This month's calendar Archives
August 19, 2011
IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!
We had a great time up in Cathlamet, Washington steaming with all our friends last weekend. We left with the Captain Bell in tow on Friday and we arrived at our destination by 11:30 a.m. It was only a couple hour drive there for a change instead of at previous meets having to go far away, sometimes as long as a six-hour drive. Anyway, we checked into our little cabin that overlooked the marina and Dave fired up the boiler on the boat. It is mandatory that everyone who brings a boat to the meet now on has to have it inspected and pass a safety check before they are allowed to launch their boats. Our boat passed and we launched.
Friday night was the annual chowder feed and a chance to visit with old friends. Some of the members came as far away as Tucson, Arizona. Don't know where they find water in the desert to steam their boat but they must somewhere!
Saturday around 11:00 everyone steamed up for a photo session in the harbor before we left for a 3-hour tour up Birnie Slough. The photo session was crazy! Everyone was trying to manipulate their boat in a straight line against the tide and it was like herding cats! The photographer was up on the bank trying to scan all 17 steamboats at once in this photo. It was a sight to see. It was a panoramic camera and we're really looking forward to seeing that picture! After that, we headed for the Birnie Slough or what we thought was the slough entrance and of course no one was leading us and we headed the wrong way! In fact, we even got the boat stuck in some mud but we managed to right ourselves and off we went. We finally got going the right way and it was a great trip with us tooting and people waving to us from the shore and their boathouses along the way. The total trip was about 12 miles and that is further than we have ever gone in one day in our boat. Probably further than we can gone in the last 10 years total! We had nine people aboard and we enjoyed smoked salmon, chips, beer, wine, cheese and fruit along the way.
That evening was the banquet and awards ceremony. There were about 75 people at the banquet which was held at the Norse Hall nearby. We dined on prime rib, salad and a baked potato that was about the size of a football! One of the guest speakers was the Mayor of Cathlamet and we didn't think he was ever going to stop talking. We knew his life and all his ancestors life history by the time he finished speaking. Then everyone who brought a boat to the meet received a brass plaque for their efforts. One of the photographers made up some coaster-size pictures of some of the boats with a sea chart in the background and the Captain Bell was one of them. It looks great and receiving it was a highlight of the evening.
By Sunday everyone was leaving except for a few who chose to stay one more night so that we could steam on the John Day River near Astoria on Monday. Dave put on his chest waders and helped everyone get their boats out of the water. Our friend Jenni usually is in charge of this but she had to leave early and besides she has her leg in a cast so Dave was the dock helper this time. Jenni has already informed him that he shouldn't get used to that because that's her job! After we had all the boats back on their trailers, we all met for pizza at one of the local places in Cathlamet.
Monday it was a ferry boat ride across the Columbia River to Oregon so we could steam up at the John Day River which was about a 20-mile drive west to Astoria. The ferry is just a little thing and we had three big rigs with steamboats behind. It was a tight fit, but we made it! 45-minutes later we were at the river. We launched our boats and headed up the river about 11:00 a.m. We stopped at Toby's boathouse along the way on the John Day so we could fill the tanks with water. We were having water flow problems on the boat that day and were having trouble keeping enough water in the tanks to steam up. We ended having to be towed at one point because of it. On our return trip, we again stopped at Toby's where he had fixed a spaghetti feed for all of us. It was a really fun day and we ended up getting home that evening around 6:00 p.m.
The rest of the week has been pretty busy filled with meetings and work party activities. I also managed to get half the deck rails painted so I feel good about that. We are having a guy come in on Saturday to paint the front deck rails that have to be reached by a ladder. I don't do ladders. On Thursday, after my haircut, I headed into Tillamook to work at the OSU extension office in my Master Gardener capacity. We were really busy with lots of back orders and walk-ins. Dave has been rehearsing his performance every day and night this week for the opening of the Reader's Theater play tonight. The play runs this weekend and again next weekend.
