Coast Guard Eagle

Below you will see and read about our adventure riding the Eagle into port with Tim. I apologize for a double photo and some repetition and disorganization. I hope it makes some sense and you can, at least, catch a peak into our day!

June 12, 2008 Jeff and Jan's 32 Anniversary!

We boarded small Coast Guard Boats at Hammond Marina in Astoria, Oregon at 7 am to ride out to meet the Eagle. They went only to the mouth of the Columbia River because the seas can get really rough. We waited two hours as The Eagle came slowly into view and finally close enough to come along side to board. That was a challenge to match speed and all that was necessary for the ladder from the ship to attach to the small boat. The Coast Guard people were very kind and skilled! Our respect and knowledge of the CG is huge now! How fun to finally catch sight of Tim! He couldn't believe it when his mom was the first one on board!

Jan was the first one up the step ladder onto the Eagle. It took two hours waiting out at the mouth of the Columbia for the Eagle to reach us. As we came close we could see Tim taking pictures of us! Quite an exciting site to see all these cadets and 9 midshipmen watching us board. This was quite an anniversary gift for Jeff and me as we got to hug Tim for the first time in a month. He gave us a tour as we waited for all the visitors to board and then enjoyed the ride into port.

Here is the Coast Guard Boat that took us out to the Eagle.

Dan, Anna, kids and Jill arrived just as the Eagle was docking. We were on board taking pictures of them taking pictures of us!

Dan, Anna, kids, and Jill drove over to Astoria and arrived just as the Eagle had docked. We got to bring them on board and Tim gave a tour.

Ok, I see that you can't just click on the link for the Oregonian article. You'll have to have someone help you "cut and paste" it into your web browser!

Coast Guard Eagle

Below you will see a photo of The Eagle as it came into view for us (Jeff and Jan) as we were on a small Coast Guard boat waiting out in the mouth of the Columbia.

We boarded the first CG boat about 7 am at Hammond Marina in Astoria on June 12. There were about 100 people waiting to be ferried out to the Eagle. A number of parents were there but mostly people in the community had been invited to ride out to meet the Eagle and then ride into port aboard the ship. About 10-12 people could board each boat so it took quite a few trips for all of the visitors to board. Jeff and I began visiting with the other parents and soon another gentleman introduced himself as a reporter for the Oregonian. He asked me how I had received the privilege of getting invited aboard. So I explained how we are parents of one of nine midshipmen among all the CG cadets and that our son is from Oregon. Later he found us once we were on board and interviewed Tim. Below is the link to see the video and read the article.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/06/tall_ship_eagle_docks_in_astor.html

(Gerald and Dolores, I did this for you! :) Just click on the above blue web address and it should take you to the article. It may take quite awhile. I hope you can see the video!)

Gifts In My Garden....Josiah's Footprints in the Roses

Nelson Birtday Rose Bush and First Bouquet

Mother's Day Gift from Tim!

My Creative Juices Flow Here!

I thought you might like to see where I spend my days! I LOVE my laundry/craft room! I have it all pretty much organized so it' easy to do projects. Plus, do laundry! I worked long and hard to get it organized so I could work on Anna's Messenger bag. It was a great gun to my head knowing that I needed to get the bag made before our June trip west. I'd love to have y'all visit sometime!

C'est Fini!

Anna's Messenger Bag!

Ok, so I'm not very good at this posting thing yet! I now realize you need to BEGIN with the end! And I ran out of posts so one of the pictures is in the older posts! Oh, well! The good news is that Anna's bag is finished with time to spare before I fly to the West coast on Saturday!!!! First you get to see the finished product. Looks good, don't you think? I'm so pleased! I hope Anna likes it! Below you will see the progression!

A view from the ironing board!

Here's my partner in crime! I couldn't have done it without my trusty sewing maching!

Concentration!

So below you will see me working on the bag. Lots of concentration and many pieces!

Here I am working on Anna's messenger bag. I'm sure if I keep reading I'll figure it out!

Le Challenge!