West Coast Wonders

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Well hello,

Its been a while but we are still here, well there.

We have just got into Los Angeles and are staying less than a day before we travel on to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. But we will be back next week. Have to travel through LA to get there. This is because we are now travelling on Amtrak trains rather than on the Greyhound buses. It is luxury (compared to Greyhound) and because of where it goes on the west coast it is actually worth doing. For instance, in the East (ish) to travel from Memphis to Little Rock takes about 3 hours on the bus but would take two days on the train because you have to change in Chicago !! Hopefully that makes sense to some of you.

Anyway we spent a few days in Dallas and experienced the wonder that is freezing rain. That means that the atmosphere is warm and rain falls but the ground is cold so when it lands it turns to ice. Great fun. Hence we were sort of stuck inside for a couple of days.
We did however manage to get to the Sixth floor museum, the place where JFK was assasinated from...supposedly..... The whole floor is now a museum about his life and death.
Many thanks to Ann (my mums penpal) for putting up with us!!!

On 20th Feb we flew from Dallas Fort Worth Airport to Vancouver and then on to the Island to stay with some of Barbaras Family (sort of). We followed the Rockies most of the way up over clear skies. A fantastic flight!

Vancouver Island is a beautiful place with great coastal scenery and mountains. We had a great few days there just looking around and then headed over to Vancouver itself for another couple of days. Thanks also to Billy, Carol and the other one.


Then it was back over the border to Seattle. Its a nice place. We stayed right beside the market with singing, fish throwing fishmongers and piano playing buskers. We went to the Experience MUsic Project, which is exactly how it sounds. You get to mess about in recording type studios, experience a live gig and there is loads of music memorabilia, especially of Jimi Hendrix who was born here.

Portland was next with a private tour along the Columbia River Gorge with its, waterfalls, dams and loads of other nice things. Our guide was native American so he knew loads about the way things used to be done. Get this - He comes from the Thompson tribe !! They are only called that because the settlers could not pronounce their Indian name!

Next came the train journey down to San Francisco. It is a beautiful journey through the Cascade Mountains overnight and usually takes about 16 hours. We, however managed to hit a snowstorm and were on the train for 23 hours! It was very nice, but a very long time.

San Francisco is a city like no other that we have seen. The hills that you see in all the movies are not that bad - They are Worse!! Barbara managed to hurt her foot trying to walk up them. The bridge is fantastic, the piers are cool and Alcatraz is amazing. Must have been extra annoying looking out onto SF Bay from behind bars.

We could have spent a lot longer in SF but time in the USA is getting short and we travelled on to Monterey, place of cheese, pines and Jazz festivals. Also the place of a huge underwater canyon which makes it perfect for seeing loads of marine life. We took a whale watching tour and saw several Grey whales, loads of Dolphin, as well as sea otters and loads of seals and sealions from the shore. It is a fantastic place.

People on the West coast are really nice. They are very generous and friendly. Those of you planning a trip to the states - Come to California!! (Its all right - there is a Disneyland here as well)

Another two weeks left here and then on to Fiji and the mid point of our trip. Please do give us a shout. We would love to hear what you are up to!!


All the Best,

Sam and Babs

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Photos

The Book Depository, Dallas
The sixth floor of this building is where JFK was supposedly shot from. The X on the road is the exact place the fatal bullet hit.

Victoria, Vancouver Island
Totem poles are everywhere. The guy on the right is Brian, who we stayed with.

Vancouver Island
Big bit of dead wood on a beach. Brian would like to point out that it was him who took this wonderful photo.

Columbia River Gorge
A beautiful area of Oregon. Worth a visit.

Columbia River Gorge Falls
Can't remember what these falls are called but they are big and nice (and wet and cold)

Pier 39. SF.
Loads of Sealions here. Very noisy. I couldn't even hear Barbara over the noise, or tell the difference, I'm not sure

Alcatraz
This is what happens to people who steal my hat !!!

San Francisco
Alcatraz, a Cable Car and yet another hill.

Monterey Harbour
It's in Monterey.

Santa Barbara
Isn't Santa meant to mean Saint?? I really should let my wife write some of these comments....