Bistro car, Amtrak Cascades. We took the train from Portland up to Olympia, Washington for the day and back just for the heck of it. The train journey was very comfortable but slooow. We also discovered that the Olympia/Lacey train station is nowhere near Olympia and is an hour's bus journey into downtown, and the train station is run entirely by volunteers! So, with a late train arrival and an unexpected bus trip it kind of ate into our exploring time in Olympia; however, we did enjoy a nice lunch and looked at the Capitol Building and the amazing view across the lake to the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains before trying to find a cab (we'd missed one of the buses back to the Amtrak station) which was a little tricky but it all came together and we got back to the station in time for our train back to Portland.

It was a bright, clear, and cold day. I took several scenic pictures in Olympia but decided one of the shots on the train best captured the day. The lighted ceiling of the Bistro car with the Cascades train route was really pretty. The train was really great, clean, comfortable, safe and friendly. If it were more reliable I'd definitely consider using it more. The last time we'd been on an Amtrak train was a highly delayed (a whole day) cross-country journey (Sacramento-Chicago-NYC) that has since become family folklore it was so epically bad!

Snow/freezing rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow - hope that's wrong!

I'll catch up with you all tomorrow.