Stepping back in time, in 1996 in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary, we (the four daughters) presented our parents with an Amtrak excursion across country. Referred to as the 'Choo Choo Trek West', mom documented the adventure in a small spiral bound notebook where she shared the journey, included photographs that they took and supplemented it with purchased postcards of vistas unable to capture with a camera.
The journey took them across the northern most United States with stops in Chicago, Minneapolis, Glacier National Park in Montana, and Seattle. The journal page that caught my attention began with:
"We saw a sign for High Tea at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Alberta, Canada. So we crossed the border at Waterton Park - adjacent to Glacier. The 2 combine into Peace Park. Tea was beyond words - lavish, elegant, beautifully presented in the lobby and $15.00 each. We had tiny sandwiches, little muffins, fresh berries, (blueberries, strawberries, and big sweet red raspberries) with a large bowl of clotted cream, flaky scones and all the sweets imaginable - petite fours, strawberries dipped in chocolate, jelly roll, assorted layer cakes and cream puff swans."
Doesn't that sound grand!? And, with the wonders of the Internet, it's possible to confirm that the
Prince of Wales Hotel is still in operation, that they continue to serve
Afternoon Tea, and that it now costs $30.00/person. It was a real bargain in 1996, and it still sounds like a bargain!
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| View from the Lobby where they served tea. |
The picture to the right, was one that my mother took while they enjoyed Afternoon Tea in the Lobby offering a beautiful vista of Waterton Lake.
So happy to have my mother's journal as it's a lovely remembrance of their special vacation. She concludes with:
Nancy and Susie met us (at the airport) about midnight - a long day. If we had realized how much we would enjoy the train, we would have rode the rails home. A perfect vacation, 50th Honeymoon, over too soon.
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| Bertha and Byron Reppert, 1996 |
Stepping back in time, in 1996 in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary, we (the four daughters) presented our parents with an Amtrak excursion across country. Referred to as the 'Choo Choo Trek West', mom documented the adventure in a small spiral bound notebook where she shared the journey, included photographs that they took and supplemented it with purchased postcards of vistas unable to capture with a camera.
The journey took them across the northern most United States with stops in Chicago, Minneapolis, Glacier National Park in Montana, and Seattle. The journal page that caught my attention began with: "We saw a sign for High Tea at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Alberta, Canada. So we crossed the border at Waterton Park - adjacent to Glacier. The 2 combine into Peace Park. Tea was beyond words - lavish, elegant, beautifully presented in the lobby and $15.00 each. We had tiny sandwiches, little muffins, fresh berries, (blueberries, strawberries, and big sweet red raspberries) with a large bowl of clotted cream, flaky scones and all the sweets imaginable - petite fours, strawberries dipped in chocolate, jelly roll, assorted layer cakes and cream puff swans."
So happy to have my mother's journal as it's a lovely remembrance of their special vacation. She concludes with: Nancy and Susie met us (at the airport) about midnight - a long day. If we had realized how much we would enjoy the train, we would have rode the rails home. A perfect vacation, 50th Honeymoon, over too soon.
I always enjoy seeing and hearing about your outstanding parents. They certainly contributed a great deal to our community of Mechanicsburg. Proud to call this borough home.
ReplyDeleteSweet story...
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have her journal with such detail. It was fun to read that they served cream puff swans.
Wow! How special to have your mother's travel journal and photos, etc. We enjoyed our stay at the Prince of Wales Hotel with the beautiful view of the lake from our afternoon tea table. I'm sure your parents enjoyed their visit, too..
ReplyDeleteNow that is quite a treasure to have these remembrances in your mom's journal. What a beautiful place to have tea. I would love this trip for sure, especially with tea time and beautiful surroundings.
ReplyDelete