2007 - here we go again to japan and the US

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Hi, I bet you thought we had forgotten you since last December or that we had given up travel altogether! Neither is true and we are setting off again tomorrow for 2 months in the States - to see Phil and to explore the USA with Amtrak. Not sure how often the blog will get done this trip but if you like to keep watching the email notification and most likely updates will appear.

Col will celebrate his 70th whilst we are away and so the family and I organised a party for him last night. Having seen him in various blogs over time or if you have been with on or near trains I thought you might like to see a Col the train buff as the cake decorator saw him!

Tomorrow morning we fly to Tokyo(is there any other way to go?) before heading off with trusty JR passes to explore northern Honshu for 7 days by Shinkasen, small mountain rail, coastal scenic rail and the odd boat, bus and ferry. For the last night of our travels in Japan we have already booked into an onsen so that we can relax and soak in the hot baths before catching the train to Narita and flying (with no pain) to LA.

Once in the USA we will be spending 3 weeks in and around Washington DC seeing Phil and enjoying the galleries, museums and events offered in that great city. Then once again we will travel by train (surprise, surprise) back across the States stopping off in Chicago, Colorado and San Diego before we fly back home on the 12 October.

I think by now most of you know that we have recently moved into an apartment and already we are finding it just so easy to pack our bags and shut the door without having to worry about gardens and other household chores.

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Photos

Happy Birthday
He has a return ticket in his hand in case he gets lost

Home again
Luckily he found his way home after the party and is now sitting on the kitchen bench watching over things

Balcony living
Well we do have a small garden but with drought resistant plants that hopefully will survive