(The following appeared on the Seattle Times website on March 16.)
SEATTLE — Children walk along the seafront as waves break over sea barriers in Weston-super-Mare, in southwest England. Heavy storms have caused travel chaos in Britain.
With gas prices rising, it’s a good time to take the train. The Amtrak Cascades service, which includes four daily round-trips between Seattle and Portland, is booming with a record 676,670 passengers in 2007, a 7.4 percent increase over the year before.
Travelers can enjoy a free companion fare through May 23. Type in promotion code H750 when booking at www.amtrak.com. Blackout dates apply. For more information, see www.travelportland.com/deals/amtrak.html.
Beware if you were thinking of taking a train south of Portland: The popular Coast Starlight service from Seattle to Los Angeles has been disrupted by mudslide damage to tracks near Chemult, Ore. The tracks are closed, and travelers are being taken by bus between Portland and Sacramento; the tracks aren’t expected to reopen until April.