The Tall Ships at Ilwaco

Hello again! I'm finally finding a little more time to add bits and pieces to our blog and it feels good! I'm thankful for all the friendships I have made over the last 4 years as well as those I've had for much longer! I love you all and miss those of you who are now far away. I hope you are doing well and will stay in touch. I would hate to lose any of you!



On Friday, 1, 2, and I had the chance to go to a nearby town called Ilwaco (Ill-wahcoh). It is this adorable little town not far over the river from us on the coast of Washington. Most of the towns out by where we are can be classified to me as "adorable little towns" and this one certainly meets that criteria! We went that particular day because the Tall Ships were coming into town. For those who are not familiar with Tall Ships, they are the traditionally rigged sailing vessels. Not the type of sailboat you would generally see today, but true ships with gaff rigging and the sort. Here's a link to the Wikipedia information about the Lady Washington: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_washington . She is the ship with which I am most familiar. My mom has friends who have crewed on her and worked hard to make her what she is today! She was recently seen in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl". Cool, huh?! Anyway, these sailing vessels are pretty amazing and having a love of the sea as I do makes them all the more appealing! The Lady Washington was scheduled to be there and I thought the girls would think it was cool to see them. 4 has a cold and I didn't want her out in the cold and RAIN - yep, rain. Can you believe it?! :) Since David needed to stay home with her, I left 3 with him also as I was nervous about having to keep track of three little girls on the dock!



We got there actually a while before the "Lady" (as she is often known) arrived and found a fun little bookstore with a resident dog which the girls loved! I found a couple of books and we chatted a bit with the owner who was very knowledgeable about all things nautical. She was also a fan of the t.v. show "Deadliest Catch" which those of you closest to me know that I am a fanatic! We had a good time while waiting for our ship to come in. ;0)



When she did, we were able to stand right there and watch her dock. So fun! The girls were appropriately impressed and I was glad I brought them with me. We didn't get to board her - they were going to let people do that Saturday and Sunday, but we got to talk to some of the crew and the girls asked some great questions. And, of course, I got some great pictures! I won't bore you with any more details of our day - just say that it was a fun experience and for once the girls weren't asking the whole day when we were going home! In fact, when I asked them if they were ready to go, they both said "no, we want to stay!" even in the rain! We'll make little sailors out of them yet!!! 1 and 2 in front of the Lady Washington. They are wearing ponchos to stay dry-ER! So cute!
Full shot of The Lady. Isn't she beautiful?!
Crab/lobster pots we saw on the docks when we were walking around. I LOVE this place!