Our Amtrak travel by bus and train to Los Angeles started in Monterey  on a chilly but clear winter morning. After a speedy (hair-raising!) Uber journey we arrived at Salinas station far too early. It was chilling cold, misty and windy.

A​s we arrived in Monterey I made a horrible discovery – my wife’s passport ​was missing. It had ​been in my computer bag ... now gone!

As I replayed the last few hours in my mind I knew when it happened.

We decided that Amtrak train travel overnight from Portland to Salinas would be a new experience. The adventure was nostalgic and pleasantly enjoyable.

Taking me back to my days of travelling to and from boarding school in the 1960's in Southern Africa … where we endured three days on the train getting to school and three days getting back ... three times a year! One and a half times around the world!   

We spent time in Portland Oregon to visit a son I hadn’t seen for six years. Been married for five years and we’d never met his wife!

After the US visa drama it was a great relief to arrive in San Francisco as planned with no delays or extra costs.

The change in weather was expected but the difference n temperature came as a jolt. From a humid 30 degrees in Kuala Lumpur to a chilly 8 degrees in San Francisco.