Portland, Oregon

My cold was in full swing by this time, again - it wasn’t going away, so I walked the local neighbourhood and pampered myself by having my hair done. I didn’t feel any better, but my hair looked good.

Washington Park is on the west side of town, same side as my hostel, so I set off on a  foggy morning to the park and apparently a good place to see the city from - though not with the fog. There were even some roses growing in the International Rose Test Garden, though not as many as there would be in the summer, of course. It was a great place to take photos, especially if I wanted spooky, tree photos.

Seattle

After 4 days on two trains I arrived at the hostel just as the Thanksgiving meal had finished. But I met Caitlin, who was also at the Austin hostel, who made me up a plate of turkey, mash and stuffing, plus a slice each of pumpkin and pecan pie. It was just what I needed after the train journey, proper hot, homemade food.

The Green Tortoise hostel is opposite the famous Pike Place Market, so that was my first stop the next day.

Austin, Texas

Austin was never going to be a proper tourist visit for me, I wasn’t so much interested in the sights of the city, as much as the music and nightlife that it’s more famous for, or at least more famous to me for. I wanted to go to Texas and it seemed as good a town as any to chose.

New Orleans

New Orleans was great, not so sure if that’s down to the town itself; which was somewhat seedy in some places and in others still suffering the effects of Hurricane Katrina, or if it was down to the great friends I made there. Plus the sun shone the whole time!

The hostel was located at the northern end of Canal Street, which allowed easy access by the street car into the centre, but I walked the street the first day, just to see what was around.

Charleston, South Carolina

It wasn’t a very good start in Charleston, the city was hit by the tail-end of a hurricane, so day one it rained, hard, day two it was windy and cold and day three it was just grey, day four there was sunshine, but I was only there for the morning, so I didn’t see the place in its best light. And on my cab ride from the train station to hostel, I was ripped off, not only overcharged, but we dropped off another passenger, stopped for the driver to get some coffee and finally made it to the hostel. I was not a happy bunny. But I was able to get into the hostel and have a shower, I was given the back door code, so I just had to wait for the person who worked there to let me check in, she did and even allocated my bed so I could go and have a nap, yay!

My $50 photos

I set out this morning from my motel in St George on my way to Zion National Park, all was going well, I didn’t get caught speeding, though I was only a couple of mph over the limit when I drove past a sheriff’s car. I then turned a bend after La Verkin and saw an amazing plateau - I got out to take a photo, it was cold so I shut the car door, took the photos and the car was locked, couldn’t get back in, the keys in the ignition and the engine is running and I’m on the outside.