Babs’ travels -The Peking to Paris Rally and other driving adventures.

A train journey in India is rarely dull but our latest overnight journey has been the most dramatic I have ever experienced. We boarded the train at Mughalserai, 20kms from Varanasi and one of India's busiest junction stations.  Try to picture the scene: it's dark, the tracks are a seething pit of giant rats, there are many beggars and shoeless children collecting recyclables amongst the rats. Travellers of all types are waiting for their trains; it is especially busy because of the Durga Puja Festival. Thousands upon thousands of people are there of which only two have white faces.  We are like zoo exhibits, but we can live with that - it's actually quite amusing.  Our train was only a little late, which is a great relief as the previous days was delayed by almost eight hours. The 24 coach train is one of the most crowded I have ever seen.  In second class people seem to be about three deep, every inch of corridor is covered with a seething mass of humanity. The...

We bade a sad farewell to our Landie today when we left it at the shipping agents. It is now on a great expedition of its own. It will go under the Golden Gate Bridge, this time around, and will then will head to the tropics and through the Panama Canal, up the east coast, then across the Atlantic to Blighty. We just have a 10 hour flight from Seattle. We have had the most marvellous time in it; every day a new adventure. It has been extremely comfortable, if compact. The Recaro seats have ensured cab comfort during the 11,000 miles that we have covered. The luxurious topper and bed linens have cocooned us and made sleeping blissful. We haven't once thought that we 'needed' a night in a hotel; the few nights we haven't spent camping have been for logistical reasons. We are off to the Boeing factory today and then to London tomorrow. It's been a blast!

Harold LeMay built his fortune on rubbish. A self made man he founded a trash disposal empire and, with his dosh, he amassed a collection of 3,500 cars. That is not a typo: 3,500! It makes our 14 look rather pathetic. Sadly, Harold didn't live to see the opening of the 'LeMay Car Museum' in Tacoma that opened in June of this year. It is the largest motor museum in America and contains a few hundred of Harold's cars from the beginning of automotive power to the present day. They all gleam, as you would expect, and there are some absolute beauties. We both felt that it didn't flow very well though. It is on several levels with ramps but it would be very easy to miss out on large sections because of poor signing. It has been put together at a cost of $65m, quite a chunk if change and, at that price, it should have been perfection. It was hard to pick a favourite, but I rather liked the Butler Electric car Of 1910. It looks extraordinary; as if it does not...

.......watching the tide roll away'. - Otis Redding. We've done quite a bit of that over the last couple of days. We camped next to a crabbing dock and happily sat watching all the boat activity and the seals playing as the sun went down on a perfect day. The Oregon coast has a very soporific effect; so relaxing that all track of time is lost. We have been very fortunate with the weather as it is so often foggy until early afternoon here and the rain does pour. Clear, azure skies and warm sunshine made our explorations of this magnificent coastline a memorable experience. It is my second time here and, over the years, Adrian has heard me rave about it many times and agrees with me now that it is 'exceptional'. Endless, pristine beaches, rock pools stuffed with starfish and anemones, 8 inch long mussels, crashing waves and general all round gorgeousness. Definitely a world class coastline. We managed some history too. Lewis and Clark, after their momentous fe...

Howard Hughes' behemoth 'Spruce Goose' only ever flew once. It managed to get 70 feet in the air for one mile just off the Californian coast in 1947. It now lives in the fantastic Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. What a magnificent sight it is! It was originally displayed next to the 'Queen Mary' at Long Island but was bought by 'Evergreen Aviation', in 1992 and the quite marvellous 'Evergreen Aviation Museum' evolved with the giant aeroplane as its centrepiece. The museum is packed with aircraft of all shapes and sizes, all beautifully displayed. There is even the helicopter used during the filming of 'MASH' hanging from the ceiling, rather wonderfully. Also on site is a water park with a 747 on the roof! The giant slide goes right through the 'jumbo'. How thrilling is that? 'Spruce Goose' was built by Hughes as part of the war effort. The Governor of Maine at that time, a rampant Republican, Christian Scie...

...if that ain't love, then tell me what is' Our own dear darling Loretta Lynn wrote those immortal words. It seems so long ago that we were guests on her lovely ranch in Tennessee. She wrote and performed this song with Jack White of 'The White Stripes' No sloe gin for us, unfortunately, just the regular sort. We'll have to wait until we get home for my homemade, rather wonderful, sloe gin adult beverage. It was my second time in Portland, this rather un-American city. Part of me likes it, but another part wishes that they would sort out the large number of homeless people and general freaks that seem to live there. I like a tolerant society but there is a tipping point when this just becomes unpleasant. The pace of life seems so very slow too. The public transport system, whilst superficially looking good, takes for ever to get anywhere. Maybe I am just too used to London, but I felt that I just wanted to wind Portland up and help it to get a move on....

George Vancouver was a travelling man. Born in 1757, he only lived for forty years but achieved great things. He is best known for exploring and charting the Pacific Coast of North America but his voyage also took him to Hawaii and the eastern coast of Australia. His charts were so accurate they were used by several generations of sailors after him. He was quite a guy and had risen from humble beginnings after joining the navy at 13. He died in obscurity, from an unrecorded means. What a tragic end to such a great life. His downfall was due to Thomas Pitt, 2nd baron of Camelford and a complete waste of space. He signed up for George's big expedition as an able seaman at the age of 16. George had to severely discipline him on several occasions. As Pitt was only a low rating seaman this involved shackles and floggings, according to the Naval code of the time. Pitt resented being disciplined by what he saw as a low born man, but George was just doing his job. Unbeknownst to...

We felt that we had to spend a night in a Walmart car park just for the hell of it. Well, we're all over it now! Tonight we are staying in beautiful Port Townsend. Our rig is parked on the marina just a couple of feet from the water of the Straits of Juan de Fuca at the entrance to Puget Sound. A more idyllic spot it is hard to imagine. This little town made its money during the Victorian era when it collected all the customs duty from every ship arriving on the west coast. It nearly became the state capital; how different it might have been. It is now a prosperous, arty place with a laid back atmosphere, great shops and restaurants and beautifully restored old buildings. We ate yet more crabs and spent a lazy day sitting in our camp site, the most beautiful, peaceful place to be. I had my kindle but we spent much time just watching the little sailing ships, ferries and a couple of cruise ships on their way to Seattle. Tonight we will go to sleep liked by the sound of the...