This is the travel journal of two British girls travelling across the great expanse of North America. Spending most of that time on very slow trains…
Feeling like we’d had a narrow brush with disaster, our train journey north to Seattle felt quite sedate. We had time to absorb the changing countryside as it got greener and greener – until we were in dense forestry. It also gave us a chance to chat to some of our fellow Amtrak travellers. We had some curious people who just wanted to look at our passports as if we were some kind of freaky zoo exhibit, and some people who defy description.
One of them introduced himself as Clayton Malloy Letson – a young bloke from New Mexico who played the ukulele. He started telling us about his life philosophy and his travels around America hitch-hiking. He was what my mother would call a ‘free spirit’ who had escaped New Mexico and was off to do some kind of work in Portland. After a while the conversation unavoidably turned to his ukulele, and he wanted to play me and Martina some songs. First up was the most high pitched rendition of ‘Sittin’ on the dock of the bay’ I have ever heard. Perhaps he was a eunuch in a previous life… Next up on the Clayton jukebox was a bit of the Beatles (“um, I dunno if you guys know this song or not, it’s pretty famous over here”). Yes Clayton, we do know ‘Yesterday’. His little musical rendition was gathering a small crowd in the lounge car (maybe they just enjoyed watching me and Martina squirm and stifle giggles) and before we knew if another bloke pulls out a flute and starts trying to join in. By this point my whole body is shaking trying to contain my laughter. Fortunately for us, Portland was the next stop and we had to wave goodbye to Clayton and his musical menagerie. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by bolsoversion 
