Train(s)

Today, I have mostly been on a train. With no WiFi (it was "broken").

The train from San Francisco to Seattle leaves at 2121 and arrives at 1950 the next day. Chris, our cabin attendant, had already turned our seats into beds for us so after a quick drink (soft) in the (dark) observation carriage we went to bed for the first eight hours or so before being woken for the first of three, very good, meals. I can't say I slept massively well, it reminded me of the first night offshore (on the boat), before your body has learned to autocorrect the motion and your brain has filtered out the "Oh sh*t" noises but I must have had some sleep as the time passed quickly.

Bearing in mind how long it was, and the lack of WiFi, the journey went surprisingly quickly, through some stunning countryside; California mountains - including through some very smokey wildfires, Oregon's arable fields - looking very dry, and the townships of rural Washington. We had a couple of stops where we were able to get off and have a quick wander round which also helped.

Seattle is somewhere I've wanted to visit for a long time and so far (after about three hours!) it hasn't disappointed.