97 East. Mich
98 Florida Int.
99 Kent St.
100 Wyoming
101 Utah St
102 UCF
103 Syracuse
104 Indiana
104 Ohio
106 Army
107 New Mexico St
108 La.-Monroe
109 UAB
110 Toledo
111 San Diego St
112 Tulane
113 Iowa St
114 Miami(OH)
115 Washington
116 Washington St
117 West. Kentucky
118 SMU
119 Idaho
120 North Texas

Dec 6 NCAA Football Rankings

Rnk Team
1 Florida
2 Texas
3 Oklahoma
4 Utah
5 Alabama
5 Penn St
7 Boise St
7 USC
9 Texas Tech
10 Ohio St
11 Pittsburgh
12 Texas Christian
13 Georgia Tech
14 Cincinnati
15 Georgia
16 Ball St
17 Florida St
18 Boston College
19 Virginia Tech
20 Missouri
21 North Carolina
22 Michigan St
23 Oklahoma St
24 Oregon St
25 California
26 Mississippi
27 Oregon
28 Iowa
29 Brigham Young
30 Nebraska
30 West Virginia
32 East Carolina
33 Wake Forest
34 Northwestern
35 Navy
36 Clemson
36 Rutgers
38 West. Mich
39 Air Force
40 Maryland
41 Miami(Fla)
42 Kansas
43 Tulsa
43 Rice
45 Buffalo
46 South Carolina
47 South Florida
48 Connecticut
49 Cent. Mich
50 North Carolina St
51 Wisconsin
52 Louisiana St
53 Vanderbilt
54 Houston
55 Nevada
56 Troy
57 Arizona
58 Virginia
59 Minnesota
60 Southern Miss
61 Fresno St
62 Notre Dame
62 Bowling Green
64 Hawaii
65 Tennessee
66 Louisiana Tech
66 Illinois
68 Stanford
69 Kentucky
70 Colorado St
71 Northern Ill
72 Arkansas
73 Auburn
74 Duke
75 Colorado
76 Purdue
77 Louisville
78 Arkansas St
79 San Jose St
80 Memphis
81 UTEP
82 Marshall
83 UNLV
84 New Mexico
85 La.-Lafayette
86 Florida Atlantic
86 Arizona St
88 Michigan
89 Temple
90 Mississippi St
91 Middle Tenn St
92 Baylor
93 Kansas St
94 East. Mich
95 UCLA
95 Texas A&M
97 Kent St.
98 Akron
99 Utah St
100 Florida Int.
101 Indiana
102 Wyoming
103 Syracuse
103 New Mexico St
105 Ohio
106 UCF
107 Army
108 La.-Monroe
109 UAB
110 Toledo
111 West. Kentucky
112 San Diego St
113 Iowa St
114 Tulane
115 Miami(OH)
116 Washington St
117 SMU
118 Idaho
119 Washington
120 North Texas

Nov 29 NCAA Football Rankings

Rnk Team
1 Texas
2 Florida
3 Oklahoma
4 Alabama
5 Utah
6 USC
6 Boise St
8 Penn St
9 Texas Tech
10 Ohio St
11 Texas Christian
12 Boston College
13 Ball St
14 Georgia Tech
15 Georgia
16 Cincinnati
17 Pittsburgh
18 Florida St
19 Missouri
20 North Carolina
21 Michigan St
22 Oklahoma St
23 California
24 Mississippi
25 Oregon St
25 Virginia Tech
27 Brigham Young
28 Oregon
28 Nebraska
30 Iowa
31 Wake Forest
32 Northwestern
33 Clemson
34 Navy
35 Connecticut
36 West. Mich
37 West Virginia
38 South Florida
38 Tulsa
40 Air Force
41 Maryland
42 Rice
43 South Carolina
44 Kansas
45 Rutgers
46 Miami(Fla)
47 East Carolina
48 Cent. Mich
49 Wisconsin
50 Vanderbilt
50 North Carolina St
52 Nevada
53 Houston
54 Louisiana St
55 Minnesota
56 Virginia
57 Buffalo
58 Hawaii
59 Southern Miss
60 Fresno St
61 Troy
62 Notre Dame
63 Arizona
64 Tennessee
65 Bowling Green
66 Louisiana Tech
67 Kentucky
68 Illinois
69 Stanford
69 Colorado St
71 Arkansas
72 Louisville
73 Northern Ill
74 Arkansas St
75 Auburn
76 Duke
77 Colorado
78 Purdue
79 Memphis
80 San Jose St
81 Arizona St
82 Marshall
83 UNLV
84 UTEP
84 Middle Tenn St
86 Mississippi St
87 New Mexico
87 Florida Atlantic
89 Temple
90 Baylor
91 Michigan
92 UCLA
93 Kansas St
94 East. Mich
95 Akron
96 Texas A&M
96 La.-Lafayette
98 Kent St.
99 Utah St
100 Indiana
101 Florida Int.
101 Syracuse
103 New Mexico St
104 Wyoming
105 Army
106 Ohio
107 UCF
108 UAB
109 Toledo
110 La.-Monroe
111 West. Kentucky
112 San Diego St
113 Iowa St
114 Tulane
115 Miami(OH)
116 SMU
117 Washington St
118 Idaho
119 Washington
120 North Texas

Nov 22 NCAA Football Rankings

Rnk Team
1 Florida
1 Texas
3 Oklahoma
4 Alabama
5 Utah
6 Penn St
7 USC
8 Texas Tech
9 Ohio St
10 Boise St
11 Georgia
12 Missouri
13 Florida St
14 Texas Christian
15 Oklahoma St
16 Cincinnati
17 North Carolina
17 Oregon St
19 Pittsburgh
20 Georgia Tech
21 Michigan St
21 Boston College
23 Ball St
24 California
25 Brigham Young
26 Mississippi
26 Virginia Tech
28 Iowa
29 West Virginia
30 Nebraska
31 West. Mich
32 Northwestern
33 Miami(Fla)
34 Oregon
35 South Carolina
36 Cent. Mich
37 Maryland
38 Wake Forest
39 Connecticut
40 South Florida
41 Air Force
42 Rutgers
43 Louisiana St
44 Vanderbilt
45 Tulsa
46 Clemson
47 Navy
48 Wisconsin
49 Houston
50 Rice
51 East Carolina
52 Virginia
53 Fresno St
54 Kansas
55 Buffalo
56 Kentucky
57 Nevada
58 Minnesota
59 Notre Dame
60 Arizona
61 North Carolina St
62 Troy
63 Louisiana Tech
64 Hawaii
65 Southern Miss
66 Illinois
67 Stanford
68 Tennessee
69 Northern Ill
69 Colorado St
71 Bowling Green
71 Louisville
73 Colorado
74 Duke
75 Auburn
76 Arkansas St
77 Purdue
78 UTEP
79 Arkansas
80 Mississippi St
81 San Jose St
82 UCLA
83 Middle Tenn St
83 Baylor
85 Marshall
86 Memphis
86 UNLV
88 New Mexico
89 Michigan
90 Akron
91 Texas A&M
92 Arizona St
93 Kansas St
94 Florida Atlantic
95 Florida Int.
95 New Mexico St
97 Indiana
98 Temple
99 La.-Lafayette
100 Syracuse
101 UCF
102 Army
103 Utah St
104 Wyoming
105 Toledo
106 Ohio
107 La.-Monroe
108 West. Kentucky
109 East. Mich
110 UAB
111 Kent St.
112 San Diego St
113 Tulane
114 Washington St
115 SMU
116 Miami(OH)
117 Iowa St
118 Idaho
119 Washington
120 North Texas

November 15 NCAA Football Rankings

Rnk Team
1 Florida
2 Texas
3 Texas Tech
4 Alabama
5 Oklahoma
5 USC
7 Utah
8 Penn St
8 Ohio St
10 Boise St
11 Georgia
12 Missouri
13 North Carolina
14 Oklahoma St
15 Michigan St
16 Pittsburgh
17 Texas Christian
18 Brigham Young
19 Florida St
20 Oregon St
21 Cincinnati
22 Miami(Fla)
23 Boston College
24 Ball St
25 California
26 Virginia Tech
27 Maryland
27 Nebraska
29 Connecticut
30 Georgia Tech
31 Air Force
32 Wake Forest
33 Iowa
34 West. Mich
34 Vanderbilt
36 Oregon
37 Louisiana St
38 Cent. Mich
39 Mississippi
40 West Virginia
41 South Carolina
42 Northwestern
43 Wisconsin
44 Navy
44 Rutgers
46 Tulsa
47 Virginia
48 Minnesota
49 Notre Dame
49 Clemson
51 Nevada
52 South Florida
53 Houston
54 Kansas
55 Rice
56 East Carolina
57 Arizona
58 Buffalo
59 Kentucky
60 Illinois
61 Stanford
62 Fresno St
63 Bowling Green
64 Hawaii
65 Louisiana Tech
66 Duke
67 Troy
68 Louisville
69 Southern Miss
70 North Carolina St
71 Northern Ill
72 Colorado St
73 Colorado
74 UNLV
75 UTEP
76 Arkansas
77 Auburn
78 Purdue
79 San Jose St
80 Marshall
81 Akron
82 Michigan
83 Arkansas St
84 Memphis
85 New Mexico
86 Middle Tenn St
86 Baylor
88 UCLA
89 Texas A&M
90 Tennessee
91 Arizona St
92 Florida Atlantic
93 Mississippi St
94 Kansas St
95 Indiana
96 La.-Lafayette
96 New Mexico St
98 Florida Int.
99 Army
100 Utah St
101 Temple
102 Toledo
103 Wyoming
104 UCF
105 Syracuse
106 East. Mich
107 Kent St.
108 Ohio
109 La.-Monroe
109 UAB
111 West. Kentucky
112 Tulane
113 Miami(OH)
114 Washington
115 SMU
115 Iowa St
117 Idaho
118 Washington St
119 San Diego St
120 North Texas