Which is where I’m sitting right now. Not in the original one – but I did get a picture of that one.
We fell out of the bus at 2pm and will depart at 8pm for Jackson Hole, in Montana. Another overnight drive with us like mummies lined up together. But now we are depleted: three left in Vancouver this morning, and another left when we arrived here. So now we are 12… plus Michele, our leader, and Sully, our driver. And when we get back on the bus tonight we’ll have a second driver, Charles.
The mood on the bus was very light and bubbly this morning; however, there appear to be huge discrepancies between what people expected of the trip, and the actual trip as it has been so far. I have not been disappointed in any of it, really. Any difficulties I’ve encountered have been due to my own physical limitations (age, tiredness, knees, bites, chest infections – what a list!), and not to the planning of the trip. I always knew it was a budget trip, and I also knew it was flexible – there could be changes. But there are serious undercurrents of dissatisfaction and, dare I say it, some bitchiness which I didn’t really expect. A fair bit of manipulative behaviour, maligning of others, skewed perceptions (in my opinion) and snide remarks. For those of you familiar with Transactional Analysis, it’s plain to see which people aren’t in Adult Ego state! I am having a ball observing the developments and analysing character traits – will there be a book in this?! Mmmm…..
This trip has so far been all I expected in terms of places, cultures, wildlife etc.; what I didn’t consider was the mix of people and the effect that negativity on the part of some people can affect the rest of the group. In normal life you can escape this by removing yourself from situations; on a bus where you’re travelling and sleeping together, you can’t. Or rather, you can for a time if you have a tent to escape to!
As I said, I’m now on my second coffee in Starbucks at Pike Place market – which is such a buzzing place! I’ve been joined by Doug, Linda and Andy, who has just had his wild hair and beard tidied up. Doug and I visited some fantastic shops in the market, including a second-hand bookshop where the owner read me a love poem. How romantic is that… Before that, a few of us explored the market – vast and on at least two floors – and had a very nice meal at a little restaurant. 
Then we hit the shops. I bought a world map with the Pacific in the centre; just need to get it home in one piece now. Also had a look at T-shirts and local crafts. Seattle seems a nice place to live. People are friendly, relaxed and welcoming. One guy we met chatted on the street and was really interested in our overland trip. He had a certain resemblance to someone in movies….and admitted that people had pulled him up on this in the past.
I like Seattle!
Patamateria 