Flooding, rain and septic woes at the Hatchery this weekend.














This weekend was moving day for The Chinook Nation. Sea Resources (Chinook Historical Hatchery and Botanical Trail) is leasing them space for offices and activities. We hope they will get involved in our programs too.

This weekend was very very wet. Besides a high surf warning- tons of rain.... we had a complete septic failure! Yikes!

I drove in to check on how the move was progressing. Imagine my dismay (horror!) to see the Peninsula Sanitation truck- and THEN also the local Chinook Fire Truck! Whew, the fire district was just checking out addresses on the new mapping system.

The septic tank had to be pumped out. We will have to purchase a new pump and make repairs to the system. Tony is working very hard on the building and grounds. He managed to remove some gates where the fish trap was. This allows the water to flow and sediment to move on. The historic waterways were flooded too. Fortunately the little chum are still in the egg room.

Flags in Astoria

Last Friday, Astoria had many flags- including this really huge flag. It was the occasion of a funeral for a Iraq war soldier.

The Oregon Governor and others came.

"The funeral was led by the Oregon National Guard in Camp Rilea's Warrior Hall. About 50 motorcycles, including the Patriot Guard Riders, Oregon State Police and local firefighters, guided a procession for Browning's body from Astoria to Warrenton, where the Oregon Honor Guard and rows and rows of American flags greeted them. "

(note, yes- that is mid day- about noon time weather. It is dark and wet lately)

Valentines Day


Brett prepared a wonderful dinner for Valentines Day.
Lamb, asparagus, risotto, fresh bread, salad and lovely citron flans (dessert from Michael at The Depot).

Did I mention flowers and a balloon too?



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Smorgasbord and Historical Society


The Deep River American Legion ALWAYS holds their Smorgasbord on the Sunday before Valentines Day. People travel from miles away to enjoy the wide variety of food. It is held in Naselle at the High School.

The Pacific Co Historical Society actually moved their annual meeting to coincide with this 'don't miss' event. So after stuffing yourself with Scandinavian treats - you get to learn about some historical aspect of the area. This year we had a really informative presentation about the early life saving corps. They were under the jurisdiction of the Dept of Treasury before the Coast Guard took it over. The mouth of the Columbia was the site of many shipwrecks and the Life Saving Corps saved many lives at the turn of the century.
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Lost prehistoric head



Oh dear, so sad. But kind of funny/strange.

Brett investigated the dinosaur in the post below. We were on Route 476 in Florida and drove past this headless creature.


The mystery is solved at the Back on Tack web site. go to the 'size does matter' menu on right, then to headless dino.


"After talking to T.J. Neil's son on an unrelated topic, he told me the creator of this prehistoric pet never finished it because he fell from it and died. He explains it is the same plasterer who built others on Route 19."

Chinook Nation

Brett had an unusual Birthday, just 5 days after mine. He accompanied me to the Chinook Nation Tribal Council- where I spoke. The Chinook Historical Hatchery and Botanical Trail (I am on the executive board) has some space for them to move their offices to. We hope they will be getting involved with our Hatchery too.

Pictured here is Ray Gardner, Chief. He is the most awesome guy. I am looking forward to working with him.

Later that evening, Brett confessed that he wasn't kidding- for his birthday dinner he wanted a Corral Burger, fries and shake. Lots of calories. I should have taken a photo.
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Birthday evening











(catching up on the last of the Florida trip posts)


We made a stop at Downtown Disney. It wasn't much. Pleasure Island had most of the clubs and show dark that Monday. The lego store was the only real attraction.

Sooo.... after checking out a few menus and gazing in a window or 2- we ended up at the Kobe Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar near the hotel for dinner. Being my special day, and because of the great birthday discount- I ordered a Kobe Beef and Lobster Imperial Dinner. The fun part of eating at a Japanese grill house- is that you become friendly with total strangers who are sitting around the grill with you. We enjoyed the conversation. After a few Sake Martinis and birthday singing- we all looked at our watches. It seemed we were all fans of "24". So at 8:45pm- we all said, 'hate to be rude, but we must return to the hotel to watch Jack Bauer!' "There is no time!"



more Florida adventures

Continuing on- It was my #53 birthday. We headed toward Orlando- but stopped at Homosassa Springs to look at the Manatee Reserve. Mostly it was a quick pit stop for us- but we made a mental note to return with grandchildren some day. Wouldn't it be fun to swim with Manatees?


Wyland had a pretty cool wall painted.













Then we drove the back roads toward Orlando. Where else do you see the concrete remains of a dinosaur from some old tourist trap? It was out in the middle of 'no where' on a 2 lane road?

Carpia Cottage


I found this little cottage in Cedar Key on the internet. It had a nice view of the Gulf Bay and was only 2 short blocks to downtown. It came complete with a little neighborhood cat who looked like our own Calypso.

We walked home just in time to catch the half time show.
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Super Bowl Afternoon


We toured the Historical Museum (a tiny little display) and followed the walking map- which was like our Seaview Historical Preservation Society Map.

Then we enjoyed a pre-game baked clam appetizer overlooking the water.


Cedar Key is home to little cottages, pelicans, clams and oysters. With the exception of confederate flags, we felt we were back home.

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Tornado in Florida


Brett and I flew to Florida yesterday. We stopped and changed planes in Dallas- it was snowing! I asked a pilot is this usual? He replied, "in the over 20 yrs I have been flying into here- I have never seen it."
We arrived in Orlando and after adventures with rental cars... we headed north on the Turnpike. A long story- made short- we had a fuse in the tail lights go out- got pulled over (but no ticket) by Sheriff. We decided to stop early and not press on to closer to Brett's parent's house. Did I say it was windy? It was... and rainy.
About 3 or 4am the power went out. A pretty huge tornado touched down about 3 miles from us. (near where we were thinking of staying...had we not had the car situation)
The devastation is exacly as you see on the television. We drove right past it...2 times. The second to show Ed and Gerry- who live 5 miles north of the church pictured. As soon as I figure out my new laptop and the memory stick problem- I will load more photos. Also Ed has dial-up.... so maybe I will go in search of free wi-fi tomorrow.
Happy Ground Hogs Day.

Vegas Airport

The flight home was delayed (due to Chicago weather). There are no chairs in Vegas- unless you are in front of a slot machine or sitting at a gaming table.

Like the Portland Airport, Las Vegas has free wireless and Aura enjoyed messenging (on her pink laptop) with Stephanie in Thailand- catching up and planning her trip to visit Thailand in March.

Aura went off to New York the next night. You can read her adventures on her blog- Speedbump.

Venice

Brett and I had stayed at The Venetian in July of 1999. It was brand new then and still under construction. There is even more construction going on- but all the shops are open and the place is packed with people!

still more shopping


We made whirlwind visits to Treasure Island, The Luxor and did more shopping at the Desert Passage in the Aladdin. WAIT, yes- even more shopping at Mandalay Place between the Mandalay Bay and The Luxor.

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