Blogs from Washington, United States, North America - page 15

Art drove me down to Omak to catch a 6am bus to Wenatchee. I spent the day with one of my high school buddies, Mary Joy, who drove me to the airport. I love this place. They took my suitcase and said it would go all the way to Naples. Amazing! History of Pangborn Memorial Airport has been in operation since 1941. It is named for Clyde Pangborn, who along with co-pilot Hugh Herndon, completed the first nonstop flight across the Pacific Ocean in 1931. Their epic journey began in Misawa Japan, and ended 41 hours later in East Wenatchee, Washington. Northwest Airlines began the first commercial air service to and from Pangborn Airport in 1945. In order to cut down on weight they dropped their wheels just after takeoff, literally dropped them off the plane. ... read more

Gestern, am 10.März, bin ich um 11:45 Uhr aus meiner Airbnb Wohnung ausgezogen und mit dem Skytrain nach Vancouver zur Pacific Central Station gefahren. Von dort aus ging mein Zug pünktlich um 17:45 Uhr nach Seattle. Das Boarding war vergleichbar mit dem am Flughafen, da es auch eine Grenzüberquerung ist. Nur leider war der amerikanische Beamte nicht so ganz Feuer und Flamme für meinen Plan, 2 Wochen lang Urlaub in seinem Land zu machen. Kurz nachdem der Zug losfuhr ging die Sonne unter; es war wunderschön. Danach gab es leider nichts mehr zu sehen, man konnte sich nur vorstellen, was man tagsüber anstelle der Dunkelheit sehen konnte. Nachdem ich um 22:10 Uhr in Seattle angekommen bin, machte ich mich zu Fuß auf den Weg zum Hostel, da ich zu faul und müde war, mich nach einem ... read more

Getting to Seattle My spouse Jeff was selected to judge a springboard and platform diving competition in Federal Way, located south of Seattle, last weekend. I decided to join him for the weekend. I had been prewarned that Seattle was unseasonably cold and that there had been snow, so I was prepared accordingly. I arrived in Seattle on Thursday, February 22. The scenery on approach to Seatac Airport was amazing, with the ground blanketed in white and spectacular snow capped peaks on both sides of the approach path. After arrival, I took a shuttle to the hotel, collected my key from reception (Jeff had already checked in a day earlier) and walked to the nearby strip mall to enjoy a bowl of hot pho. After that, I napped until Jeff got back from judging. That evening, ... read more

There are several answers to this question. One might be that it is more fun. I can walk around, without that damn seatbelt light coming on. And I can see out of BOTH sides of the train. Mealtime is at an actual table with waiters, something even a premium seat in First or Business Class of an airplane cannot match. The quality of the food is somewhere between coach class and first, however. Two, it is much more relaxing. I can nap whenever I want, with nobody to bother me. I can stretch out on two seats, with several pillows and blankets if needed. I can open or close the shades, adjust the airflow and light, and it is much quieter than an airplane. Three, the people I meet on the train seem much more willing ... read more

We set off on last Thursday by firstly having a quick visit to the Manassas/Bull Run Battlefield. This was the site of two major Civil War battles, including the first of the war in 1861. For that battle soldiers on both sides, Union and Confederate were basically untrained, unready and had no idea what to expect. In fact the general populous had no idea either and many congressmen and citizens packed picnics and followed the Union army out to the battlefield for what they thought would be a very colourful show, over in double quick time. Wethinks they got a lot more colour than anticipated but it was probably much more crimson than they expected. 900 men died on those fields that day and all notion that the Civil War would be over in days were ... read more