I lagged behind as he led us around the stern of the craft and toward the private entrance to the first-class section. The Graf Zeeland looked so tall and beautiful that I once again felt the awe they'd always inspired in me as a child. Beneath the teflon coating, I could see the outline of the planking that made up the hull. It struck me that building such a vessel of wood must have taken forever, and, therefore, made a ride on the thing hideously expensive. Then I realized that anyone who could afford to take two days to fly from New York to Seattle instead of hopping a bullet train certainly did not care about money, and wanted to travel in style.