Pulling my finger out...

Well, given that I've now been back in the UK for over a month, it really is time I tied up the end of my blog. So I'm pulling my finger out, it has literally been up my arse.

My three nights in Seattle were great, not only because the sun came out and stayed there. I was taken on a guided tour by a proper local and a very good new friend. We did the tourist thing and went on the underground tour. In fact, Seattle has a very interesting history and (although touristy and seemingly full of drunken women on hen weekends) was well worth the $15 I paid for it.

There was talk of heading up a tall building (I forget what it was called now, but I remember it was white and once was the tallest building in the US), but then we found a happy hour, so such plans were held off until happy hour had been well and truly taken advantage of. The rest of Seattle was hanging out in Calyn's garden, trialing public transport, views over the Bay (whichever one is closest to the famous market - also worth a visit), trips to the marina to see the boat makers, a drive along to see Lake Washington and admire the prim and proper, a gimsp at the radio tower, the Japanese gardens at the arboretum and a lot of appreciation of the beautiful weather.

My next West Coast destination was San Fransisco. I'd originally planned to try overland travel to San Fran, due to my over-exposure to air travel throughout the rest of my trip. This was partly an environmental decision, and partly the fact that I really dislike travelling by air. However, when I began researching the options they weren't looking too appealing. A train from Seattle to Fisherman's Wharf SF would have taken anywhere between 22 and 24 hours and cost approximately $90. Greyhound was a similar amount of time, and coming in above $80. So, I chanced the flights: a flight with Virgin America took 2 hours and cost $65. Despite my declaration upon leaving Costa Rica: "no more air travel until my flight out of LA" it would've been stupid not to.

So, off to San Fran, courtesy of Virgin America.