October 5

Columbia River Cruise 2.0

The Final Day

We cast off a little after 4:00 am this morning so when we woke up we were in the midst of scenic cruising along the Columbia River headed eastbound, back to Portland.  This is not THE most scenic part, but anywhere along the gorge is pretty amazing.  Clearly the best shots of the day on the river were in the beginning as the sun rose slowly on the horizon.  And about half an hour after sunrise the rain began....couple that with the mid-40 degree temperatures and it was only the truly dedicated who were on the top deck watching the scenery glide by - yes, that included me :)

We docked in Portland at about 2 pm and by 2:30 we were on the bus for the final excursion of the trip, an adventure to the Vista House.  Unfortunately with this being the ONLY rainy day of the trip it spoiled what probably would have been a very panoramic vista.  Here are two shots of what we saw and what it typically looks like....

While this afternoon's adventure was far, far from one of the "better" excursions we've ever been on, for me, it was a far better choice than staying on the ship all afternoon.  It's one of the few issues that the cruise line needs to workout, as it was explained that the traffic around Portland really has led to a lot of complaints from past passengers....so today they tried an out-of-Portland proper adventure, but we still got caught in traffic on the way back.

The cruise was great - highly recommend American Cruise Lines, and in particular this itinerary.  The scenery is the star of this adventure, but the excursions are fun.  On both trips we loved the college kids who were the staff on board, and our girl J.C. was a real sweetheart with the way she adopted us for all our meals.  As one trip ends, another adventure is on the horizon!