- Adventures (12)
- Corgi (4)
- Family (32)
- jazz (10)
- Notes (1)
- photography (8)
- 25 October 2011: Trip to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and Arches National Parks
- 17 October 2011: Roosevelt Jazz Band at Earshot Jazz Festival 2011
- 26 September 2011: Trip to Olympia area
- 9 May 2011: Our corgi Raffle
- 7 March 2011: Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival 2011
- 15 February 2011: Bonnie's Going to State!
- 9 February 2011: Clark College Jazz Festival 2011
- 27 December 2010: Christmas 2010
- 6 December 2010: Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's Jazz Nutcracker
- 3 December 2010: Roosevelt Jazz Band Community Outreach
- October 2011
- September 2011
- May 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- June 2010
- June 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2007
- June 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
Boating on the Columbia
To kick off our final vacation of the year, we headed to Vantage on 18 August to visit with Chris and Susan and their kids & Venus, too. I was especially looking forward to the day since I hadn’t had a chance to spend much time with Chris in over a year, and he had the full day off. After some initial yakking, we had lunch and then got our stuff together to go play on the Columbia River, which would be refreshing considering the high temps. Chris launched their boat and then shuttled us in two groups to a sandy beach about 3 miles/5 km south on the river, on the far side. Just ashore, a huge, burning hot sand dune loomed large. While a few stayed ashore with Venus, others went out in the boat to try their luck and thrill at being towed on a sea-biscuit. I passed, but just about everybody else gave it a go. I think Nick was the champ, being towed for miles it seemed! I stayed ashore one time with Venus, who mostly just eyed me suspiciously, and climbed the dune which rose for about 100′ / 30m from the river’s edge to the basalt cliffs above.
On the return near suppertime, Chris let me run the first boat shuttle back to Vantage, which was fun. On the return, it was just me and the boat controls, something I’d never experienced before. Nothing unexpected happened, and I did find the right beach on the return where Chris and Wesley waited. Or maybe it was Chris and Nick. And Venus.
After securing the boat back on the trailer at the launch in Vantage, we began the several block drive back and watched this humorous spectacle unfold. Venus, partly pictured below, absolutely rocketed up the road trying to get home before we did. At one point, she ran parallel to our truck and raced through a gas station by a couple of guys pumping gas. As Venus streaked past, I saw them smiling incredulously as their heads whipped around to follow her progress. After taking a shortcut across some vacant lots, she easily won the hands down. Er… paws down.
Below, L to R: Nick, Caralyn, Jael, Sandy, Wes, and Bonnie. Venus pokes in from the left.
