Seattle, Washington to Vancouver, British Columbia: A short cross-country train ride

Travel Date: Saturday, April 30th 2016

I got up in the morning, and peered out the window. Morton told me the previous day that you could see Mt. Rainier from his window on a clear day.

Sure enough, you could see it. 

After saying goodbye to Morton, I head downstairs from his apartment, and caught an Uber to the Amtrak Seattle King Street Train Station, and stood in line.

The line is really really long.

The architecture of the train station was beautiful.

While in line, I made a friend. Unfortunately, I am writing this blog post so late that I forgot her name. I'll just call her CoolLadyISatNextTo.

We received our seat assignments: Car 8 and Seat 13 and 14. We told the ticketing agent that we would like to sit next to each other.

The train Cascades arrived, and one by one the passengers were embarking.

It is our turn.

We are all set and ready to go.

Below are some of the pretty views of the scenery and bays of Washington State as we get closer to Vancouver, Canada.

Look out for the Eagle's Nest.

We switched seats, so this time I get the window.

I think we just crossed into Canada.

We are definitely in Canada.

We finally entered the Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, Canada. Upon arrival, it looks and feels like a detention center, not that I have any experience with that.

We have to get out of our cars in turn, and wait in line. The passengers in cars are only processed one at a time.

It takes about an hour for us to move through, and finally I am through customs and legally in Canada.

The weather of Vancouver is gorgeous, cool, and sunny. I fluctuate between removing my jacket from feeling too hot, to putting it back on because it is just a little cool.

I hop on the Vancouver Metro system and head over to the Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel in Richmond, B.C.

Reflections:
I am quite grateful to Morton for the short sleepover in Seattle, Vancouver. I had a frustrating time with update my credit card with Uber since my Marriott credit card was recently cancelled for potential fraud. But in the end it all worked out and for that I am grateful. Learning lesson: know what credit cards you've setup to automatically work for which apps.

Meeting "CoolLadyISatNextTo" was a neat experience. She was from Washington State and was traveling to Vancouver solo for the first time. So was I. It was refreshing to meet another traveler, waiting in line ahead of me at the train station, and share conversation and the train ride with her. At the end of the journey we traded emails and left on our own paths. She doesn't use facebook - sigh.

The one thing I learned about Canadian customs that I found interesting is that if you fly into Canada, and you have a passport from certain countries (as I do), then you have to get an eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization) clearance. To avoid getting the eTA, you can travel via train from the US to Canada. They don't require an eTA, which is why I traveled by train.

I'm excited about being in Vancouver and exploring as much as I can in less than a day.

Expenses in US$: $73.39
$54.00: Train Ticket from Seattle, Washington to Vancouver, British Columbia (Amtrak)
$6.79: Uber Ride to Seattle King Street Train Station

$12.60 (CAD $15.75): Train Ticket from Pacific Central Station to Richmond, British Columbia