coming home

Hi folks. Cap'n Glen here and it looks like this may be the last post for the year except for some pics that we are going to add. Also hoping to add video if we can figure how to do it. this blog spot is not an easy one to work with unfortunately.
  Naomi and I got back to the boat in Astoria on Sunday the 25th and prepped for leaving early Mon. the 26th for the trip home to The Dalles. Guess what? Nah you will never guess! It was raining!!!
In Astoria of all things. Can you imagine? Alright I will let it go! So off we go, saying goodbye to Astoria for the time being. Also waved goodbye to our friends at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, Carol  Shepherd in particular. Carols parents were friends of my folks back in the late 1940s. Small world! On to Cathlamet, Wa. for the night and guess what. Nah, you'll never guess!
Yes it started pouring as soon as we had lines out. Just like on the way down!!!! On the way to Cathlamet I almost ran the boat aground! The Coast Guard had installed a new set of ranges in the river that were not on my 20 year old chart book. Shame on me for not investing in a new chart book.I figured how much different could the river be in twenty years. Shame on me! Naomis Garmin
GPS saved us
  Tues. am we left Cathlamet on an overcast morning enroute St. Helens,Or. to stay overnight. The weather got better and better. Met our friend Joe Pecore and a friend of his and we all went to dinner and had a great evening. In the morning Naomis brother Scott and his wife Heather arrived for the trip on up to Portland marina on the willamette River. Had a fun trip up with them. The weather had gone fine and we got in mid day. Met our friend Cliff Hunter, classmate of mine and we went to
PF Changs for dinner. Great evening. but we were pretty tired.
  Wed. am Got underway up river to Vancouver, Wa. where we tied up to the public dock by the I 5
bridge. Scott drove me back to Astoria to pick up my truck to shuttle it back to Vancouver. When I
got back on the boat we decide to make some time so we got under way and made it to a public dock on government island. Was a really nice evening with people visiting.
  Thursday morning we were under way by daylight. beautiful day. Made Bonneville Dam and locked through by mid day. Current still very strong below the dam and we were only making about three and a half knots up to the lock. Above the dam we passed through the old lock which has no gates anymore but was in use before Bonneville was built. We were checking out the place for our friend Joe Pecore whose daughter is getting married there on Thunder Island and we may be the get away vehicle if it all works out. From there it was drift in the River for lunch then on to Hood River for the night. Very Hot in Hood River!