''Why would anyone come to Prince George for a road trip?'' This was our Hotel Receptionist the day before, when we checked into the Hotel. Not the ones to be fazed by such dispiriting welcome we laughed it off. After a refreshing nights sleep we woke up excited to spend the day exploring Prince George. After a quick breakfast we were on our way. The first item on our list was the Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum.
This quaint looking Museum houses a number of Train engines and other related stuff. I am a fan of trains and engines so I made it a point to mention to the group to give it a shot. We arrived at the Museum at around 11 am.
We started off our little tour inside the museum in real earnest. There were not many people around which is something I always pray for when visiting a museum so that I have lots of time to view the exhibits at my own leisure. Since the exhibits are kept in the open, the weather plays a major part in the experience. It was a nice warm sunny day and our stroll through the museum was a pleasant one. I do not remember the sequence in which we covered the whole area but some of the highlights are the following. Deviating from my usual way Ill let the pictures do the talking this time.
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| A Kitchen inside one of the Carriages |
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| A number of bogies and engines parked in a circle with a rotating track in the middle |
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| A small 18 hp train where people can sit and take a ride. Unfortunately it was closed for maintenance at the time of our visit. |
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| A complete room inside one of the bogies |
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| The 1520 Steam Locomotive. Built by the Canadian Locomotive Company in 1906 and served with Canadian Northern Railway |
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| A luxury carriage called the Nechako Coach. Built by the legendary Pullman company in 1913, it served with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. |
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| Divya inspecting one of the sleeper carriages |
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| Thivya checking out the controls |
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| Namendra and Sonali on their thrones |
I was having a wonderful time at the Museum but had to leave as the kids were getting bored. I made a mental note to visit this place again someday soon.
From here we planned to visit the science center but before we did so we did a short drive around the surrounding industries. One of the reasons for us to choose Prince George for a road trip was this. We wanted to have a look at the industries and assess the conditions of the town itself in case we ever got a job here.
After this we made our way to a Science center called The Exploration Place. This place had many interesting exhibits on display. For kids too there were a number of interesting games, interactive models and play areas to keep them occupied for hours. Heck, I would have spent hours there if I had the time.
After the end of the tour of the science center, Divya wanted to check out a bowling alley he spotted nearby. But Namendra had different plans. So we split into two groups. Namendra, Sonali and the Kids went to a nearby cafe while Divya, Thivya and myself went to the bowling alley. Here we played a round each. This was the first time I was trying out bowling and I loved it. In our little competition I had the edge initially but Divya soon overtook me and emerged the winner. Thivya meanwhile was trailing us with a long margin. After the game we joined Namendra and Sonali in the Cafe. The Cafe had outdoor seating area which is where we had seated ourselves. The ambiance was brilliant and the weather was pleasant so conversation flowed along nicely. We had some delicious food too. As dusk approached it grew chilly but we were reluctant to leave. Finally we had to leave as the temperature dropped. We made our way back to our hotel and tucked in for the night. The next day was going to be a long one as we planned to go to Jasper and then turn back to Vancouver. This was quite ambitious and a bit risky but we were up for it.
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