Rainier

Just need one more gasket for the engine, and then we're set! Roger, our engine repair man, arrived and fixed us up. Wyatt woke up with a stomach ache, which I originally thought was seasick, but I think ended up being a 24-hour flu bug, since he was better the next day. We decided to make a break for Rainier in the afternoon. Docking and undocking seem to worry Mr. Starr, but it went very smoothly. The little guys were below when we took off, which didn't work well for Jake, who seems to be getting Wyatt's bug.

Our two-hour trip up the river was pretty amazing ... a kite boarder came right up to our boat and put on a show for us, catching about 8 feet of air right in front of us! We were passed up by HUGE cargo ships, which are a little scary, sort of like a huge building on its side going right by you.

We had just docked in Rainier when a little sea plane began to land right by us, landed on its nose, and flipped upside down. Two power boats raced out to help, and the pilot got himself out, with a sore nose. Very lucky!

The grocery store I remembered here is gone now, moved to Longview, but otherwise, things look pretty good.

Traveling by boat and not having a car makes time very surreal ... Aaron & I feel like we are back in time. With cars, you see other cars and whip along. On a boat, folks help each other, talk to each other, and the banks are covered with trees.