September 27 - 28

Columbia River Cruise 2.0

Thursday/Friday:  September 27 - 28

We're back!  Fifteen months ago Kim and I joined our great friends Sue & Dan Reynolds to adventure through the Pacific Northwest on American Cruise Lines "Columbia River Cruise" adventure.  That time we flew into Portland and stayed for two nights and then sailed east on the Columbia River, then the Snake River before concluding the trip in Spokane, Washington.  We loved the cruise adventure so much that we convinced Kim's twin sister Karrie, and her husband Randy, and the twins' parents Ed & Peggy Woods to join us for a "reboot" of the adventure.  So on Thursday September 27th we all flew to Spokane to begin the adventure, in reverse order from our previous trip.  

Happy Birthday Girls!

Ironically, September 27 is the twins' birthday and so how special was it that they awoke today knowing that they would be meeting each other out west to begin a great adventure!  Kim and I were the first to arrive and I happened to mention to the girl at the desk that we had hoped to go next door to the Rusty Moose restaurant to get ice cream to celebrate Kim's birthday.  Her eyes lit up and she said, "Wait a minute" and she grabbed what looked like a birthday card.  She filled it out and told me that if we went over to their restaurant here in the lobby, in the next twenty minutes before they closed for the night, Kim would be entitled to a free birthday ice cream sundae!  And so we did!  

As we sat outside it was a bit "coolish" - but of course us Florida "kids" were loving it because we've had 90 degree temperatures with "feel like" temps in the triple digits for more than a month, making this evening's sixty-two degrees (those of you who truly know me, know how very ironic this is!) feel just awesome.

At about 9:35 Karrie and the rest of the family arrived and Kim called them to ask if she could take their order so we could get them some late dinner before the restaurant closed.  The Hilton Garden Inn located right near the Spokane Airport had been so great the last time we were here, and again proved how awesome they were as the girl working the restaurant offered to get the order in before closing and keep it warm until everyone arrived.  They all got here around 10 pm and we enjoyed a late night light dinner as we kicked off the adventure while celebrating the birthday girls.

Surprisingly we were able to sleep until nearly 7 am local time so it appears like we won't have a too difficult time adjusting to west coast time.  By about 8:15 we were in the lobby having coffee with Randy and Karrie and we set up an 11:30 am meet time for the entire group to grab an early lunch at the Rusty Moose next door.  When we were here before we loved this place and had gone back twice.  I in particular had really enjoyed the spaghetti with bison meat balls, so that was on my mind.  We had a great lunch and headed back to the hotel for a short period of time before calling an Uber for our winery visit to Arbor Crest Vineyards.

At 2 pm we reconvened in the lobby and called for our ride.  It was about twenty-five minutes to get to and climb the winding road up the cliff to the Arbor Crest Winery.  My contact here, Ashley, met us shortly and arranged for our guide to set us up for the afternoon.  First we were all offered a glass of wine and then we toured the gorgeous facility which had once been a private estate.  The turning leaves just added to what Kim and I had fondly remembered as one of the BEST winery visits we'd ever had......

 

After the tour of the estate we settled in and sampled a wide variety of wines and had plenty of time to roam around and take some photos of not only the grounds but of the family.

About 4:30 we called for our Uber ride which eventually arrived - it's a long and arduous story, which has become our "Uber Saga" - nothing is ever easy, let's leave it at that.  And before 5:30 we'd arrived at Clinkerdaggers Restaurant which overlooks the Spokane River for what was a great dinner to top off the initial day of the adventure.

Tomorrow breakfast at the hotel is courtesy of American Cruise Lines and then our bus picks us up around 10:30 to transport us the nearly two hours to Clarkson where we will be boarding the Queen of the West to begin the river cruise!

Sunday June 18

Final Day Of Columbia River Cruise Adventure

We all agreed at day's end that you could not possibly have planned out a better day than today, or a better weekend for the Spokane post-cruise stay.  We were not on a time schedule for the morning - a first in nearly two weeks - and so we all took advantage of that to have a leisurely morning (though as it turned out no one slept in).  At about 11 we all met up for a couple of games of cards in the lobby then walked over to the Rusty Moose for a light lunch.  We returned to the hotel for about half an hour before summoning our Uber ride to take us to the Arbor Crest Winery.  This was located on the other side of Spokane and took about 20 minutes to get there.  But as soon as we came within view of the place we all knew we were in for a special treat as it sat way, WAY up on a cliff.  Once we got there we met our guide for the day, Angie and she showed us around the grounds.  Originally built in the early 1900s by an inventor, the views were spectacular - and the drops so steep, especially near the main house with the bridge to the "Eagle's Nest" that no children are allowed on the grounds.  We had our initial glass of wine as we took the tour.......  

Note how high we are from the river and road

On right is the main house / NOTE the bridge to the "Eagle's Nest" straight ahead
NOW NOTE the arch on the bridge how you can see down to the road - this was VERY high!

Once we'd seen all the sights and heard all the background stories (which were fascinating), we returned to our table to sample wines and share stories.  The wine was great and as you see in the photo below we were all given a "goody bag" that included a booklet (about 40 pages) on the history of the winery and the facility; a brochure about the wines; and a wine glass.  This, plus the four wines and the tour cost us a whopping......wait for it..............$14 each!  UNBELIEVABLE.  When Dan handed Angie a $20 tip for the day she was truly stunned that we'd have been that appreciative.  It must have been so our of the norm that she passed this on to us as we decided to have a glass of wine and enjoy the views before we left and the bottle of wine (over $35) was "on the house!"  What a way to spend the afternoon.  

We got back to the hotel in time to have about 40 minutes to freshen up then called another Uber to take us to our dinner reservation that I'd made about a month ago at Clinkerdaggers which overlooked the waterfalls.  When we got there and gave them our name, they asked if we'd like inside our outside.  We'd already decided that if we could get a table outside overlooking the falls we'd take it.  So I replied, "Outside and with a nice view if possible."  The hostess said, "Take the Love party to table 37 please" and the girl with the menus who was to take us there said, "OOOHHHH!"  We knew we were getting a nice table - and we were, right on the end of the deck overlooking the falls.  Here's our view to the right, and then to the left.  

WOW, spectacular.  The temperature was ideal - about 68 degrees with a light breeze throughout dinner.  The constant roar of the waterfalls was so amazing and the food was equally so.  A great way to cap off a great adventure.  We were back at the hotel by 8:30 pm and said our farewells as our flights are at 5:30 am and 6:30 am tomorrow.  It was a cruise adventure of the grandest kind!

Saturday June 17

Day 1:  Spokane

Writing this at the end of the day is so unbelievable - ANOTHER fabulous day full of experiences, but what made today so special was that NONE of it went the way of "the plan!"  And those that know me know that this is SOOOOO unlike me and my trips/experiences.  First we were surprised to learn that we'd be leaving at 7 am and arriving in Spokane at 9:30 am after disembarking the ship.  Second, I'd tried to find city tours or something to do, but the best we'd come up with was maybe lunch at a restaurant we'd heard of - Anthony's which supposedly was on the water.  Dinner plans and the hotel were up in the air - though we did know where our reservations were.....but the Hilton Garden Inn was out by the airport - how would we ever find anything?  Well, when we got to the hotel our rooms, obviously were not ready.  We asked about things to do and the clerk asked what we liked doing.  Even though we knew the answer would be it's not available we said we like city tours.  She pulled out a pamphlet for "Inland Empire Tours."  What would be the odds that they'd have something at 9:45 am on a Saturday, but it was worth a call.  I dialed the number and the owner Dick Jensen answered.  I told him what our situation was and he chuckled.  Then he said, "Well my computer is going through an upgrade that will last several hours and I'm free.  I can pick you up in twenty minutes!"  Not only that, but he was SENSATIONAL and we LOVED the tour.....history, little know facts, sites, sounds.....just great.  We saw the floral gardens, two college campuses (go Cougs!); a fort, geological formations, wealthy/large/historical homes.....just amazing.

Dick dropped us off at Anthony's where we had an excellent lunch overlooking the falls.  

Then after napping in the afternoon we enjoyed some wine by a fire pit at our hotel....walked across the parking lot to the "Rusty Moose" restaurant and had one of the best meals of the trip - mine was spaghetti and bison meatballs.  The spaghetti sauce was TO DIE FOR!  Thick and spicy.....wow.  And we topped it off with moose track ice cream drizzled with caramel, chocolate, and crushed resse's pieces!

And to top the day......I'd handicapped five races for the Saturday action.  I watched the replays after dinner and won FOUR of them, including my BET of the Day in the national feature race, the Grade 1 Stephen Foster from Churchill Downs under the lights......what a day!

Day 2:  Arbor Winery & Clinkerdaggers

Coming tomorrow......

Friday June 16

Cruising The Snake River

Hells Canyon Jet Boat Excursion

Five Hours Of The Coolest Ride Of Our Life In Two Minutes and 30 Seconds

We began the final day of our river cruise by winding our way up the Snake River - and the morning's vistas were as good as any paid excursion....especially in comparison to the previous river scenes we've witnessed over the past week.  Just sensational - the photos here hardly do it justice.  Not only was it amazing to watch, but it was non-stop scenery like this for over four hours.  Really cool.  

At about 11 am we noticed we were joined on our dock in Clarkston by two jet boats.  And this was the beginning of the BEST outing of the week!  We left the dock at about 11:45 and by 12:15 we had cleared the reservoir and were on our way up into Hells Canyon.  We were told that the canyon was in "flood condition" as the winter snows were melting.  What was interesting about this to us, even though we won't see it, is that we were told much of what we saw today would drop by as much as 35-40 feet!  This just seemed incredible to us.  It was also very interesting that we were told that the water typically flows at about 12 cubic meters of water per second, but currently is flowing at a little over ONE HUNDRED cubic meters per second!  Some other interesting facts about Hells Canyon.  It is the deepest canyon in North America - what about the Grand Canyon you ask?  It's 1,600 feet DEEPER than the Grand Canyon!  How deep does the water run?  From as shallow as two feet to a depth (non-flood conditions) of over 125 feet!  Finally, by the time we turned around (where the photos of the four of us and Kim & I are taken in the canyon at the bottom) we'd traveled some fifty miles on our jet boat and had gone up in elevation by over 300 feet!  Even if you watch the video at the top of the page you cannot appreciate how spectacular the scenery was.....all the while we were speeding along over the top of the water and shooting through the rapids.  AND we stopped for a sensational lunch along the way......where a deer walked right by us.  What a great way to cap the week's adventures!

Tomorrow we board a bus for Spokane at 7 am and will spend the weekend there checking it out and winding down from our big week.  Our flight home is at 6:30 am Monday morning.  One more journal entry to sum up the Spokane part of the post-cruise and we'll close the book on another great trip!

Thursday June 15

June 15: Pendleton Underground Excursion

We docked at Umatilla right after breakfast this morning and by 9:30 we were on the bus headed towards Pendleton - home of the famous Pendleton Round-Up, one of the biggest rodeos in the country. It was about a 45 minute drive and the first stop was at the Pendleton Underground Tours where Kim and I were photographed "in costume!" I DO have a picture of us in reverse roles, but the red dress is just not as becoming on me as it is on my lovely wife :) We were in the second group, which meant a delay of about fifteen minutes, and then we were underway. It was interesting to see the underground which had housed legitimate businesses, the Chinese immigrants, and many illegal activities. One statistic we found curious was that there were 12 saloons and 17 brothels - and those "establishments" lasted until the early 1950s; and one stayed open for business until 1967! What we saw was only a part of the underground city which was many blocks long and wide, so this is only a glimpse......

After the tour of the underground we had about half an hour to walk around the small town of Pendleton before meeting at Hamley's Steakhouse for lunch. We'd pre-ordered and the restaurant was open exclusively for guests of the Queen of the West! After lunch as we were finishing up Dan came back from the restrooms and said to me with a big smile, "You need to go to the men''s room.....and take your camera. I'm not sure if what you'll see can go into your journal, but it definitely needs to be documented!" I was curious so I did as directed. I walked in and saw the urinals, sink and mirror. Hmm, nothing of unique photographic quality here; check in the stall, nope. Then as I walked over nearer the urinals I saw what was on the wall.....oh my! You'll see a collage at the bottom of the journal in the "ADULTS ONLY" section of this journal writing ..... don't say you weren't warned. Apparently the women's facilities were similarly adorned :)

Once we boarded the bus we headed to the Native American reservation. We had an hour to visit their museum and while we typically would never need that much time, both Kim and I agreed it was truly interesting. It was enough to cause us to feel some embarassment as we walked through the exhibits portraying what had happened to the tribe. Most disturbing was the story of the Dalles Dam. Our driver had alluded to it on the return from Maryhill Winery the other day but it didn't sink in. For hundreds of years along the Columbia River there was a meeting place for all the tribes of the Pacific Northwest for trading and celebrating and most especially for fishing. This was at the Ceilio Falls. But when the dam was put in - without, as it was noted in one of the films, any environmental study or cultural impact study - the level of the river rose so high that it completely "buried" the falls and surrounding area. You can see the before and after photo below. In the "after" photo you note one of the "fishing stands" - we'd seen this as we cruised by the other day and I wondered what it was .....sad.

After the visit to the museum one had one final stop at a wool producing factory. The tour was interesting and after about 40 minutes we headed back. It was about an hour drive and the most interesting part of the return was that it rained the entire way.......that's of interest because this area typicall has over 300 days of sunshine and only receives EIGHT inches of rain, a YEAR! But the day we were visiting, it rained! After dinner we went through another lock that was so amazing......it was over 100 feet deep as we pulled in and then the water raised us up to the top. WOW. The day was capped with a spectacular sunset! Tomorrow is our final day on board - we sail up to Clarkston, Washington and have a Jet Boat Tour (all day) through scenic Hell's Canyon.

ADULTS ONLY SECTION!

Proceed at your own risk - photos from the uniquely styled men's restroom....