Post Number 100!

Hi everyone and welcome to my 100th blog post!

I arrived in Vancouver a couple of hours ago and just wanted to let you know that I had got in safe and sound. Before I left Chicago, Nicky and Marie and I decided that we had better have a bit of a night out to say goodbye to each other so we headed out to the DELICIOUS Cheesecake Factory for some tasty eats and then went on a Monday midnight hunt for a bar... we eventually found a little one just around the corner from our hostel... turns out if we had just gone one block in the other direction we would have been in the main nightlife area but such is life!!! We had a great time anyway discussing the wonders of the Young Farmer of the Year competition (they had never heard of such a thing... fancy that!) and how a police officer on a segway could possibly go about apprehending a criminal. And I am not even kidding - Chicago cops get around on bikes, horses and indeed segways!

Tuesday morning I had breakfast with the girls and then waved them goodbye to go and catch my train. I was not too excited at the propect of leaving warm chicago, my lovely new friends or sitting on a train for 44 hours but I have to say that once we got going it was actually kind of fun!

I met plenty of people and for the last portion of the trip had my own local guide Jim to point out the main sights of Washington State. Tomorrow I am going in search of a decent internet cafe so I can put some pictures up for you! There is a lot of brown, flat nothingness in Minnesota and North Dakota but once we hit the Rockys the views were fantastic, as they were this morning when we came through the Cascades and I got my first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean for about 8 and 1/2 months! After the 44 hours on the train I got straight on a bus for three hours and now I am here in Vancouver, which has also turned on the sunshine to welcome me.

Since I got in to Vancouver I have just explored a little bit around the hostel to try and get my bearings and avoid embarrassing myself with my directional challenges in front of James once more... James and I are going to catch up later to watch some hockey and I am definitely looking forward to seeing a familiar and friendly face, but would rather it wasn't mocking me for getting lost or going miles too far as I may have done in the past in James' company!

I hope you are all well - promise some photos soon!
Clare