The Gentleman and I had the most amazing dinner at Baked Alaska for Valentine’s Day. They have never let us down, and this year they exceeded our culinary expectation. And we are getting smarter and made our reservation for before sunset. Granted, it was pouring down and blowing sideways and horribly overcast, but we, as former boat people, were happy as clams — there were ships on the water, sea lions ‘frolicking’, and the Pilot Boat was our dinner theater.
The Gentleman was able to take some great video through the windows. (And I was fortunate enough to get a new phone this past week and have been playing with all the fun apps that an amazing camera allows. So, I guess this is my apology for the flood of photos and videos that may (or may not) be in our future. I’m looking forward to The Gentleman taking me to the beach to test everything out in true north coast style.)
If you’re interested in learning about the two types of pilots that work (often in harrowing conditions) on The Columbia River, check out their websites: http://www.columbiariverbarpilots.com/ and http://colrip.com/
It is truly amazing what these men and women do to allow safe passage of vessels.
And if you ever visit Astoria, please go to the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Best ‘educational’ dollars you’ll ever spend, and you’ll never look at the Columbia, the United States Coast Guard or river traffic the same.
