Portland Pals

We had a lovely 5 hour drive to Portland and a delicious seafood lunch with my nephew and his wife who dropped us off on their way home to Seattle. Then we set off to make the most of our 1.5 days in Portland. After riding MAX, the light rail system, from our airport hotel to downtown, we used the street cars and found our way to one of the few stores open on Labor Day evening, Powell's Book Store, http://www.powells.com . This famous store covers more than a city block, is 5 stories tall and has a plentiful and incredibly helpful staff. An amazing place! This was followed by shots of drinking chocolate at the historic Heathman Hotel's Cacao, http://cacaodrinkchocolate.com   Books and chocolate - what bliss!

Radeen, smiling and clutching her map of the store...a true necessity at Powell's 

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Even on a holiday, the Portland public transit system ran frequently and flawlessly. 

On Tuesday, we were treated to a grand tour of the city by our Bahamas sailing friends, Larry and Phyllis of IP-40 "Lark." They bought a condo last year and plan to spend every summer here. We can certainly understand why they love Portland. It is very friendly, clean, interesting and has a great vibe. They find they don't need a car because the public transit system works so well. (Watch out, we'll be coming back sooner than you think!) 

We started the day meeting Phyllis so she could escort us via MAX to their neighborhood, The Pearl District. Larry amazed us with salmon and cream cheese omelettes and fruit salad with yogurt. Thus fortified, we started out on a full day of sight-seeing and sampling the city's famous fare, including infamous & scandalous VooDoo donuts.

Our friends' condo with a wetlands park in the middle of the city .

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We enjoyed a guided tour of the lovely and surprisingly spacious Lan Su Chinese Garden.

www.lansugarden.org

This tram car is yet another mode of public transportation in Portland.

We enjoyed a stunning view of Mt. Hood in the distance and shared great stories on an outdoor terrace.

A walk in the afternoon took us to interesting old neighborhoods of NW Portland, followed by dinner with their son and his girlfriend. We enjoyed one of Portland's famous brew pubs, Widmer's Gasthaus and Brewery on the east side of Portland, across the Willamette River. http://widmerbrothers.com/

Saying good-bye at the MAX station. Thank you, Phyllis and Larry, for a wonderful day together! 

Oregon Family Visit

Custom Red Cedar Home Built by Radeen's Brother

Destination Southern Oregon for a visit with Radeen's family. Lee, Radeen's brother, hand built this beautiful red cedar, post and beam home, over the last 4 years! Beginning with a set of plans and two other men to help when needed, he set out clearing the 5 acres of brush and sagebrush while preserving every tree as his property borders the National Forest of south central Oregon. The rest of the family drove in from California and Washington states sharing stories, photos, gifts, and fantastic meals ranging from venison to antelope to fresh caught salmon, with delicious desserts, including home made ice cream and wine/berry sorbets.

We toured Crater Lake, one of the most beautiful places on earth! Another day, we rode on a jet boat 36 miles into the Hellgate Canyon. Further highlights were shopping the beautiful towns of Ashland, home of the Shakespeare Festival, and Jacksonville, a gold rush town. We were constantly interrupted by the many wine tastings these towns offer!

Oregon is such a beautiful state, with only 3.8 million residents which is less than half the population of New York City! The peaceful vistas, massive mountains, and lush valleys make exploring the countryside breathtaking and very enjoyable. Such a contrast to exploring by boat and on the ocean. Thank you, Lee and Judith, for a dream visit and a wonderful family reunion. We look forward to many more!

Photo Essay of our Oregon Family Visit 

Radeen arrives in Oregon

Lee and Radeen on the interior balcony, overlooking the living room
Notice the beautiful red cedar interior walls!

Hayden and Lee in the front driveway

The back, SW view, where the upper deck and patio overlook the valley and off to the mountains

Lee is one of 3,000 licensed Falconers in the United States!
This is his trained Harris Hawk named Gaff.

Lee feeding his Harris Hawk with the bird on his leather glove.
Look at the tallons on these birds.

The bird will fly out for a loop, then return to his raised hand.
This bird is flown out into the wild to catch rabbits and wild prey!

Our jet boat ride into the Hellgate Canyon where there are rapids and waterfalls

Lee and Hayden at the outdoor lodge in the canyon

Lee, Judith, Radeen and Hayden...front row on the jet boat ride...very cool....very fast, 40 knots!

Lee and Judith have every bird imaginable, here is their pet hummingbird at a hanging basket

Radeen and Judith overlooking the valley near Crater Lake

A common valley scene with towering pines, a river and waterfall below

Crater Lake National Park....beautiful!

Wizard Island in the side / center of the lake

Crater Lake is 1,990 feet deep, the deepest lake in the USA!

Hayden and Radeen, at Crater Lake, Oregon

Crater Lake was caused 7,700 years ago when the volcano erupted.
The ash volume would cover all of Oregon  8" deep if spread out evenly over the state!

No photo of Crater Lake does it justice....it is far more beautiful than these photos show.

Crater Lake and Wizard Island
That far peak is the upward slope of the original mountain

Back home, this is the interior balcony of Lee and Judith's home.
Beautiful! Notice the beams, steel brackets, and red cedar walls.

Darren and Jeanette, Radeen's nephew and his wonderful wife

Hayden and Lee set up "FORT FRANKIE" for Lee's Granddaughter, Frankie.
She read us a fireside story and we toasted s'mores.....fun!

"Willie" the famous pack rat and chipmunk hunter. He is also used to flush rabbits for the hawk

"Pip" the bloodhound who is really great at chasing down  coyotes and rabbits.
These dogs work in tandem with the Harris Hawk.

Radeen, Tanya, and Judith, a great "girls" photo

Frankie Lee and Darren..."PaPa loves Frankie"
Frankie is a fantastic reader and did a great job with our fire pit stories....Thank you, Frankie Lee!

Hayden, Tanya, Jeanette and Lee after another wonderful meal and delicious wine.

Frankie Lee and "Willie" the great hunter

Frankie Lee, Darren, and Jeanette...beautiful...smart...positive...happy family!

The "BEAST" ... a diesel tractor that is used for all the heavy lifting, snow plowing, sagebrush cutting, and more

S'mores anyone?

S'mores at "FORT FRANKIE" and story time by the expert reader herself.
Thank you for a wonderful visit.....WE LOVE YOU ALL....

Summer 2012, Friends

Sharon and Claire, Blue Eyes (B.E.)

We have not blogged in months and that is because we have been having a great time with friends aboard, friends at home, and friends on the road. We have spent a blazing hot summer on the Chesapeake Bay and ran away to Cape May NJ for a two week reprieve. We have enjoyed our spacious home with endless power and hot water, as we play between the boat and the house. Overall, it has been a relaxing and peaceful summer. Since I love to take photos, the best way to show our summer is via my photo collection.....here you go....

Claire, our good buddy, and Blue Eyed friend

Claire (B.E.), Jeff (Nuke Man) and Sharon (Artistic GrL)

Wanda, our good buddy with Radeen

Radeen and Gail sail Island Spirit to Annapolis, MD

Island Spirit sails beautifully for Annapolis, MD 

Radeen and Freddie,great friend and our "Mechanical Man"

Radeen and Gail...pretty girls aboard Island Spirit

Blue Angles Airshow Baltimore MD for the 1812 Celebration
We were anchored at the edge of the airshow box.

Radeen with a Summer Sunset in Rock Hall, MD

Daphne and Phil arrive from Chicago

Daphne after a full NAVY career, sails Island Spirit

Tall Ships sail past Fort McHenry for the 1812 celebration
We drop anchor right off the fort and the ships parade by

Phil and Hayden. Phil makes the BEST OMELETS in the world !

Road Trip to see Jim, Gail and Courtney's stunning new home

Road Trip to our HOME....wow, nice deck!

Summer in the Chesapeake Bay looks like this. HOT

Road Warriors Visit:  The Kerlins swing by with their 40 foot camper
Patricia (IP460 Cutter Loose) Kate (IP350 Eilean) and Radeen

Off we sail to Cape May, NJ for escape from the HOT Chesapeake Bay

Happy Anniversary #32, we popped the DOM

After 2 weeks in CMNJ, we sail north back up the Delaware Bay
This is the Salem Nuclear Plant that our buddy Jeff keeps online

Radeen loves living on the boat, and I love taking photos of her
:-)

PARTY: The Fleet assembled in the Magothy River, MD

We celebrated Brian and Amy's engagement with a trip across the bay
Sail to Annapolis, tour the town, pop some MOET, and enjoy dinner at the Charthouse

Haul Out: Aug 21, 2012
Time for one month of service and then off to the Bahamas!

Service Job #1
Rip out the helm and send it in for inspection and repairs.
Edson wants to fix one item as a preventative measure.

What a GREAT SUMMER 2012 has been. Normally right now, we would be preparing for the RETURN TO SCHOOL, as we have done for 32+ years. Now, we are dreaming of a return to the Bahamas and beyond! The boat is hauled out for a month while we take a trip to Oregon to visit Radeen's brother and family in the new log home they built. In September, we will service and re-launch the boat, load it up and make our second run south on the ICW for a repeat of last year. We plan to go deeper into the middle of the Bahamas, the EXUMAS, and explore this beautiful area. From there....we have no plans....we will go where ever.....