Boats

I like boats ....... love being on the water, sleeping to the sounds of waves lapping the hull. I like all kinds of boats, power, sail, workboats and watching big ships. I spent part of my first honeymoon boat camping in the San Juan's.



When the kids were young  we took them on 3 boat trips in addition to spending lots of nights and weekends on the Columbia and Willamette rivers. One from Anacortes, WA to Victoria, BC. One from Olympia, Wa to Seattle through the lower Puget Sound  and another from Portland up the Columbia River to Lewiston, ID. Lots of memories on these trips. Very rough weather going to Victoria, going through the locks in Seattle and seeing the splendor of the Gorge from the water. 

Boating on the Willamette in Portland

At the docks in Newport, Oregon

Leaving Depot Bay, Oregon

Moorage on the Columbia

Sailing on the Willamette ......

Southern California

On our way to Florida last winter we stopped in the LA area to visit Hollywood and the walk of fame. A day spent there and then dinner in Santa Monica on the pier made for a great day.

We also stumbled across the birthplace of the Beach Boys memorial. The garage was torn down to make way for a freeway but they have a nice plaque. 

Famous intersection in Hollywood

The Hollywood Walk of Fame

The iconic Capitol Records building

Street performers

Sunset at the beach

Santa Monica Pier

Vacation February 4th thru 11th.

On my way back from about 10 days of vacation. Nothing turned out quite like we expected but we had a great time. Weather was way colder than the last three times we had been to Key West, in fact it was warmer two days in Portland while we were gone. So a lot of what we would usually do it was too cold and windy to do. No sitting by the pool, snorkeling or para sailing.
Instead we got a lot of reading done, rode the Conch Train, ate some fantastic lunches and dinners and tried to find the best key lime pie. We also made the trip out to Dry Tortagus National Park.
This is on our list of national parks we want to visit and they only have one trip a day there. We made reservations two months ago. When we checked in they said it might be a little rough and they offered refunds if you decided not to go. How bad could it be? Turns out, pretty bad. About 2/3 of the people on the boat got seasick. Worth the trip though. Fort Jefferson, the center piece of the park, was used as a prison during and after the civil war. It's the largest all brick fort in the US. It's also where the conspirators in Abraham Lincoln's assassination were imprisoned. It was great to check it off our list of parks.

Flying

Had meetings in Des Moines this week and flew first class. Makes the whole air travel experience a pleasure instead of a pain. No seat backs in your face, flight attendants who attend, hot coffee soon after takeoff and food.
I also flew on an almost new plane. Leather seats. Very quiet. Very clean. So here I am at 34,000 feet with the smell of bacon in the air, Wi-Fi hook up headed home.