My mom had always wanted to visit the Pacific Northwest, but the grand road trip she hoped to do from Illinois to Seattle never happened. One of the main things she wanted to experience was a cruise down the Columbia River. She talked about it often, and we both kind of assumed the cruise would only be a day trip, or maybe a couple of days long at the most. Well, I decided to finally look into these cruises and discovered they were typically a week-long adventure! We probably couldn't have taken one anyway, had we road tripped out! I figured enough talking, let's do this thing, and I secured tickets in January for a mid-April cruise. The ticket prices were more affordable (and wound up being about $700 per person cheaper than expected!), and the cruise was set to hit all the ports in which we were interested. We were so excited!
We decided it would just be the two of us, since my two year-old would probably get bored on such a small ship. Nate was kind enough to take the time off to watch her while we were off on our adventure. It turned out that the cruise would be one-way, from Portland, OR to Clarkston, WA, and he agreed to drive up with his mom and the kiddo and meet us at the end of the line so we could do some exploring on our own around Oregon and Washington. So we were set for our grand journey!
4/16/2016
The day had finally arrived! Our flight wasn't until 2 pm, so we didn't have to rush too much. Nate dropped us off at the airport, and we got through security with no problem. Albuquerque Sunport is seriously one of the easiest airports to navigate. My mom stayed by the gate while I did laps around the terminals to get my steps in. Another woman even stopped me and asked if that's what I was doing. She had her own Fitbit and was going to do the same thing! Eventually, it was time to board the plane. I love the window, and my mom needed the aisle, so we had a woman between us. It was a quiet journey, and we landed at Kansas City for our layover in no time.
I had a number of airports to choose from when deciding our layover, and I opted for Kansas City because that was one airport I'd never been through. It seemed to work in our favor, too, as the alternative and best option would have been Denver, which was currently closed due to weather, making for major travel delays around the country. Well, after I'd booked the flight, Nate told me KC was the worst airport through which he'd ever flown. Surely it couldn't be THAT bad, right? Well, apparently you often have to leave and re-enter security to change flights, even if they're in the same terminal! While we didn't have to do that, thankfully, we still had to navigate to our gate, a few away from the one at which we landed. Now, in most airports, this involves finding your way to the aisle that runs along the length of gates, but at Kansas City, there are no aisles! You basically have to navigate your way around the rows of seats and the travelers who are oblivious to you as they leave their bags out as tripping hazards. On top of that, there were 7 people with wheelchairs on our flight alone - I can tell you maneuvering with those is impossible in these conditions. There was no clear delineation between gates, either. The numbers were hard to spot, and I got attitude from an employee who was annoyed that I had to ask where we had to go. Between the wall-to-wall people, lack of basic space, and disorganization, it felt like a third world airport, honestly. I've heard the bathrooms are dirty and few and far between, but I luckily didn't have to experience that for myself. People say this airport made sense, pre-911, but I can't imagine it would be convenient to anyone, even then. The locals swear by the place, but until you have to transfer through there, you really don't know the truth. I've been through a lot of airports in my day, and this is the worst one yet. I will avoid Kansas City at all costs from now on.
We were so glad to be boarded and on our way. On this leg of the trip, we had a man between us who kept to himself. This flight, at 3 and a half hours, seemed to take forever! I was treated to some great views of snow covered mountains as I peered out the window. I even had a great close-up of Mount Hood, though I didn't think to take a picture until I was past it. It was amazing!! We landed at the Portland Airport which was the polar opposite of what we had just gone through in Kansas City. It was open, airy, clean, welcoming, friendly, and awesome! I especially appreciated the environmentally friendly toilets that don't feel the need to flush a thousand times before you're ready, spraying nasty water all over the place and cycling water for a full minute. I can't tell you how much I hate automatic flushers. I'm all for being sanitary, but all you have to do is flush using a wad of toilet paper - simple solution. Anyway, we got our bags, called for our hotel shuttle, and made our way to the pick-up island. The bus was there within minutes, and we boarded with another couple and two other parties. We dropped off the other two parties, but the couple seated behind us was going to the same hotel, and was also on the same trip! Their names were Jack and Lindy, and we had such fun talking with them!
After about an hour, we found ourselves at the Hilton in Vancouver, Washington, just across the river from Portland. One of the nice things about the cruise line we used is that the first night's hotel stay is included in the price of the trip! The hotel is the starting location of everything, and cruise staff were on hand to discuss excursions, dining, and any other questions you might have. There was an entire itinerary for both that night and the next day with activities and informational sessions for the cruisers. We checked in, discussed excursions a bit, and then went up to our room, exhausted.
Dinner options were a bit scarce, mostly because we'd have to walk several blocks to find anything, so we decided to eat downstairs in the dining room. Once we were down there, my mom noticed Jack and Lindy were two tables behind me, and they waved us over to join them! We weren't so hungry, despite not having eaten that day, so we just shared a shrimp cocktail and crab cakes, I believe. We had such a nice time talking with the two of them! They're from Georgia and had so many great stories to tell! It turned out Jack used to work for the CDC and was familiar with the hantavirus project on which I used to work, since it was under their grant. Small world!
After dinner, I'd hoped to go out and grab a geocache or two at the beautiful park across the street, but it was already getting dark. Plus, we were both exhausted. So we retreated to our lovely room (with a great view of Mount Hood!) and hit the hay.
4/17/2016
We set the alarm for 5:30, but I was awake well before then. I had stuff to do!! I showered and headed out to Esther Short Park, situated right across the street. The whole area felt safe and comfortable, and the park was just beautiful! It had a huge clock tower, gardens, and a great playground. I wanted to get out there to geocache before the farmers market was all set up. I did grab one right behind a man who was working on one of the tents, but he didn't seem to pay me any attention. An easy find, I was back to the room in no time flat! We got ready and headed down to breakfast. We enjoyed a lovely full buffet down in the dining room and looked around us, figuring that most of the others were also going on the cruise, which was the case. From there, we checked in for the cruise, got our dinner reservations for the onboard specialty restaurant, and then rested in our room until 10:30 when we had to be at the orientation presentation. Once that was over, we had to check out of our room, which left us rather in limbo until the shuttle arrived at 3:15 to take us to the boat. Luckily, we staked out some comfortable chairs in the lobby. My mom stayed there and read her book while I went out exploring Vancouver.
The immediate vicinity was really nice. My first plan was to grab a geocache a few blocks north of the hotel. It was a quick and clever find, luckily. While out, I noticed there were a lot of young families around, and they all seemed to enjoy the bustling farmers market. I headed back that way to see what it had to offer. There were so many neat plants and flower arrangements that would have been lovely if we hadn't been traveling. Asparagus seemed to be the veggie of the day. There were food stands and crafts...you name it! It was interesting, but the crowds were a bit much for my liking. I did wind up stopping for a shaved ice. I opted for a small, pink lemonade-flavored one. It was so huge that I could hardly hold the thing and walk! I did find a nice shady place in the park to sit and enjoy it, though.
I decided it might be fun to walk down and see the riverboat, since I'd heard it was only a few blocks away and quite walkable. So I headed south toward the Columbia River to see what I could. I admired the ample artwork on buildings and bridges on the way. I passed the Red Lion Hotel behind which the boat was docked and opted to first head east along the Riverwalk to admire the views. A number of nice restaurants were situated right along the water, and there were some great views of the bridge. Then I headed back to the Red Lion Hotel. It was so quiet over there, so I had no trouble admiring the ship and getting some pictures. We would be sailing with the American Queen Steamboat Company (AQSC), and our boat was the American Empress, a 360-foot, diesel-powered paddle-wheeler. The ship sailed in Alaskan waters before being acquired by the AQSC, but now serves the Columbia and Snake Rivers. It's the largest overnight riverboat west of the Mississippi, and the company has made it a point to furnish it as closely as possible to the steam wheeler era while still affording all the modern conveniences one expects from a cruise line. I couldn't wait to board!
When I returned to my mom, I found her talking with a lively couple, Dave and Georgeanne. They live in Sacramento, but Dave had lived in Chicago and Albuquerque! They had been married two weeks, and shared many commonalities as well as a love of travel. I think they said this was sort of their second honeymoon! We had a wonderful time talking with them for the next few hours until it was time to board our ship. They'd be another couple with whom we'd spend time on our voyage. We walked down to the bus with them and boarded for our 3 block ride to the boat.
My mom and I were two of the first people to board, and our room was the first to the right, just as we got on the ship! We were on the port side, 3rd floor, room 324, right by the stairs and elevators. There were two double beds, a desk, tv, chairs, two wardrobes, a nice bathroom, a refrigerator, and a safe. It was quite comfortable! We got settled and relaxed a while, watching the people board from our stateroom. We had a private balcony, which would be wonderful on our voyage, allowing us views of some spectacular scenery.
Once rested, we decided to explore the ship a bit. We opted to start on the bottom and work our way up. The first floor was home to the purser's office, gift shop, the show lounge, and the Astoria dining room, which is where we'd typically eat dinner. The second floor was mostly staterooms, but also had the Paddlewheel Lounge at the back of the ship. It had a very paddlewheel era feel to it (even though there were computers tucked off on the port side). Stained glass-framed windows looked out upon the paddlewheel, which you could watch spinning whenever the ship was in motion. There was a display of the medicines used by Lewis and Clark on their journey, along with informational brochures. A small library, some couches, a great deal of tables and chairs, a piano, and a dance floor could be found here, as well as a nice-sized bar. We were greeted almost immediately by Ted, the main musical entertainer aboard the ship, and we had such a nice time talking with him! He was a wonderful talent, too, and we were lucky to have him aboard during our trip. Then my mom and I enjoyed a brandy alexander and a grasshopper, respectively, before heading back to our cabin for a muster drill.
When we returned, we found a lady trying desperately to get into our room. It turned out she belonged across the hall and on the other side of the lobby from us. We'd find out later her name was Jacqueline, and (as my mom correctly guessed ahead of time) she was a professor (specifically of art history and linguistics) at a university in California (though I can't seem to find any record of her). She was quite the oddball, but helped make the trip interesting.
The muster drill involved everyone standing in the hall outside their stateroom with their life vests. We all had to demonstrate that we knew how to put them on securely and couldn't leave until everyone was accounted for. The vests were a bit confusing, and I wound up helping some of our neighbors out with theirs.
After this, we rested in our room a bit before heading down to the pre-dinner show in the show lounge. We ran into Jack and Lindy here and wound up going back to the Paddlewheel Lounge with them before dinner. We decided to eat together every night and had a lovely time of it! They really were so easy to talk with and so likeable. They made our trip a joy. That night, our waitress was Jody, and she was great! We knew that wine or beer was included with our meals, but none of us realized it was free flowing. Lindy asked to try both the red and white, which was no problem to them, so I decided to try both for the remainder of the trip. Sometimes, they'd be close to finishing a bottle and just top you off. It was really something.
It was all well and good until a recent acquaintance of Jack and Lindy's came over to the table. He was a loud-mouthed blowhard who started making very inflammatory statements about governmental officials and was obviously trying to spark some sort of argument with us for no apparent reason. I think the guy's name was Al, though throughout the trip we'd end up calling him "Penny" because he'd always turn up like a dirty one. Anyway, he was so annoying and honestly, some of the stuff he was saying could have put him on government watch lists. We somehow broke free of him and now had a better idea of whom to avoid.
We escaped to the solitude of our room and sat out on the balcony for a bit, admiring the darkness. We did take a bit of a detour that night down the Willamette River, down into Portland, but we were either too early or too late to see it. The crew decided to go this way to kill time since our port at Astoria wouldn't be available right away due to a scheduling conflict. Regardless, it was nice to sit outside and watch the occasional lights on the shore as we drifted by.
4/18/16
What a day! We were still figuring out our way around the boat and headed down to breakfast at the Astoria dining room, not fully realizing that the Rivers dining room upstairs (where they have the specialty restaurant) was where the buffet was (I know, I know, read all the info they give you - it did say that in the literature). Astoria was a sit-down breakfast, and quite nice, but it wasn't as flexible, time-wise. We met Jack and Lindy and talked about our plans for the day. We were going to take the hop on, hop off tour, which is a free bus run by the boat company that goes from site to site at each destination, dropping and picking people up throughout the day. In the mornings, a tour guide goes along, talking about history and points of interest, so we would usually aim for grabbing the first bus of the day. The night before, we would go to the purser's office and print out a ticket for the early bus, securing our spot. Lindy and Jack were planning to do the same, but they had to be back in time for one of the premium excursions: A Lewis and Clark Experience.
We hopped on our comfortable tour bus and drove along the beautiful streets of Astoria, OR. Nate and I had visited years ago, and I was struck by the beauty of the town and the steepness of the streets. It may have been even prettier this time around. The guide told us how Astoria used to be a major canning town, and its history was preserved right down to the garbage cans which were painted like old time fish cans. I knew I'd have to get pictures of those at some point. She also informed us that, to encourage people to live in and restore the homes in town, people are exempt from property taxes for 10 years after purchase, so if you're looking to buy a home, Astoria may be for you!
We climbed up the steep and narrow roads to the Flavel House Museum, our first stop. I made sure to tell the bus driver how impressed I was that they could maneuver those enormous vehicles on such tiny streets, especially with cars parked on them. That's one job I wouldn't want!
The Flavel House Museum wasn't a very big place, but it was interesting. We watched a short video on Captain George Flavel, one of Astoria's most influential residents, and then wandered around the small display room. It wasn't clear if there was more to explore, but we learned a lot at this location, nonetheless.
Once we were done, we went out to wait on the next bus. It didn't take long to arrive, and we boarded and headed up to the incredible Astoria Column. Situated at the highest point in town, the Column was built in 1926 and stands 125 feet tall. Its outer designs were recently restored, making it much more vibrant than when Nate and I visited last. It is customary to toss a balsa glider from atop the tower, so the bus drivers gave us each our own glider. I climbed the 162 spiraling steps to the top, constructed my glider, and tossed it. It arced beautifully over the railing and swooped magnificently downward, circling to points unknown, as it quickly flew out of my view. Speaking of views, the sight from beneath the tower was breathtaking as it was, but from atop the tower, it was absolutely magnificent. You could see the entire town below, the great Astoria-Megler Bridge that leads to Washington state and the Pacific Ocean to the west, and mountains, forests, and lakes to the south. I would have loved to have stayed there, but we needed to get back to the boat. It was just too hot out. Once back at the boat, I dropped my mom off and headed back out again. There was just so much more to see!
I caught the next bus up to the Column, since there were a few geocaches up there that I wanted to grab. I only had limited time, since the last bus would be heading up in about a half an hour, so I rushed around. Being so high up and in the woods surrounding the hilltop, it was amazing to hear the barks of sea lions! The sounds sure carry! I spent about 15 minutes searching around a downed tree to no avail, and then I climbed part way down the hill to search for a second cache just inside a tree line. Again, I had no luck, but I also felt rushed so I probably didn't give it that much effort. I ran back up the steep hill to await the bus, a bit discouraged, but still determined to find something!
Only one other passenger was on the bus with me. Her name was Claire, and she was very nice. We talked a while, and I really liked her! We were still talking once we got off the bus at the boat. She was heading over to another bus to take the premium excursion, so I walked that way with her. Suddenly I hear a booming, "I see you met my wife!" I couldn't believe it! It was "Penny!" Aurgh!! I'm not sure what those two could possibly have in common, but oh my goodness! Later we would notice that the two of them rarely hung out together anyway. I can't imagine why! Anyway, I was roped into forced pleasantries with this guy, who again was spouting political nonsense, when suddenly I hear, "Jessica!!" It was Jack and Lindy, to my rescue!! They seriously were so wonderful! I excused myself and ran over to them. Everyone was about to board, though, so I thanked them before heading on my way.
I decided to head east along the Riverwalk, seeking out the source of the barking. Along the way, I did find 3 geocaches, and I was excited to finally have some finds in Oregon. The walk along the riverfront was peaceful and energizing. I enjoyed watching the cormorants posing on their posts and the seagulls soaring above. It really is an amazing place. After a bit of a stroll, I made it to the pier right alongside the sea lions. There were hundreds of them, all basking on their wooden perches or swimming in the water. The sound was incredible! A dog walking on the pier felt the need to bark right back at them. Talk about an amazing sight! I spent about 15 minutes here before heading back toward our dock.
Once back at the boat, I decided to wander around town some more, trying to find more geocaches and taking those garbage can pictures. I decided to come back and catch the bus up to the Flavel House to buy a postcard. Shortly after I boarded the bus, I noticed a tiki bar and made a mental note to check it out once I was back on foot, since tiki bars are sort of my thing. So after hitting the post office for stamps, I wandered back down there, not really intending on going in. I was taking some pictures outside the bar when I noticed the bartender waving to me inside. I realized I had to go in at this point. I told the guy I was a tiki bar enthusiast and asked if he could make tiki drinks. Well, it turned out he was rather new at bartending, so he said if I told him what was in it, he could make it. Well, we talked mai tais, and he made me one. I'm not sure if it was exactly right, but it tasted good anyway.
While sitting at the bar, I noticed that the other woman sitting there was none other than Jody, our waitress from the night before! We got to talking, and her other coworkers Anton and Amera appeared, too. I had the most wonderful time talking with them! It was funny, Anton and Amera actually thought I might be a reporter because I was toting my camera around and asking lots of questions. Haha! I just thought I looked like a super tourist! They warmed up as soon as they realized otherwise. My mom called, worried I'd miss the boat, but since the crew needed to be back a half hour before the passengers, I wasn't worried at all. Talking with them was one of the highlights of the trip. They even invited me out once we were in Richland, since there was a bar there that the crew frequents. They weren't used to having someone my age on the ship, and I would just be one of the crew. It made my day.
We headed back to the boat together, and then I went down to hear the talk on the river's lock systems and other riparian features. From there, my mom and I watched more river scenery from our balcony. We got ready for dinner and met up with Jack and Lindy. We were seated in Anton's area this time, which was great! A lively conversation ensued, and we didn't leave until almost 10! After that, I made sure to do a few laps around the top deck (deck 4, which had the Rivers Bar and Grille, the pilot house, and more cabins) before heading back to the room to enjoy more scenery from our balcony. It was another wonderful day!
4/19/16
Got up at 6 am to make sure we could experience the Bonneville Locks. I guess we were waiting for another boat to pass through, so we didn't actually go through ourselves until after 7. This was the first of seven locks we would pass. They're always an interesting experience. Since we were headed upstream, we'd enter a large concrete "room." They close the door behind us and fill it with water until we are level with the water above the adjacent dam. Then they open the doors to the front, and we're on our way. Some of the locks were so small that we could reach out and touch the walls! From there, we did breakfast up at the buffet and were joined by Jacquelyn, who confirmed my mom's suspicions that she was a professor. We had a lot of down time today, so we just relaxed and watched the scenery go by. We had a relaxed lunch and then headed over to the starboard side of the ship to see the waterfalls on the Oregon side of the river. While over there we met our neighbors, a married couple, and found out the husband had attended U of I! What a small world. Then my mom and I went to play bingo. We didn't win anything, but we had fun!
It was mid-day when we reached The Dalles, OR. My mom and I grabbed the first tour bus and did the loop around town. I dropped my mom back off at the boat and headed off to explore on my own. Since a bus had just left, I walked down along the river to see a Lewis and Clark campsite nearby. Then I rushed back to the bus and headed down to the Columbia River Discovery Center. On the way, the guide pointed out a large Google facility, and salad farm, and some artwork. Once we arrived at the Discovery Center, the guide mentioned geocaching, which sparked my memory. I had to check that out!
I waited for the outgoing passengers to board our bus, as I hovered around outside so my GPS to catch a signal. While waiting, Ted came by and told me he thought he saw me taking pictures of the garbage cans in Astoria. I laughed and said that sounded like me. The bus took off, and I struck off, looking for 3 geocaches. The first required me to answer a series of questions. The second was a simple find near the parking lot. And the third led me along a lovely trail system behind the museum, past a pond full of fish and frogs. The cache itself was being guarded by an army of ants. It was located on a tree, and the tree looked like a volcano erupting with ants instead of lava! I shook off the cache, but any time I had to put it down, ants swarmed it. It was quite the adventure!
After this, I decided to check out the museum itself. I didn't spend too much time there, but I did briefly listen to a talk by one of the raptor rehabilitators who had an owl and a hawk on display. Then I quickly did a loop of the exhibits before rushing out to catch the bus. We only had limited time, and I didn't want to miss anything.
I ran into Jack and Lindy on the bus and rode with them up to the Fort Dalles Museum and Anderson House. I explored the fort, home, barn with horse-drawn vehicles on display, and actual barn. At this point, I decided to skip the bus and instead opted to walk down to see the courthouse. It was only about 0.8 miles and downhill. I was the only visitor and was greeted kindly by the two docents who gave me a nice, though quick tour of the small facility. Before leaving, we chatted about things to see in the area, since we were planning on driving back through in a few days. They were quite informative. I waited a little bit for the last bus of the day to come by, but I eventually gave up and decided to walk. The Dalles isn't really that big of a town, and everything is mostly reachable by foot.
I continued onward toward the firehouse museum, not sure if it would be closed by the time I got there. Luckily, it was not. It was located at City Hall and, other than an employee or two, was basically empty. It was a small museum, with a few pieces of fire equipment and pictures on display, but it was interesting. Not sure if it'd be closing soon, I rushed around a bit, but it really didn't take much time anyway. It was worth a quick visit.
Next, I thought I would try to visit the Sunshine Mill Winery. Again, I wasn't sure what time they would close. The buses ceased operations around the time many of the places were closing, so I didn't have high hopes. I rushed eastward, hoping for the best. Luckily when I arrived there, the "open" sign was still out, and it looked as though I had another hour or so before it closed.
I crossed a grassy area and entered the enormous old mill building. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim light, but I made my way inside and headed over to the counter for a tasting. Apparently the owner of this winery has made a few appearances on "Shark Tank," trying to promote his single-serve wine idea. From what I understand, the panel liked the idea, but not the wine. Well, at this point I was dehydrated and exhausted, so when I tried their Riesling (after downing some water), it was so refreshing! I loved it! I sampled their other ones, but on a hot day like today, the Riesling won out, and I wound up getting a bottle of it. While there, I also chatted with the bar tender and an elderly local gentleman for a while. It was a very friendly atmosphere, and I would have liked to have stayed there longer. But, as always, there was still more to see and do!
At this point, after spending most of the day out in the unforgiving sun, I was starting to turn quite red. I discovered the nearest sunscreen vendor was the Safeway about 10 blocks away, so I rushed off to grab some. Then I rushed back to the boat, but I somehow missed the street I needed and wound up walking about 3 blocks out of my way. That's exhaustion for ya! I eventually made it back in time to shower and get ready for our dinner that evening. We were signed up to enjoy the Rivers Grille specialty restaurant, and I wanted to look presentable. I decided to wear my fancy copper dress, and my mom said people were watching me in awe saying I looked amazing. I was, of course, quite oblivious to all this.
Eventually we made it up to Rivers to get our table. My immediate impression was that, despite being touted as fancy and special, the main dining room was really much more fancy and elegant. As I mentioned before, Rivers is used throughout the day as the breakfast and lunch buffet. The tables are metal and not the most comfortable, and at night they're adorned with white tablecloths, but overall, it really doesn't have the classy feel of the Astoria dining room.
Anyway, we were met by the host who informed us we were going to be seated with "that couple over there." He gestured grandly, and I peered over to see Penny and his wife! Oh my God, no! I couldn't deal with all the political rantings during what was supposed to be the nicest dinner of the trip. I pleaded to the host, saying that my mom and I hoped to have one nice meal together, just the two of us, and that she can't hear very well anyway, and any other excuse I could think of. He hemmed and hawed and seemed extremely hesitant. Finally I just said, "Listen, that guy is just so argumentative. We just can't sit with him! Please understand!" I guess that convinced him, and he led us to a nice table for two along the window. The worst part was that the couple was told to expect us, and now I felt like a real jerk for sitting elsewhere. The host came by later and said he told them my mom couldn't hear very well and that seemed to appease them. Really, there were tons of empty tables, so I don't know why they feel the need to seat random people together. I was relieved to get out of that situation. Oh, and later on the trip, I ran into the host again. He came up to me and earnestly said, "I see what you mean," with regard to Penny. I'm sure no one escapes his special tirades.
As for dinner, despite still reeling from our near disaster, the food was very good. I enjoyed a phenomenal Dungeness crab appetizer followed by a lovely lobster. We had a great view of the lights of The Dalles, too. At the end of dinner, the couple came over and asked why we didn't join them. I kept up the "my mom can't hear" excuse, and that seemed to be good enough. They went on their way, and we breathed a sigh of relief. We really didn't see too much of them after that.
After dinner, we ran into Mel, one of our two cruise directors, who excitedly told us about the cowboy comedian who was currently performing in the show lounge. So we went to check him out. He was pretty good. I wish we'd seen more of the shows, but the ones we did catch were worth it, his included. From there, we printed out our bus tickets for the next morning, signed up for a jet boat tour on the Snake River later in the week, and spent some time with our two favorite couples. I finished up the evening with a few laps around the top deck. It had been a great, but exhausting, day.
4/20/16
We set the alarm for 7 but woke up at 6 as we pulled into Stevenson, WA. Our journey on the river saw us backtracking a bit due to more port conflicts with other vessels, so we were further west than we were the day before. We grabbed a quick breakfast and chatted with the great staff before heading out to catch our 8:30 bus to the Bonneville Dam. The bus went slowly, since it wasn't that far away and the facility didn't open until 9. We did stop at the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum to drop some people off first. Eventually, after crawling slowly along the access road, watching some sea lions in the river, and checking in at security, we made it to the dam. Nate and I had visited here before, but from the Oregon side. The Washington side didn't seem as nice as I'd recalled the other side to be. It had a few exhibits on display, and you could see the inside of the power station as well as some fish ladders. This felt more like the functional side of things, more meant for the workers than for tourists. We briefly saw everything before heading down to the fish ladders, which were quite sparse. We did see about 3 fish go by through the windows, but nothing too exciting. Oh well. We headed back outside to wait for our bus which came in about 15 minutes.
Once back at the boat, I was scheduled to do a pilot house tour. I met the rest of the group in the Paddlewheel Lounge, and we walked up together, led by our riverlorian, an informative though often curmudgeonly-seeming individual. I never quite knew what to make of her, so I mostly just stayed out of her way. Anyway, in the pilot house we met our captain - a woman! How wonderful! (This shouldn't even be something surprising, but it seems so rare in this industry.) She was a wealth of information, telling us how she had started out cleaning rooms and decided that wasn't for her, so she worked her way up to captaining the ship. She explained the differences between navigating the Columbia and the Mississippi (if you touch ground in the Mississippi, it's mostly sand and you usually get stuck, if you touch bottom in the Columbia, you've hit rocks and have likely destroyed your vessel!), explained some of the navigation technology, and told us about the port conflicts, resulting in the backtracking I'd mentioned before. It was fascinating!
Once that was over, I headed out solo again to the Interpretive Center about a mile and a half away. It was a lovely walk! There were lots of trees, some beautiful lakes, and osprey around (I may have even seen a bald eagle!). There were also quite a few ballooning spiderlings, I noticed. It was all well and good until they got stuck in your hair. The museum was quite impressive. It was sprawling and three stories high. There were so many interesting exhibits, I wouldn't even know where to begin. I actually took my time here, closely examining everything. I hardly ran into anyone else, either! Oh, how I love perusing a museum at my leisure. Once I finished inside, I headed back outside to grab an on-site geocache before making my way back. Looked for a couple more geocaches along the way, finding one on a bridge, and not finding one in a huge metal goat that was full of wasps.
From there, I strolled along the Riverwalk a while, watching wind surfers do their thing. Then I noticed a distillery: Skunk Brothers. Well I had to check that out, right? I went in and did a tasting of three of their products: Moonshine, Sweet Apple Pie Whiskey, and Cinnamon Whiskey. I was partial to the latter two and wound up bringing back the Cinnamon. I also got to meet the owner, his wife, and his dad, the original "Skunk." They gave me a tour of the facilities, and I was on my way.
Even though I walked significantly less than days prior, I was exhausted at this point (the alcohol, maybe?). Stevenson was a cute little town, but I'm not sure there was all that much to do there beyond what we did. I was content that I saw all I could, so I headed back to the boat to relax and get ready for dinner. We went back down to the Astoria dining room, and for some reason I thought Jack and Lindy had their Rivers reservations that evening, so my mom and I ate by ourselves that night. I guess the two of them were actually there, and when they saw us, they came over, and we decided to change our own plans for our second Rivers dinner so we could eat with them. How wonderful!
After that, we ran to the top of the boat to experience another one of the locks, which are always exciting. From there, it was off to sleep.
4/21/16
Since not much would be going on until later in the day, I'd hoped to sleep in at last, but of course my internal clock would have none of that. We took it easy, grabbing a leisure breakfast before strolling down for the disembarkation talk. It was only Thursday - we couldn't possibly be talking about leaving the boat already! After that, we mostly just sat out on the balcony and watched the world go by. We docked at Sacajawea State Park around noon and grabbed the 1pm bus. The loop wound up being quite long, since we were in the sprawling tri-cities: Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco. We'd technically have two days in the area, so we didn't feel all that rushed. We got off at the Reach Museum, a fascinating institution with extensive displays covering local history, the unique ecology of the Hanford Reach portion of the Columbia River, and the nuclear era. It was fascinating just how similar these towns were to Los Alamos, having had a very similar nuclear history. We spent about an hour there before catching the bus back to the boat.
We still had a while before our ship would leave, so I decided to hike around the State Park a bit. I cautiously admired one of the largest gaggles of Canada geese I've ever seen. We enjoyed watching how they managed their many young, with adult leaders at the front, more adults in the middle, and yet more at the end, keeping everyone in line and accounted for. Then I hiked around the trails, enjoying views of the Snake River and its bridges. The confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers is right at Sacajawea State Park, so we'd soon be saying farewell to the Columbia, but not just yet. Anyway, I grabbed a quick geocache and then decided to follow a trail around and see where it led. I figured it would loop back to the boat, but having no map, I had no real idea. We had 45 minutes left until departure when I discovered that the trail led to a very dead end, and it was either trail blaze my way through the weeds or backtrack at this point. I opted for the latter and ran about half of the way back. Phew!!
Once back at the room, I was even MORE exhausted, despite having walked even less than the day before! Despite this, we made our way down to see Nate Jester, the magician of America's Got Talent fame, performing. I sat closer to the front so I could actually see, and then regretted my decision as I spent the rest of the show worried that he was going to pick me out. Being the youngest person on the boat, I kind of stood out. I purposely avoided eye contact. Well, I needn't have worried, as that never happened. He did pick on a lot of other people, though, and performed some really impressive tricks. I'm so glad we saw the show! Afterward, I noticed Dave talking to him at great length, and I discovered later that he was a card carrying magician himself!! How crazy and cool! He even performed one of his card tricks for me later. This, plus having a PhD in Theology and close to another PhD in Physics, made for a wealth of fascinating conversations. Good times!
We ended the night with a lovely dinner of rockfish, beef barley soup, fried green tomatoes, and chocolate ice cream (and wine, of course there was wine). Tonight was the night the crew was going out at our overnight port in Richland, but I was so darned exhausted. I know I always think I don't want to go out, and when I do I usually wind up having a great time, but really, I just couldn't...too...tired... I did have a chance to talk to Nate a bit. They'd just started their road trip out and made it to Moab this evening. He sounded pretty exhausted, too. I think we were all happy to get some rest.
4/22/16
I woke up at 6 despite my desperate need to sleep in for once. I showered and then had breakfast with my mom before heading out to see the sights a bit. I began by geocaching around Howard Amon Park. What a lovely place! Situated along the Columbia River, this is where our boat had docked overnight. Well-manicured grass, neat little swinging benches, and ample shade abounded. I grabbed a cache right alongside the band shell, known locally as "The Fingernail," since that's what it resembles. Then I headed toward the shopping district where I grabbed a second cache long before any shops opened for the day. I attempted a third near another band shell, but the bush or tree it was in was well-guarded by squirrels. They seemed friendly enough, but I really don't think they wanted to be disturbed.
I ran the three or so blocks back to catch the early bus. There were still a number of sights I wanted to see, but I had to be back by the afternoon to catch the bus for our wine tour. I started out back at the Reach Interpretive Center where I ran back to the few exhibits I didn't get to see the day before. Then I wandered the grounds admiring the wildlife artwork outside. I grabbed yet a few more geocaches along the way before heading back to catch the bus.
We drove back through Sacajawea State Park. I would have loved to have stopped and visited more, but I was really pressed for time, especially since this bus route was so long. Instead, I stayed on the bus and drove through Pasco. What an interesting town! Its main street was literally lined with formalwear shops. There must have been 8 or more separate ones, and considering how small Pasco really is, that's amazing.
I stopped at the Pasco Historical Museum and looked around for a bit before grabbing some essentials at the Rite Aid next door. Then I hit the bus and headed back to the ship to meet my mom for lunch and get ready for our premium excursion.
We boarded the bus and headed out past vast vineyards that seemed to stretch for miles. Eventually we stopped at the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center where we were able to sample a variety of wines from all over the state of Washington. We learned that there are more than 800 wineries in the state - it would be quite a tour for anyone wanting to hit them all! If you ever had any questions about the wines of Washington, this is the place to turn. We spent about a half hour here before heading off to our next destination: Red Mountain Winery and the Hedges Family Estate.
The grounds at the Hedges Estate were gorgeous, set upon acres of rolling vineyards. We entered the tasting room and were greeted by a sweet dog. They gave us a brief tour of the wine storage cellar before taking us back to the tasting room to try out some of their wares. The wines were ok, but nothing really stood out to me. I mostly just wanted to admire the scenery outside!
Our last stop was Black Heron Spirits, a small, family-run distillery. We were able to try a variety of their spirits, including various whiskeys, bourbon, vodka, lemoncello, and moonshine. I believe they may have also had wine, but I don't believe I tried it. I wound up getting a small lemoncello to bring home. From there, we headed back to the boat. It was a fun tour, but I would have liked to have seen a few more wineries.
Once back, we took it easy a bit before dinner. The boat had left, and we transitioned from the Columbia to the Snake River. We met Jack and Lindy for a lovely dinner up at Rivers where I enjoyed the wonderful crab appetizer and lobster again, along with escargot and some more wine. Then we headed down to see the show "Oh What a Night," featuring a range of fun music from what I call "my era" (read: old stuff). I was asked to dance THREE times! First, I joined in on the YMCA with the bartender lady. Then a younger deckhand asked me to dance, and I was so nervous, I don't even remember what song it was, but how fun! Finally, an older guest asked me out there, and he tore up the floor! Again, I was nervous and couldn't tell you the song. I'm more of a singer, not a dancer, but I was quite flattered to be asked.
After the show, Dave dazzled us with his card tricks, and we sat around talking to our two favorite couples as well as cruise director Mel and pianist and performer Ted. What a great way to end the night!
4/23/16
Hoped to sleep in, but my plans were dashed as usual when I woke up at 6. After getting ready, we realized that we were going through our final lock. We rushed up to see it and got a great view of an osprey nesting right alongside entrance to the lock. I only noticed her because she was angrily vocalizing at the disturbance our ship was making.
Continuing past the lock, we viewed miles and miles of steep, hilly terrain, often dotted with cattle that were much surer-footed than I could ever be. The landscape was a brilliant green, but it would only last another 6 weeks or so before everything would turn to brown. We picked a good time to be here! On top of that, trees were very sparse, and apparently any that we saw were introduced. There are no native trees that grow between The Dalles and Clarkston! The landscape was quite a bit different than that with which we started.
After a rather hot and sunny trip through the Columbia Gorge so far, we were greeted to a chilly, rainy morning once we hit the desert. We grabbed a quick breakfast, headed back to our room briefly, and then went to see J.R. Spencer, a wonderful Nez Perce storyteller, perform in the show lounge. He was amazing! He'd start out telling what seemed to be an earnest story or singing a serious song from his culture, and it would always end up light hearted and silly in some way, but no less poignant. He was brilliant.
Once his show ended, we had to rush out to our premium jet boat excursion in Clarkston, WA, where we'd landed. We'd heard that this was one of the best excursions of the trip, so we made sure to sign up. These large, enclosed jet boats would take us way up Hells Canyon, a canyon deeper than even the Grand Canyon, allowing us amazing views and great adventure.
We secured a seat third from the front, port side, and were able to talk directly to the guide at times. He was a wealth of information, having grown up boating in the region. I really wish I were more well-versed with boats because that would open up a whole new area of exploration and recreation for us. Anyway, we enjoyed viewing the immense green hills and attempting to spot bighorn sheep. I had to zero in on them through the viewfinder in my camera, but I did see them! We even saw an extremely old Nez Perce commerce trail way up high on the side of one of the steep hills. What a harrowing trade route!
We stopped at the Garden Creek Ranch, a fairly recent acquisition of the Nature Conservancy, located on the Idaho side of the river. Like many of the homes that dotted the banks of the river, you can only access this place by boat. It consisted of very well-manicured land, a barn, a house, and a few other buildings. We stopped for a snack and, of course, to check out the gift shop. It was a wonderful location with incredible scenery. It turns out you can even stay there if you like! It's something to think about! After our stop here, we continued up the river a little more until we hit some rapids. I'm not sure where it went from there, but we turned around at this point. We'd made it 44 miles up the river! It also turned out that one of our boat's three engines wasn't working. Our driver tried his best to fix the problem, which may have been caused by a branch that was picked up under the boat. We had to head back slowly. Luckily, there was another boat with us, so we stopped at a forest service site a bit further downstream, possibly on the Oregon side, but it may have been Washington at this point, in order for our crew to troubleshoot the problem. Some of our passengers switched to the other boat, including Jacqueline who was frightened and upset and told me she hated this part of the trip. I thought it was a grand adventure! We really never were in any danger. And it was a nice way to extend our journey a bit.
I got out at the forest station site and bought a patch. I also had a chance to admire some more astounding scenery. This would definitely be a place to revisit one day! We got back on the boat, though they couldn't fix the problem, and headed back downriver at a slightly slower pace. We enjoyed watching the scenery and marveled at the houses people kept out here, wondering what it would be like to live this way. The guide told us one homeowner, who used his place as a vacation home, came back after several months to find a window smashed in. He worried he'd been burglarized, but it turned out a bighorn had seen its reflection in the window and rammed it! How crazy!
We got back a mere 10 minutes after the fully-running boat, none the worse for wear. My mom went back to the room to get ready for dinner while I went out and walked along the riverside trail, grabbing about 5 geocaches! It was so quiet out there, and I hardly ran into anyone. I was sad that, due to the jet boat excursion, we didn't get to take the hop on hop off tour, but at least I was seeing some of it by foot!
As an aside, I noticed an extremely bad sewer smell once I returned to the boat, and I thought they might be doing something with the septic system, since we were at the end of our journey. It was just awful, but I found out later that it was just the whole town that smelled that way, not the ship! Thank goodness and yuck, both at the same time!
I returned to enjoy our last meal with Jack and Lindy - we really enjoyed those two immensely! It just wouldn't be the same to eat without them now. I had the wild game pot pie, which consisted of chicken, bison, rabbit, and quail. It was delicious! Oh, and it turned out the head chef, who came out and chatted with everyone nightly, was born in Champaign, Illinois. What a small world! He was quite a character, and it really added a personal touch to our dinners.
We'd spend the night docked in Clarkston and disembark the next day. Nathan, Karla, and the little one were staying across the river in Lewiston, ID, and they would pick us up in the morning. It was nice knowing they'd arrived safely, but kind of weird not seeing them though they were basically in the same town. Still, our room was comfortable, and it would be nice to have another relaxing evening.
4/24/16
Since we needed to finish our last-minute packing (we'd left our large bags outside our rooms for transport to the dock), we woke up at 5:30 to make sure we could do everything in time. We ran into Dave and Georgeanne for breakfast and were happy to get to eat a meal with them. Once back in our room, I tried calling Nate a few times, to no avail. Eventually I was able to get a hold of Karla, since he and our daughter were still fast asleep. Luckily she was able to pick us up around 8:30, giving us a little time to enjoy the view of the river for the last time, at least from the boat. We headed down to little fanfare (most people had already left). We just scanned our boarding cards for the last time and walked down the gang plank to the street where our bags awaited. It had been an eventful and wonderful trip, and I'm so glad we were able to enjoy the Columbia (and Snake!) River cruise at last!
Part two, the non-cruise part of the trip, to come!
