A few random notes on leaving Seattle. One thing I forgot to mention which is unfortunate, was seeing Mount Shasta in California at dawn. It was most unusual, in that it was just hit by the rising sun and broke through the clouds with some stuck to it like cotton! Quite a sight for an early morning. The same could not be said for Mount St. Helen as it was shrouded in clouds and rain when we got near to it. I’m still coming to grips with some of the scenery that is out there. After awhile you get a bit blase’ about vistas but this stuff takes your breath away. There are no words that describe it sufficiently. So, in most cases, you fall back on trite phrases and platitudes and even then they cannot express what you are seeing. And I am anticipating that it will only be better in the Rocky Mountains, in fact I know it will because I have seen what it looks like on the other side of the border.
Oh, yes, although I have not mentioned food in all this carrying on, I would like to say that last night I had one very special Caesar Salad unlike any I have had before! Heck of Sunday dinner and a pretty weird place to have in, the hotel bar but, man, it was wonderful! In this hotel, the bar and restaurant are combined in such a way as to be indistinguishable from each other and just to confuse it more the business center is also included in the mix. But the food is good and there is plenty of it. Yes, and there is the business of a complimentary breakfast in LA, that hotel had breakfast and a buffet for the guests, you just showed up and chowed down and it was free! Now that is a perk! Did I mention, that when I Google Earthed that hotel and you went to street level it was in the lobby of the Hotel!! Now that is research!
If you have been paying attention to these ramblings, you know I have been obsessing about my packing. Well, there is going to be some major re-thinking in that area before I take off again. First of all, the Rucksack, that seemed to be a solution to a second piece is a failure in many ways. One the material it was made of failed- ripped out by what ever I had in part of it. I like the pockets but it’s just too hard to get things in and out of them with ease. So we will see what we can do about that. But the prime problem and I guess I was aware of it before the trip is that it weighs too much and is too unbalanced when carried on the roll-around suitcase. I guess what is needed is a small duffle that can be bungyed to the collapsing handle. Also I had included some civilian MREs with me just in case- they worked out but I now see that I need to augment them with other items-( thank goodness a friend mentioned that the original MREs have too much stuff in them and need to be re-packaged for use in the field and he was so right!) And I found out that my first aid kit which was a fine idea needs more stuff in it too. More bandaides mostly!
One thing that was a disappointment was slippers, I had some nice lined moccasins that I thought would work and then they took up too much space and were not easy to get to, so it looks like they will be replaced with slipper socks that will collapse way down to a much smaller size.
Today will be disjointed as I have to check out of the hotel before noon and the train does not leave until later in the afternoon so I guess I will have to hang out at the train station. And I will miss lunch because of it. Not that that is a hard ship as all I have been doing is eating anyway! ( I found out that since the big remodel at the King street station they don’t even have vending machines or the usual fast food place.) Oh well, there is always a steak on the train to look forward to, I guess!
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