It is easy to fall in love with Seattle, the city named after the Indian chief, Sealth. Surrounded by mountains, Lake Washington and Puget Sound, the city oozes charm in its classy buildings and engaging attractions, like the pivotal Space Needle at Seattle Center with its panoramic views, the colourful Pike Place Market with lots of interesting stalls and especially the ones displaying huge sumptuous-looking fishes and seafood, and the pleasant waterfront where there are cruises a-plenty and the Omnidome featuring the powerfully evocative documentary film, "The Eruption of Mt. St. Helens".

I was told that every local I bumped into in Seattle was likely to be working for Boeing or to be related to someone working for Boeing. So the Boeing Aircraft factory was another must-see, if nothing else, to be impressed by the sheer size of it, spanning several football fields combined together it seemed. I was also struck by the prevalence of the coffee culture here, which included packaged "instant coffee" in a thermal mug.

There was so much to see and do in this remarkable region, despite its rainy

My tour guide was a knowledgeable conservationist whose enthusiasm for the forests was contagious. We learned much about the vegetation and saw beautiful waterfalls and blue jays. The weather was foggy but the air crisp and refreshing.

From the Paradise Visitor Center, my companions and I decided to hike up the Skyline Trail. While we did not manage to catch the views of snow mountains and glaciers due to the clouds, the trade-off was that lots of animals came out because of the cool weather. In fact, I was so good at spotting them in

Back at the Visitor Center, there was a fleeting parting of the clouds and we were treated to a spellbinding glimpse of the elusive snow-laden Mt. Rainier, a dormant volcano. "Wow" was all I uttered and the realization of what we were missing, if the weather had been clear, flashed in our minds. The Canadian guy couldn't stop lamenting about it all the way back, but I thought this would be an excellent excuse to come back another time...

My next out-of-city venture was a cruise to the San Juan Island on the Victoria Clippers. The weather was crappy, as usual, but after 3 hours of freezing in the upper deck, we arrived at Friday Harbour to sparkling blue waters and a brilliantly shining sun! What a miraculous change of weather, yeah. The harbour was named after a certain resident Joe Friday from Hawaii, who was in turn possibly named by his employer, the Hudson's Bay Company, after the "Robinson Crusoe" character.

From here, one can also sign up for a whale-spotting cruise which goes as far as the Canadian waters. Perhaps, it was the wrong season. My vivid imagination of "Free Willy" antics did not quite materialize, even though we did spot the fin of an orca whale swimming sedately in the distance and some seals sunning lazily on the rocks (or rather, black dots, since I did not have binoculars).

The journey back to Seattle proved to be more "climatic" as we practically galloped in

And thus, ended my sojourn to the San Juan Island and my immensely pleasurable stay in Seattle, a city I would definitely recommend and hope to return one day.

My visit to Denver was brief, to say the least - partly because I was between two train rides (see Rail section), and partly because I arrived out of season by a few days so that the Rocky Mountain National Park was mostly inaccessible and its peak already closed.

The impression I had of this city, nestled between barren plains and the Colorado Rockies, was one of modernity and plentiful skyscrapers, not exactly my cup of tea but it does have an impressive skyline and the beautiful Rockies range as backdrop.

Given my limited stay (1 full day to be precise), I had only time to wander to nearby Boulder and the Nederland village.

The University of Colorado at Boulder made me green with envy with its scenic setting of dramatic mountains and laid-back atmosphere of faculties straddled amongst the pretty landmarks of the town.

The Nederland area is magnificent high country with mountains and lakes. I only wished I had time to do hiking. The quaint village is steeped in history from its mining origins and is today more of a popular place to stay away from the city. Who wouldn't, given its blessed alpine location with the great outdoors right at its doorstep, and the Eldora Mountain Resort just a stone throw's away for a bit of Nordic skiing in winter as well? I would, if only...