Our next intended location after Yellowstone is Portland, Oregan - back on the pacific coast. Only, it takes three days to drive there! On the first day we drive to Boise, Idaho and on the way we have a look around Craters of the Moon N.P. It's a dormant volcanic region and it certainly feels like you're on another planet! We had a short visit, long enough to have a short walk & drive around then continued on to Boise (pronounced boy-see).

The second day of driving took us to Walla Walla, Washington. The only reason for staying here is so Sam could have a follow-up visit to the doctor. Well, after two further x-rays (only because they didn't remove the cast for the first!), the doctor was happy that no further treatment was required and he fitted a removable plastic cast. This was good news as we can now continue our trip with no more worries about Sams ankle.

Moving on then and we get to Portland. We don't know too much about it apart from it being a vibrant city and a great place for live music. We spend three nights here to feel the vibrance and see live bands!

One night we went to the best jazz bar in town which had the great atmosphere you'd expect from a jazz bar. Two bands played and both were extremely talented. The next night we decided to go to a recommended blues bar. It was a very basic place called "the candlelight bar" but the food & drinks were cheap and, for the second night running, Portlands music scene didn't disappoint. The band were more soul orientated and sounded like a mixture of Stevie Wonder & Billy Joel. Very good though.

Also in Portland we went to the excellent market (apart from the endless beggars) which had brilliantly made local foods, arts and crafts. Sam has certainly found it quite difficult getting around so we've done a lot of resting but, fortunately we're not missing much. We're actually very lucky that we've not had to change our schedule at all and we've still been able to enjoy everywhere we've been.

So, 6 weeks & 9 states after touching down in L.A we've reached the end of another fantastic leg of our journey. Which brings us to Seattle - city of coffee, Microsoft, Boeing, grunge (Nirvana), rain and Jimi Hendrix.

Our hotel is near the airport but theres a frequent bus service into the city. The area we're in is very dodgy too and I certainly wouldn't want to be out after dark here! In Portland, we told Becks 'n' Jase to go around without us because they can see and do much more on 4 legs than we can on 3! So we did the same in Seattle.

Its an instantly likeable place once you get into the city boundaries - fully metropolitan but with a relaxed feel. It also never rained during our stay! My favourite place was the EMP (Experience Music Project) which, among other things, had a whole section dedicated to Hendrix, including his smashed up guitars and his life story. They also gave you the chance to play along on stage to a choice of songs and they would put it on DVD for you and make it seem like you were headlining a concert. We didn't buy the DVD!

In the same building was a Sci-Fi Museum with many original artefacts from tv shows such as Red Drawf & Star Trek and films like Star Wars, Terminator, The Matrix and Aliens. Nearby, Seattle has a tower called the 'Space needle' which we ascended for great views of the city and surrounds.

Elsewhere, we visited the lively marketplace, the very first Starbucks coffee shop, and many of Seattle'sshops! Sam is now able to put some pressure on her ankle so she can get around much more comfortably albeit more slowly! But that's ok, it just means we have more time to take in the sights!

Its 'goodbye' time again as Jase n Becks fly off to meet their family on the east coast and we venture into another country.