For the Bates family, the train ride is the last leg of a four-month sail around the world. Bill was hired to produce pen-and-ink sketches of the Seaborn Sun's last world cruise. His illustrations of ports-of-call will be published in a hardbound limited edition for the passengers. No stranger to this work, he has published 27 cruise books and done over 5,000 drawings from 150 countries. It's a "dirty job, but somebody's got to do it," Bill jokes. His family comes with him to work: Chelsea is home-schooled six hours a day at sea by her mother Lei Lei. They are taking the train to return to their California home from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. where the cruise ended. They prefer to take the train because it is cheaper and less stressful than flying, and for the scenery. Bill says that trains are like cruises for many reasons: the pace is similar, dining on board is a central event, and traveling and touring are intertwined.
