And we are off!

I think if you want to easily know when we have posted anything new you can check the "notify me" box at the bottom of the page.

Fourth of July found us at the Clubhouse for the annual celebration of BBQ, fireworks and Wade's birthday.  102 and going strong.  Our grown sons joined us with their families and friends.  We moved ExTerra to the breakwater for front row seats for the Fort Vancouver fireworks.  Everyone settled in, some playing cards inside and some cozy under our boat blankets.  We all enjoyed Brittney and Emilie's home made chocolate chip cookies.  As the fireworks came to a close the family scattered back to their homes and we settled in to get a good night's sleep. Not!

While the city says fireworks are to stop at midnight it was well past three in the morning before we were able to get to sleep so 6:00 came early.  We cast of our lines around 6:30 with nice hot coffee to chase away the cobwebs.

On a good ebb tide we made great time.  We tied up in Rainier and the river was kind to me, letting me slowly get back into the swing of stepping off of a perfectly good boat onto some unknown dock with bow and stern lines in my hand.  Carl's brother Jim met us on the dock and we walked to town for another nice meal the local cafe.  We hailed a fellow Club member on their boat Aiya as they flew past us on their way to Astoria. They will get there will ahead of us.

We loaded back up with Jim on board and instead of heading into Longview Yacht Club we decided to try  the Columbia River yacht club out station, a small peaceful dock surrounded by water on a quiet backwater.  We have the place to ourselves. A great place to catch up on our sleep.

But first with little wind to fight with we decide to shake out the main sail and put the first reef in.  It is an exercise best done with time and patience as we only do it a couple times a year and nearly have to relearn how each time.  Now we have a reefed main that will give us peace of mind and much less sail to handle as we cross the Columbia River bar in a day or two.

Now we are settled in the cockpit for our first of many afternoons of reading. What a wonderfully peaceful spot.