Birthday Post
See how quickly you can catch up on blogging with a slide show? Poof, now you have it. My birthday weekend was marvelous. We road-tripped down to the Long Beach area to watch the ocean for a few days – no cell service, no internet, just hanging with my three favorite people in the world.
I dragged everyone through the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center for my birthday. They couldn’t argue, so that was a bonus! It turned out to be even more fascinating than I had hoped. Half the center is dedicated to the nautical world around the Columbia River bar. Two thousand large ships have been lost there since 1792, thus the nickname “Graveyard of the Pacific” (which actually stretches up and down the coast a bit). We watched an autoliner make its way into the channel, along with a 68 foot fishing vessel leaving the river.
The perspective I have as my nautical experience increases is very different from what it was a few years back. Now watching that little vessel wallow and push through the incoming tide was very personal to me. That was seriously Big Water and it was a relatively nice day in December. Brock and I have decided that we will head back there when a big storm is expected and just sit for hours in the LCIC – the view is amazing.
I also received what may very well be the 2nd best birthday present in my whole life. The very best was my brand new car on my 18th birthday – that’s not likely to be topped ever (thanks, Mom!). This one was also from my mother – a new Kindle 2.
Which means we now have the capacity for a tremendous ship’s library! One of the most difficult things about moving onboard was giving up so many, many books. It took time after time of going through them and culling them, then repeating the process again and again. I was helped by a friend of mine who simply said, “Here’s your box. When it’s full, you’re done. No more books than that.” What an agonizing process! I appreciated his help very much, but to this day, consider giving up those books to be my biggest sacrifice in transformation to a liveaboard.
And now there is a bright, bright light in the world as I can retrieve old favorites electronically and discover new ones more easily. It’s not the same as having a book in your hand; there is certainly a difference that takes some getting used to. But I am embracing it fully, as it allows me freedom to have a gazillion books around again.
If only I can get it back out of my daughter’s hands, that is…
experience
T&M;, steal away…I stole the Slide.com thing from Tana originally. She's one to watch for great ideas!
How come it looks so warm up there?! We're freezing in Baltimore! BTW your slide is very trick, I may have to copy it.
Great Post! Kids! don`t you just love em? :o))
she gave you a kindle????no she gave me a kindle that i will allow you to use when i'm not on the boat =D
Love the photos from the beach.