Having returned to Vancouver so many times over the last few years, I was excited to be arriving out of character. I wasn't rolling a suitcase behind me through the gates at the beautiful Vancouver airport, nor was I jumping off of a seaplane from the Island. The train transport was a great ending to my American journey as I had watched an Oscar winning movie and filed my nails to perfection, whilst viewing familiar ground through the window. I was the first off the train from Seattle, wearing my Indiana Jones hat and hoisting my life pack onto my back. The customs official questioned me on why I wasn't using my Canadian passport (awful picture) and began flipping through the pages looking for an available corner for the final stamp. The final stamp! Although the ... read more

The train pulled into Portland station only 3 hours behind schedule. This isn't out of the ordinary for Amtrak, but always annoying when you have plans. I had kept in touch with a friend from Texas and was eager to see her digs across town. Kari has a great apartment across the Willamette River on the south east side of Portland, with one of the most attractive features I have seen in my world tour of apartments. An independent coffee shop with a wireless internet connection, sits opposite her front door. Life is good. Although we had met only a couple of weeks earlier, it seemed as though an entire lifetime had passed and we clearly needed to catch up. We talked about boys in Texas, boys in California, and boys in Oregon and Washington. We ... read more

Having said farewell to the endless esculators in Vegas and the speed chasing cop from the unknown Area 51, Chris and I greeted our venture into California's Death Valley with slight apprehension. It's not every day that I get to tour an area known as the hottest place on earth. Although, being March, I expect we'll be okay. The first scheduled stop hit the heart strings for both of us, as it was known as 'Scotty's Castle'. Chris approached the ticket window with his strong Glaswegian accent, attempting to claim a free ticket for heritage reasons; no luck. I approached the window with the same reasoning adding a female touch, and was at least told of where to go, for free. We traipsed up the hill to Scotty's final resting place and paid our respects to ... read more

I hit the road for Nevada with two lads from the UK. As I have a rail pass, is this a mistake? Will I be excluded from half of the camaraderie as I 'wouldn't understand'? Well, I did have my quiet moment when they showed their gangsta moves to the tunes, and when Joffie wrote a few naughty words in the crusty dirt on the car doors, but apart from that the cruise to Vegas was a blast. The straight open road ahead of us was a contrast to our motorways in the UK, but then absolutely nothing is similar to life in the UK so who knows why I still refer to it? The traffic came to a stop as we approached Hoover Dam. I jumped out for some fresh air and a few photos ... read more

Travelling through America, I kind of define each state as a country on it's own as everything is so darn spread out. My time in New Mexico is without a doubt the quickest visit yet, just one day! I didn't really get a chance to explore, but sometimes one event can trigger a quick exodus. I arrived in Albuquerque at midnight on the bus from El Paso, Texas. In hindsight, perhaps I should have stayed overnight in El Paso but I didn't really get a good vibe there so I kept on moving. Despite having called ahead several times, one particular staff member at the hostel was extremely unaccommodating for a late night arrival. So I ended up touring the central strip for a cheap motel...at midnight. In the morning I realized that the town of ... read more