Columbia River
Sea Lion departed the docks at Portland, Oregon, at 1800 hours on Sunday, October 15, 2006. A wet Oregon welcome—call it fog, or call it rain, it’s like walking through a permanent mist—did not deter the hardy passengers from enjoying the front deck as we passed through the “City of Bridges,” heading down the Willamette River towards the mighty Columbia. Some of us still wondered how a river could flow north (forgetting the Nile), but we were reassured when the ship took a hard right and embarked up the Columbia. Our first dinner, featuring an expanded wine list and exquisite salmon, drew no complaints and much praise, directed at Hotel Manager Judie Blewitt.
We have so many experts aboard ship that it seems like a traveling classroom. About forty of our passengers are alumni of Dartmouth College, and they brought along art historian Robert McGrath. A few Columbia and Georgetown alumni boast Colonial historian Evan Haefeli. Junius Rochester of Seattle provides interesting local history and analysis. Yours truly tells stories, some of which are true, about Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Our trip, after all, is entitled “In the Wake of Lewis and Clark.”
We sailed all night and during the day up the Columbia. Beginning about midnight, we passed through the locks of the Bonneville Dam, the first of the four mighty dams on the lower Columbia River—Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, and McNary. By tomorrow morning we will have negotiated four more dams and locks on the Snake River. The weather was beautiful. We all went to bed amidst the coastal waters; we woke up to a clear, bright, sunny day. A few hardy souls witnessed the 4am passage through The Dalles, and nearly everybody spent some time on deck
Three presenters highlighted the day's activities. Harry Fritz opened at 9am and brought the Lewis and Clark Expedition nearly all the way across the continent, to the Nez Perce Indians on the Clearwater River. Bob McGrath interpreted the art of the American West as a tribute to American values. Evan Haefeli recounted the international and political history of the Louisiana Purchase. Alltold, we are well-fed, well-rested, well-educated, and ready for the rest of the trip!
Sea Lion departed the docks at Portland, Oregon, at 1800 hours on Sunday, October 15, 2006. A wet Oregon welcome—call it fog, or call it rain, it’s like walking through a permanent mist—did not deter the hardy passengers from enjoying the front deck as we passed through the “City of Bridges,” heading down the Willamette River towards the mighty Columbia. Some of us still wondered how a river could flow north (forgetting the Nile), but we were reassured when the ship took a hard right and embarked up the Columbia. Our first dinner, featuring an expanded wine list and exquisite salmon, drew no complaints and much praise, directed at Hotel Manager Judie Blewitt.
We have so many experts aboard ship that it seems like a traveling classroom. About forty of our passengers are alumni of Dartmouth College, and they brought along art historian Robert McGrath. A few Columbia and Georgetown alumni boast Colonial historian Evan Haefeli. Junius Rochester of Seattle provides interesting local history and analysis. Yours truly tells stories, some of which are true, about Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Our trip, after all, is entitled “In the Wake of Lewis and Clark.”
We sailed all night and during the day up the Columbia. Beginning about midnight, we passed through the locks of the Bonneville Dam, the first of the four mighty dams on the lower Columbia River—Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, and McNary. By tomorrow morning we will have negotiated four more dams and locks on the Snake River. The weather was beautiful. We all went to bed amidst the coastal waters; we woke up to a clear, bright, sunny day. A few hardy souls witnessed the 4am passage through The Dalles, and nearly everybody spent some time on deck
Three presenters highlighted the day's activities. Harry Fritz opened at 9am and brought the Lewis and Clark Expedition nearly all the way across the continent, to the Nez Perce Indians on the Clearwater River. Bob McGrath interpreted the art of the American West as a tribute to American values. Evan Haefeli recounted the international and political history of the Louisiana Purchase. Alltold, we are well-fed, well-rested, well-educated, and ready for the rest of the trip!
