Welcome to the third and final instalment of Brian’s Travel Spot, following my three week adventure across the United States. The first instalment, imaginatively entitled New England, covered my time on the east coast in New England: Boston, Providence and Portland, Maine, to be precise. The second instalment, Heading West, covered my journey west, by train, from Portland in Maine, to Portland in Oregon, a total of just over three days on the train, although I had a couple of stop-offs along the way. This, the final instalment, covers my week in the Pacific Northwest and my flight home.

I wrote Brian’s Travel Spot to enable you to follow my adventures as they unfolded. Unfortunately, as the trip went along, the Travel Spot got further and further behind, so now you’ll be reliving my adventures. As with the first two posts, I’ll update this post every few days, in between my normal Coffee Spot posts, the idea being to capture the highlights, with the emphasis on the travel rather than the coffees shops (although they feature too).

Each update has its own gallery with a short entry underneath and you can use the navigation to jump to a particular entry.

• 12^th June: Heading out to the Colombia Gorge
• 13^th June: Colombia Gorge and Mount Hood
• 14^th June: Eagle Creek and the Wedding
• 15^th June: The Oregon Coast
• 15^th – 17^th June: Portland, the City
• 15^th – 17^th June: Portland, the Suburbs
• 18^th June: Portland to Seattle
• 18^th June: Seattle, First Impressions
• 18^th June: Seattle, Day 1
• 19^th June: Seattle, Day 2
• 20^th June: Seattle, Day 3
• 20^th June: Flying Home

You can see what I made of the Pacific Northwest after the gallery.

12^th June: Heading out to the Colombia Gorge

The Colombia Gorge is one of the most amazing, physically beautiful places I’ve been. I first visited the area in 2005 when I stayed at Hood River on my way from San Francisco and Seattle. Even then I was struck by its outstanding beauty. This time I stayed in Cascade Locks, a small town between Portland and Hood River, on the Oregon side of the Bridge of the Gods, where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the Colombia River.

I stayed in the Colombia Gorge Inn, one of several motels in the town which offered excellent value for money: I had a huge, comfortable room and free, reliable(!) Wifi and all at the lowest room-rate anywhere on the trip. I also got some amazing views of the gorge every morning: the only thing it lacked was breakfast, but that was easily rectified. Cascade Locks has several options, the best being the Eastwind Drive-In (although you can walk in too!) across the road. I recommend you get there early though, before the lines start to form!

This was the first and only time on the trip that I had a car. Both Marc & I hired cars in Portland, but we left mine at the car hire place while Marc drove me out along the gorge on Friday afternoon, keeping to the Oregon side on I-84. Getting around and out of Portland was a challenge, having to navigate a tortuous series of one-way streets and no left/right turn signs which seemed to be designed to thwart our every move!

Out in the gorge, we stopped at the Multnomah Falls, the second highest in America,  before going on to Hood River for dinner at the Sixth Street Bistro, my favourite dining spot during my only previous visit to the area. Then it was back to Portland with the back drop of sunset over the Colombia Gorge to get my hire car, but not before we called into the famous(?) Voodoo Doughnuts. I then drove myself back to Cascade Locks. On the way, I pulled over into a little, sheltered spot off the freeway and got some amazing shots of the night sky, including several of the Plough.

You can see what I got up to in the Colombia Gorge after the gallery.

13^th June: Colombia Gorge and Mount Hood

I had the Saturday to myself and used it to explore Cascade Locks, which included wandering across the Bridge of the Gods to the Washington side and back. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but the views are definitely worth it.

I then drove down to Hood River to visit Stoked Roasters + Coffeehouse, before taking Routes 35 and 26 on a drive through the Mount Hood National Park. This took me south from Hood River by Route 35, along the eastern side of Mt Hood, and then west along Route 26 to the south of the mountain. This was an absolutely stunning drive and, if I could, I’d have stopped every five minutes to take pictures of the views of the mountain or of some amazing valley.

However, I had a hike to do and it was already getting late, so I pressed on to just west of Government Camp on Route 26. From there, I hiked for an hour up to Mirror Lake, where I was rewarded with some more excellent views of Mt Hood. Unfortunately I couldn’t go any further as evening was drawing in, so I hiked back to the car and drove west on Route 26. While the driving on Route 26 was a lot easier, it was nowhere near as spectacular as Route 35 so if you can take that drive south from Hood River, I recommend it.

I cut across to I-84 at Troutdale before heading back to Cascade Locks, making a complete circle.  Along the way I went up to the Vista House, a lookout high above the Columbia Gorge on the old Columbia Gorge Historic Highway to see the last rays of the dying sun in the sky above Portland.

See what I got up to for the rest of the weekend after the gallery.

14^th June: Eagle Creek and the Wedding

Sunday was the big day, the wedding of my friends Elisa and Brian, which took place at the Bridal Veil Lakes in the Colombia Gorge, not far west of Cascade Locks. This was, in many ways, the whole purpose of the trip.

The wedding was in the afternoon, so I just had time in the morning for a quick hike up Eagle Creek as far as the Punchbowl Falls. Eagle Creek isn’t far from Cascade Locks. In fact, I could have hiked there in under an hour, but since I was pressed for time, I drove over and started my hike from the bottom of the creek, just above the point where it flows into the Columbia River.

The hike’s not too hard and the path is clearly marked and well-maintained. However, the valley is steep-side and there are a couple of points where there’s a bare rock-face on one side of the path and a near vertical drop on other, so it’s not for the faint-hearted or those with serious vertigo. The guide book I’d bought really played this up to the point where I, who suffer from mild vertigo, was quite worried about it. However, I’m pleased to report that at no point did I feel unsafe and I’m glad that I didn’t let it put me off.

My destination was the Punchbowl Falls, about a 45-minute hike up the gorge. The falls have two parts, an upper and lower falls, with a steep-sided, broad-bottomed valley connecting the two. There’s enough room here for a shingle beach (of sorts) and it was a popular spot on the sunny Sunday morning I was there. I lingered for about 30 minutes before reluctantly turning around and hiking back down. However, I had a wedding to go and it wouldn’t do to be late!

The wedding was at the most amazing venue, Bridal Veil Lakes, high up in the gorge, about 30 minutes’ drive west of Cascade Locks. Fortunately I knew exactly where I was going because Marc and I had checked it out on the Friday evening during our drive down the gorge. It was the most magical day, the weather was perfect and it was one of the best weddings I’ve been to in a long time. Many of my friends were there too, so it was great to catch up with everybody! Check out the gallery above to see what we got up to.

Come Monday morning, though, it was time to leave Cascade Locks and the wonderful Colombia Gorge and head into Portland. You can see what I found after the gallery.

15^th June: The Oregon Coast

This was my last day with the hire car, which I had to return to Portland at three o’clock that afternoon. Since I’d started my journey on the Atlantic coast at Portland, Maine, I made the impromptu decision to drive down to the Pacific Coast, which was about an hour and a half away, along my old friend, Route 26.

I took my leave of Cascade Locks and drove down the amazing Colombia Gorge one last time. I’d have loved to have gone along the old highway, stopped off at a few waterfalls and maybe visited Vista House once again for a last view over the gorge, but I knew that if I did that, I’d struggle to get to Portland for three o’clock, let alone get to the coast and back.

Instead, I took the direct route, down I-84, then around Portland on I-5, crossing the river with some spectacular views of the city. Then it was due west on Route 26, which, after a long, straight, flat stretch, wound its way up, over, then down the Coastal Range, which separates Portland from the Pacific Ocean. The drive through the mountains was pretty impressive, although not as spectacular as the Colombia Gorge or Mount Hood National Forest.

On the advice of some friends at the wedding, I headed for Cannon Beach, a few miles south along Route 101. Shortly before I reached the coast, it suddenly clouded over, and before long, I was driving along under leaden skies, the temperature, according to my car, having dropped from a heady 90F (32C) to 60F (15)!

I came off Route 101 and drove through the town of Cannon Beach, which was a little too like a seaside resort for my liking, before coming upon a windswept section of beach just to the south of the town at the Tolovana Beach State Park. I parked up, got out of the car, immediately got back in again, put my jacket on, got out again and wandered over to a nearby information board, which warned me of the dangers of tsunamis! I know you’re only trying to help, Oregon, but it is just a little disconcerting to read that tsunamis “have struck the Oregon coast repeatedly and will again in the future”. Yikes!

With that in mind, it was perhaps for the best that I could only spent 15 minutes at the coast before heading back to Portland to drop the car off. It was long enough to have a quick look around, take some photos and decide that it was in fact a lovely piece of coastline that I’d do well to come back and visit properly some other time.

I’ll leave you with the two videos below, which, if you like the sound of ocean waves, I suggest you play with the sound on…

Then it was back in the car and time to retrace my steps along Routes 101 and 26. As magically as the cloud had appeared, it disappeared when I was a few miles from the coast and it was back to the heat. This sort of coastal micro-climate was something I’d only experienced once before down in San Francisco on my only previous west-coast trip 10 years previously.

On the way out to the coast I’d passed an interesting-looking drive-through espresso place called Sunset Espresso, so on the way back, I called in for some coffee and lunch. Drive-throughs are, to my mind, a quintessentially American experience, although I couldn’t bring myself to go the full hog, instead parking up in the shade and walking over. You can see what I made of it in the gallery below.

15^th – 17^th June: Portland, the city

This was my first time in Portland, and, I have to say, I was very impressed. It lacks the immediate, must-see sights of the likes of Seattle, Chicago or Boston, but it is a very liveable, relaxed and friendly city. Unless, perhaps, if you are driving a car. Rare, I know, for an American city, but refreshing nonetheless.

The centre of Portland is on the west bank of the Willamette River, a compact, walkable city which then sprawls to the north, east and south, mostly on the other side of the river. Other than when arriving or departing Portland, I didn’t spend much time in the centre, instead staying in the south-eastern suburbs and generally visiting coffee shops to the east of the river. However, what time I did spend in the city centre, I enjoyed.

On my first day there, when I arrived on the train with Marc, we spent a few hours in the centre before heading off for Colombia Gorge. After popping into Powell’s, the legendary bookshop that is so large it occupies a full city block and has its own maps so that customers don’t get lost, we discovered Portland’s street food scene, where various food trucks gather together in what are known as pods.

Having been to London’s street food markets, such as the South Bank’s Real Food Market and KERB, I kind of knew what to expect. So, when we arrived at a downtown pod, I took things in my stride. Sure, there were six or seven interesting-looking food trucks, but nothing to get that excited about. Then we looked across the street and saw a whole block lined with food trucks. Crossing over, we wandered down the line, turned the corner at the end of the block and there was another row of food trucks. We kept on going, eventually arriving back where we had started.

The pod, it turned out, occupied all four sides of an entire city block (bounded by Adler & Washington Streets and 10^th & 11^th Avenues), maybe upward of 60 food trucks, offering all sorts of cuisine from all over the world. We also realised that we had, quite by accident, stumbled upon the largest pod in Portland, but we came across several more large pods during our travels. Unsurprisingly, with all that choice, we ended up eating back at one of the first food trucks we came across, which offered some delicious Persian fare.

I was back in Portland on Monday, 15^th June, when I dropped my hire car off. This time, however, with a very large, heavy rucksack and on probably the hottest day of my trip, I was in no mood for exploring, settling instead for a visit to Case Study Coffee Roasters in the centre of town before catching a bus out to my motel.

I had one last chance to explore, on Wednesday evening, when I called into Ruby Jewel for some ice-cream and then took a wander down by the river, once again being amazed by how Mt Hood dominates the eastern skyline. Check out the gallery for some of the amazing views.

15^th – 17^th June: Portland, the suburbs

As I said, I didn’t spend much time in the city centre. For the rest of my stay, I was out in the suburbs, something that was made possible by Portland’s excellent public-transport system. As I’ve mentioned before, Portland’s not the most car-friendly city, but it more than makes up for that with an excellent, integrated public transport system. There are several street car/light rail lines and a massive, frequent bus network, which I made extensive use of. Best of all, while a single costs $2.50 (which you can use on any of the public transport), for just $5 (that is, the cost of a return), you get a day rover ticket and can uses the buses, street cars and light rail as much as you like, all day long! I’d also like to say a word in praise of Portland bus drivers. Although my sample size was small, they were, without a fault, helpful, friendly and, if they saw you running for the bus, they waited for you, rather than pulling away!

I stayed in a Motel 6 out on Powell Boulevard, part of Route 26 heading east to Colombia Gorge. It was fairly basic, but clean, spacious and very reasonably priced! Although on a very busy road, the neighbourhood was fairly residential; you only had to go a block or two and you were on quiet, tree-lined avenues. On my first full day in Portland (Tuesday), I mostly wandered on foot, a route that took me roughly northward, calling in on Five Points, Coava and Heart. At the end of a long day spent walking and drinking coffee, I was happy to take a couple of buses back to the motel.

The following day, my last in Portland, I’d picked up even more recommendations from the other coffee shops, so I jumped on the bus and headed south to the first of them, Either/Or. Then it was back on the bus, heading north to call in on Portland Roasting. I carried on my general northward route on yet another bus to reach Extracto Coffee Roasters in Prescott Village before returning to the motel via the city centre. I certainly got good value from my $5 that day!

Sadly, it was time to go, with an early start on Thursday morning. Once again, Portland’s buses came to the rescue, going from directly outside the motel all the way to Amtrak’s Union station where my train to Seattle awaited me. This was just as well since problems with Motel 6’s Wifi (which I had to pay extra for each night) had kept me up until 2am, which is less than ideal since I was up at 7 o’clock the next morning!

You can see how I got on after the gallery.

18^th June: Portland to Seattle

Travelling up to Seattle on the Cascades train was, in many ways, a very different experience to the rest of the trains I’d been on this trip. Although the service was still Amtrak, the rolling stock was totally different from what I’d become used to, with the coaches about half the length to the ones I’ve been travelling on up to now. I assumed that this was to allow the train to take tighter curves, but if that’s the case, I didn’t see any particular evidence of it between Portland and Seattle.

The seats were a lot closer together as well, but on the plus side, they were still very comfortable and there was still plenty of room, especially when compared to long-distance UK trains! I was also back to the land of free Wifi on trains. There was, as ever, plenty of freight sharing the line with us.

My main frustration was that the windows were much smaller and hence the views were much more restricted, which may also have had something to do with the seats being closer together. That said, I didn’t feel initially like I was missing too much. Leaving Portland, we crossed numerous rivers, including the Columbia, but thereafter it was predominantly trees; interesting viewing, but not easy to photograph and not much in the way of long-distance views either. However, I may be doing the scenery a disservice; after my adventures with the Motel 6 Wifi I did spend an hour or so catching up on my sleep!

All this changed as we got up to Olympia Station, which is coincidentally, when I relocated to the lounge car, at which point my frustrations with the windows went away. Tip: as soon as possible, make your way down to the lounge car, which, as far as I can tell, is open to all passengers.

I was just in time too. Suddenly, away to the east, across a flat plain, was a massive, snow-covered mountain, its peak lost in cloud. I’m pretty sure it was Mt Rainier. Soon after the railway started to hug the coast along of a series of huge ocean inlets, reminiscent of the Scottish Lochs, only on a much larger scale.

We passed under the Tacoma Narrows bridge and followed the coast all the way around into Tacoma itself, a complete contrast to the main highway, I-5, which cuts inland. I’ve no idea if I-5 has better views: the only time I drove it, 10 years ago, it was in the dark…

Mt Rainier was directly ahead of us as we headed southeast into Tacoma having rounded the point. More good views followed as we (counterintuitively) left Tacoma heading south-southeast! However, we soon turned north towards Seattle, but, having left the coast, the best of the views were behind us, although, as I was to find out, Mt Rainier would become an almost constant companion, much as Mt Hood had done in Portland.

Before long, we were rolling into Seattle’s King Street station, and my train travelling had come to an end.

18^th June: Seattle – First Impressions

I’d only been to Seattle once before, the same trip that, 10 years earlier, had taken me to the Columbia Gorge. Back then, I’d started in San Francisco, driven up the coast and, from Seattle, gone on to Vancouver. I remember liking Seattle, but I also remember that, in comparison to the trips start and end points, San Francisco and Vancouver, it paled a little.

However, what I seem to have forgotten (although looking back at my pictures, there is clear evidence there) is just how hilly Seattle is! This is a city built on hills. And lakes. And more hills. And, wherever you look, on the horizon, there are mountains, including, to the south, the magnificent Mt Rainier. The only reason I can think of for my lapse in recall is that I’d come from an even hillier city (San Francisco) and gone to one surrounded by even bigger mountains (Vancouver). Also, in my defence, 10 years ago, I’d stayed in the northeast of the city, where, if my (admittedly suspect) memory serves, it was comparatively flat…

So, other than an initial impression of hilliness, what did I make of Seattle? Well, I loved it! Normally, at the end of a three-week trip like this, I get to my final destination and am ready for nothing but going home. I’m usually worn out, good for naught but a bit of strolling around and long morning lie-ins. I feared that this would be the case in Seattle and that, for a second time, I’d be doing it an injustice. However, nothing could be further from the truth. In the end, I only had one full and two half days there, but I wish I’d had longer, finally dragging myself off to the airport with deep regret and wishing I could come straight back.

You can find out what I got up to after the gallery.

18^th June: Seattle – Day 1

I was lucky that one of my friends, Katie, had not long since moved to Seattle, so we arranged to meet up, Katie coming down to pick me up from Seattle’s King Street station. We had lunch at the Merchant’s Café, which claims to be the city’s oldest restaurant, although I’m kicking myself, having discovered the following day that the fantastic Elm Coffee Roasters was just around the corner from the station. Note to self: do your research ahead of time!

After catching up over lunch and a brief wander around downtown, where memories came flooding back (including the restaurant, which I’d dined in before, and the magnificent Smith Tower, whose viewing platform affords great vistas of the city), Katie very kindly drove me to my motel, the Marco Polo, which is in Fremont, five miles north of the centre. We went on Route 99, an elevated highway that cuts through downtown in a surprisingly unobtrusive way (I remember, by way of comparison, the ugly mess that was I-95 in Boston before it went underground, allowing for the reclamation of large swathes of downtown in the process).

We got some good views of downtown Seattle from the highway, but it was when we swept over the Aurora Bridge (officially the George Washington Memorial Bridge), which spans the Fremont Cut at the western end of Lake Union, that I first began to appreciate the city. The “wow, that’s a long way down!” views from the bridge (51m vertical drop), plus the more distant horizon, really took my breath away. The motel was not too much further on and, after Katie dropped me off, I checked in, where, I was told in somewhat apologetic tones, that the motel was really busy and that I’d been put in the suite…

Oh no! What a tragedy. I guess I’d have to do my best to put up with what was comfortably the biggest and best room I’d had on the entire trip, with a separate lounge, complete with sofa, comfy chairs and desk… The only shame was that I was there for such a short time, I didn’t feel I did it justice! Other than that, I absolutely loved the Marco Polo, which is a really friendly motel and, while it’s a little way out of the centre, Seattle’s excellent bus service more than makes up for it.

Since it was still mid-afternoon, I went for a wander, heading north and west, up and over yet more hills, as I sought out Slate Coffee Roasters. At first, though, I wasn’t sure I’d come to the right place, the gentle, suburban setting hardly being one I associate with a cutting-edge coffee shop, but my faith was rewarded with turned out to be one of the coffee highlights of my trip.

Afterwards, Kyle, my barista, very kindly gave me a lift back to the motel (as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been blessed by the kindness of strangers on this trip). I popped out to dinner at Rock Creek in nearby Fremont (just the other side of Route 99) and then, on my way back to the motel, I discovered that I didn’t have my laptop with me…

The only place I could have left it was Slate, reasoning that, in my hurry to leave with Kyle, I’d forgotten to pick it up from where I’d left it on the stool at the counter (black stool, black laptop, natural camouflage; that’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it!). As luck would have it, the reason Kyle had given me a ride back to the motel in the first place was that he’d had a meeting straight after work, otherwise he’d have been staying around to close up the shop. Instead, he told me, he’d be popping back later that evening to clear up, so I figured there was a good chance he’d still be there. So back I went, this time taking a different (slightly flatter) route so I could see a little bit more of Seattle, and, as luck would have it, I caught Kyle just as he was finishing up at Slate. And there, behind the counter, was my laptop! He’d found it, by the way, exactly where I’d left it, on the stool by counter.

So, for a second time that day, I got a ride back to the motel with Kyle… Thanks, my friend, you’re a life-saver!

You can find out what I got up to during my one full day in Seattle after the gallery.

19^th June: Seattle, Day 2

My only full day in Seattle was a fairly lazy affair. Looking for the quintessentially American diner experience, I took a recommendation from the motel and wandered over to Stone Way between 45^th and 46^th Streets, for breakfast at the Blue Star Cafe and Pub. This was an interesting experience, a genuinely American diner menu served in what could easily have passed for an English pub. There was even football (soccer) on the TV. None of which is a criticism by the way, it was just a bit surreal. Most importantly, though, my breakfast (Eggs Florentine, naturally) was fantastic!

After that, I jumped onto a bus, making use of Seattle’s excellent public transport network, and headed downtown, for my first stop, Street Bean Coffee. Northwest of the centre, near Seattle’s Space Needle, this is an excellent coffee shop as well as a social enterprise, helping, according its website, “street-involved young people to reclaim their lives, one cup at a time”. From there, I took a wander through downtown Seattle, calling in on the Yellow Leaf Cup Cake Company for a quick cupcake stop along the way. From there, I revisited the famous Pike Street Market, having not been there since my last trip to Seattle 10 years ago, grabbed an ice-cream from Bottega Italiana, then carried on down 1^st Avenue to Elm Coffee Roasters where I tried the “One of Everything” (espresso, macchiato and bulk-brew filter) for just $5.

From there, I doubled back, wandering fairly randomly as I headed north, admiring the architecture and crossing over I-5 which runs right through the centre of the city. I ended up at Victrola Coffee Roasters on Pike Street, for an end-of-the-day snack and a last coffee. Refuelling complete, I carried on my northward ramble, ending up on the southern shore of Lake Union, where I took in some fantastic views, including a magnificent sunset over the hills to the northwest.

Then it was time to head back to the motel, at which point I discovered that unlike Portland, the bus drivers in Seattle don’t wait for you if they see you running.

You can read all about my last day in Seattle (and the last day of the trip) after the gallery.

20^th June: Seattle, Day 3

My last day in Seattle was a little truncated, with an evening flight back to the UK. With the airport on the south side of the city I did consider heading downtown with my huge rucksack, catching a couple of coffee shops, then heading on out to the airport. However, the thought of lugging my rucksack around on a warm, summer’s day didn’t appeal and then came the clincher: the staff at the motel told me it was the day of Fremont’s Solstice Parade. Well, if someone was going to put on a parade for my last day in Seattle, it would be rude not to go.

I packed everything up and, leaving my luggage at the motel, headed of to find the famous Fremont Troll, who lives under the Aurora Bridge. To give you an idea of how big it is, this enormous sculpture actually has a real Volkswagon Beatle crushed under one of its hands. The troll is something of a tourist attraction in his own right, with people posing in front of (and on top of) him for photos.

With several hours to kill before the parade itself, I left the troll and took a wander along the route of the parade to Gas Works Park on the northern edge of Lake Union, where I enjoyed the views, looking south across the lake to where I’d been the evening before. Then I picked my way back along the waterfront, following the Burke Gilman Trail, until I was back under the Aurora Bridge.

If I’d had more time, I’d have followed the trail all the way to the La Marzocco factory in Ballard (oh well, there’s always next time). Instead, I called into the amazing Milstead & Co., which is tucked in beside the bridge, a few blocks down from the troll and, coincidentally, on the route of the parade.

There was still plenty of time before the parade, so I indulged my love of bridges by going over the Fremont Bridge, climbing up the hill on the far side, then crossing back by the Aurora Bridge. The Fremont Bridge, built in 1917, pre-dates the Aurora Bridge by 15 years and obligingly opened for me just after I had crossed it. As an added bonus, it also opened while I was on my way back, so I had a great view from the Aurora Bridge (it actually opens quite frequently since there’s a lot of traffic into and out of the lake along the Fremont Cut).

I arrived back at Milstead & Co just in time to see the Solstice Cyclists, a clothing-optional bike ride which precedes the parade each year. This is something that has to be seen to be believed, with hundreds of cyclists, in various states of undress and covered by varying amounts of body paint, cycling by. After that, it was time to go…

You can see how I got on when I flew home after the gallery.

20^th June: Flying Home

I headed back to the motel, grabbed my bags and hopped on the bus to downtown Seattle. From there, it was a quick change to the light rail and off to the airport, where I got my last view of Mount Rainier before my flight home.

As on my way out, I flew British Airways. The whole process at the airport was as smooth as ever: with on-line checking and bag drops, so much of the hassle of flying has disappeared. As on the flight over, I was on a Boeing 777, another modern, well-appointed aircraft, the at-seat power throughout the whole aircraft making the extra £55 (I left it a bit late this time) spent on an exit row seat worthwhile.

Since it was light when we took off (we left at 07:15 local time) I spent a little while looking out of the window and was rewarded with some fantastic views of the Rockies as we flew over northern Washington. I did my best to capture them on with phone’s camera, having put the DSLR in the overhead locker.

Once the sun went down (hastened by the fact we were flying east), out came the laptop out and I got to work. I know that most sensible people sleep on overnight flights, but I’m a DVT risk which means I’ve got to get up and move around every hour or so, making sleep impossible. Having at-seat power and the legroom of the exit row (which means that I can actually type on my laptop keyboard), makes a long-haul flight a very productive thing (when you’re a freelancer/contractor being paid by the article/hour, this is very important indeed).

The Aeropress has similarly revolutionised airline coffee. Well, the Aeropress, my mini-porlex hand-grinder and some pre-weighed beans from  Glasgow’s Dear Green Coffee. Just ask the aircrew to fill my (in this case) Upper Cup with hot water and I’m away. The only slight snag was when I got told off by the cabin crew for grinding my beans too loudly! Maybe next time I’ll just wander back to the galley as ask if I can make it back there…

Even though the flight was a couple of hours longer than the flight out (nine hours in all), the time flew by (pun intended!) and I got loads done. We touched down at Heathrow at 12:30 the following day and suddenly I was home, three weeks and a day after I’d left. The trip was over…

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for sticking with me as I travelled across a continent by train, drank some amazing coffee and saw some stunning sights. I hoped you enjoyed reading about it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing about it.

After all these thousands of words and hundreds of pictures, I’m going to leave you with a one-word summary of my trip: amazing! Can’t wait to do it all again!

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