Downtown Flotilla.

After living on our boat for a week we weren't sure if we'd feel up to a weekend cruise... but sure enough we were ready and excited to spend the weekend on Viking! We were invited by friends from Island Sailing Club (where we learned to sail) to sail to downtown Portland and had SO much fun! We miss being part of the club, so it's really nice to go on little trips with them.

We left Saturday morning and sailed down the Columbia and then up the Willamette. We have never sailed to downtown Portland before, so it was really fun to see new parts of the river. I apologize in advance for the picture overload... It was just such a pretty day! :)

They really are such good boys!

Our friends from the club!

He's such a stinker about taking pictures! 

Kisses for Oliver.

And kisses for Henry.

I love my boys!

Don't mind my nasty, blistered lips! They got SO burned from our week long trip. OUCH! :(

I love my little Ver Ver (Landon came up with that nickname for Oliver and it stuck!)

Climbing out on the bow sprit. Brave boy :)

He's just so cute!

St. John's Bridge.

That's our bow sprit and spinnaker furling drum :)

friends in the flotilla :)

Waiting for a bridge lift.

There are a LOT of bridges the closer you get to Portland. A few of them had to be raised for us, and a few of them we could fit underneath. We have a really tall mast, so going under bridges can sometimes be tricky. Well, one of the bridges tried to eat us... The Burnside Bridge:

The Burnside Bridge has a 60 foot clearance, and our mast is 59 feet from the water, so obviously 60 feet is kind of pushing it... We called on the radio for a bridge lift and they told us it was going to be 2 hours. There was no way were we going to wait that long, so Landon told our friend Nat that we would just try and pass under very slowly. YIKES! Nat told us he would go in front and let us know how we were looking...

We were both freaking out as we slowly went under the bridge... Our antenna at the top of the mast was literally scraping along! It could NOT have been a tighter fit and we were SO lucky that our mast wasn't an inch taller because that would have been bad news. After what seemed like 5 years, we came out on the other side and our antenna flicked out and bounced around. It was a really close call! We were both shaking!!!

Landon's face... so relieved that we made it!

Definitely way too close for comfort... we knew that on the way back we would have to call 2 hours ahead for sure!

So many bridges!!

we a really awesome view of Portland!

We've walked along this dock multiple times, so it was cool to actually stay there :)

As soon as we docked the boats (4 boats in all) everyone came over to us and wanted to talk about that dang Burnside bridge that tried to kill us! It was also really fun to give people a tour of our boat :) We love Viking!

That night, our friends left to go to an Island Sailing Club social. We were invited, but decided to go adventure in Portland instead. So we went on a 14 mile bike ride through downtown and then along the river. It was one of our favorite rides and we decided that the best way to experience Portland is by bike!

I couldn't get over the beautiful views of the Willamette!

Even though we were exhausted, we went on a walk right after our bike ride and then went back to the boat. Neither of us slept great... so we woke up early, had some french toast, and took the boys on a walk along the waterfront :)

We spent a lazy day on the docks chatting with friends and watching the "Big Float" parade. Oh my, I wish I would've known about the Big Float because I totally would've done it! Every year thousands of people bring their intertubes down to the Wilamette and march through the streets and then float down the river. I've never seen anything like it! There were even drums (doing a beat that sounded almost exactly like "Make Way for Prince Ali!") It was so colorful and so awesome.

We pulled out of the dock to head home right in the middle of the parade... but luckily the Coast Guard was there to direct traffic!! Otherwise, we would've been stuck in the marina for HOURS. It was quite the sight and you better believe we're doing it next year!

The sail home was amazing. We had great wind and got to sail most of the way home. YAY!

Such a relief to have the Burnisde Bridge RAISED for us this time! 

It was so cool to see the Oregon Maritime Museum out on the water! Love that stern wheel :)

saying bye to our friends :) can't wait to see the pictures they got of our boat!!

I absolutely LOVE hanging out on the bow!

We had such a fun time sailing somewhere new and seeing our cute Island Sailing Club friends! It was a great weekend :)