Holy Cow, I can not believe I have not written for so long! We all -- except Gracie -- have been fighting a stomach flu bug that seems to be gone, then pops up again.

We have been staying in the lovely Astoria Marina, after an early morning departure from Rainier on 6/29. We motored along the Columbia, which is absolutely stunning, and passed about 12 cargo ships -- huge! There are some incredible houses along the shore, but flood plain anyone? I'm not sure their insurance agent would approve.

Astoria was established in 1811, which makes for some very delightful architecture and a fun trolley that takes us the length of the city. We are handily located next to a chocolate factory/coffee shop that lets us hang out and play chess and cards. We have been to the movies, bowling, and sightseeing. And we have been waiting for repair people and fixing boat things. Currently, we have fixed everything except the depth finder, a mechanism that tells us how deep the water is under the boat.

Grandma Becky & Grandpa Del surprised us by making the long trek to Astoria to visit us. The kiddos wanted to take Grandma bowling and now think she is a bowling champion -- she bowled an 82 and beat all the kids!

We also visited Captain George Flavel's ("Snavel" according to Skeet) lovely Victorian mansion. Skeet thought it was a castle and was entranced.