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The above picture was used in the daily expedition report for yesterday, so it’s going to be viewed by hundreds of people. Thanks to my good friend Linda Burback for using it and making me feel pretty good about it.

So, what’s a lock toss? It’s somewhat of a game we play here, but it is serious work as well. Essentially what happens is that as the ship goes up or down in a lock it has to be tied to a floating cleat called a bollard in just one spot. So as the ship enters the lock the deck hand has to get a line around the cleat and tie the ship up.

Sometimes this is hard and other times it’s not, based on varying degrees of distance or other factors. Where it becomes a game is seeing who can get the line on the cleat from farthest away without missing. There’s an art form to the action of tossing the line, so it gets pretty interesting to watch.

So, how am I at it? Pretty good now, if I do say so myself. There’s others that are better, but it’s a fun part of shipboard life and I’m glad to be a part of it.

Just a few days left till I head home for vacation, and boy am I ready. I’ve been missing my babies quite a bit lately, so that means its time to head out.

Oddly enough I haven’t really made any big plans for this vacation. I’m thinking about a trip up to the desert now that’s it’s cooled off a bit, but nothing is catching my eye too much. I think it’ll be a matter of seeing how things go, mixed in with a bit of spontaneity.

T-minus 7 days to freedom!

This one is my favorite of the river season so far:

So, life has been pretty interesting here on the Sea Bird. Right now the boat is being pretty kind to me in many ways, and being six weeks into a rotation that’s a really nice bonus. We have a really solid group of folks on board as crew right now, which makes things oh so much better. Everyone has a great attitude and is willing to help each other out. On top of that there’s a woman who has caught my eye and is helping me pass the time with a smile and a laugh. A little love in the air never hurt ones attitude, I’d guess.

The weather has been really nice as well. We’ve had some really awesome light to work with for photos lately, so it makes the beautiful country even more picturesque.

I’ve only got about 8 more days to photograph this place, so I’ll make a real effort to capture as much as I can during that time.

Half way through my few trips here on the river, and I’m having a pretty good time. All is as well as can be expected, and I’m not totally wore out, yet. I expect that to happen here any minute.

I have been sneaking in some pretty good pictures, here and there, the lighting has been pretty amazing lately.

Moving right along here, one river trip about done and two left to go, I’ve been working on pictures a little bit with good luck. The Alaska 2011 photo gallery is about done at this point, so head on over to that page if you haven’t seen it at this point and take a look. I’m pretty happy with the way things worked out there.

Turning the page, I’ve started a Columbia and Snake River 2011 page and put some photos up. I’m not too sure how many will end up there, but at least you all van get a glimpse of what it’s like out here. 3 weeks isn’t a whole lot of time, but I’ll get a few good shots in.

We are a day into our first trip now and all is well. The weather is amazing, especially after our last few weeks up in Alaska. It’s about 65 degrees with some scattered clouds, what a huge difference it is!

It’s really nice to be on a different itinerary in a different place seeing different things. Hitting the “refresh” button on life every once in a while is a good thing!

Tomorrow we will be in Clarkston, WA all day, so I should be able to get the rest of my Alaska pictures uploaded and the start of my river season pictures going. Stay tuned for that…..

Just wanted to let everyone know we made it down and on to the Columbia river with no problems.

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

Just wanted to say that we are heading down the coast from Seattle to Portland now…… I hope for calm seas and no wind and the forecast looks good.

I’ll post up again when we make it to Portland.

We pulled into Friday Harbor, WA today after transiting through Canada the last few days and it signifies the end of the line. We will drop anchor tonight outside of Seattle, then it’s all over for the Alaska season officially.

Tomorrow night we make the 36 hour journey down the coast to the Columbia river. With some luck we will have calm seas, but I’m not holding my breath. Only time will be able to tell….

Hopefully I’ll be able to post some more pictures up tomorrow, but it may have to wait till we get to Portland.