Pacific County Lincoln Day prep

After a midweek dash to Seattle- (staying with Natalie at her lovely Holmes Point - Lake Washington view home) for meetings and errands.... the big weekend arrived. It poured rain the entire time!

We rented the Willapa Harbor Community Center in South Bend. Here the tables are set, the bar is in place, the auction items are on the tables, and the food smells delicious.

With a number of gracious volunteers... the big event was a huge success!

More to come....

Emerson Manor

It has been a busy week.

Along with preparations for the big dinner on Saturday, on Tuesday I was in Hoquiam for an Annual Meeting of the Coastal Community Action Program. The dinner meeting was held at Emerson Manor in Hoquiam. Emerson Manor is restored and has senior apartments now.

Cowlitz Co Lincoln Day Dinner

Held at the Historic Monticello Hotel in Longview.

This is where Tim Sutinen and Keath Huff (Legislative candidates) live. Tim (like a true Finn) is always walking around with his cup of coffee.

(note to Aura- everyone was asking 'where is Aura'.... or I would say, 'You know Aura, the McGavick 3rd Congressional District person? Well, I am her mother." 'oh, I love Aura. nice to meet you' So the tables are turned, the daughter is the well known one!)

The keynote speaker was Gary Randall, of the Faith & Freedom Foundation. During his speech- he was talking about passion and used an example involving a Tony Robbins Seminar that he attended. Small world, it was me up on stage! Another lifetime ago. We laughed and hugged each other and here we are in the photo.

New Belt Feeders at the Hatchery

Never in my life, (well...that's not true, maybe a few times in High School I did)... did I think I would say, "Honey, I am going off to check on the Hatchery" as I pull on my rubber boots and rain gear.

We got some new belt feeders. It makes Tony's life easier (the caretaker) because the baby chum feed every 45 minutes. They are pretty skittish about visitors and rush to hide. The belt feeder is on a timer and drops the food into the tanks every 45 minutes.

We still have about 50,000 Chum (small operation) in the incubation room..

Grays Harbor Lincoln Day Dinner

Held at the Rotary Log Pavilion in Aberdeen. Here we are with Bob Williams of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.













Floyd Bown, current Chair of Citizens United. Past executive director of Young America's foundation and from Reagan Ranch.... he was the keynote speaker.













Rob McKenna, Attorney General, said he was sorry Aura couldn't attend his annual St. Patrick's Day festivities (yes, she was invited)... and wanted to hear about her time in Thailand. Rob lived in Thailand in his youth.


I should have gotten a photo with our dinner mate- Sam Reed, Secretary of State.

Discovery Trail

On days like today, we are reminded about why we live here. Brett took some time off from the office and we enjoyed the extra hour of daylight that Congress gave us to take a walk on the trail.

Walk around the neighborhood.

The weather has cleared up and some houses are looking awfully cute.

Rogue Brewery Ale House at Pier 39 in Astoria

Brett and I went into town to see 300. We had some time to kill and so stopped by the Rogue Ale House for a brew.
























The building in the distance is the Cannery Lofts. A new construction on the waterfront.

Astoria Trolley

A quick stop at my favorite grocery store in Astoria. I was enjoying the view, talking to Madison on the cell phone and eating a cuban panini. The trolley drove by.

The Port Bistro in Ilwaco

Natalie was in town, so since The Depot was full with a wine dinner event... we ventured down to the Port of Ilwaco. Tonight the food was delicious.

Destination The Pacific

Last week I was fortunate to attend a very special workshop called: Balancing Community, Heritage, and Commerce in Gateway Communities of the Columbia-Pacific Region.

Those who know my back ground and experience understand that I am quite picky about the seminars I attend. I am going to tell you, this was FABULOUS! I was very very impressed by the Conservation Leadership Network and the Destination Pacific team that put this together.

Each of the 3 days (8am to 9pm) was packed with really good relevant and interesting information. We met at Fort Columbia for the day sessions. The evening sessions were open to the public and held at the Liberty Theater in Astoria and the International Kite Museum in Long Beach.

There were 'teams' from local communities in Oregon/Washington. From 3 different counties. The participants were leaders from state, county, local government, community and business. Just the networking alone was worth the time. We had 80 plus participants.

Top level experts in a variety of fields flew in from the east and came from all over. Each team put together a concrete action plan of a local project too. Brett went with me to the evening sessions... even he was impressed.

Expect to hear more about this from me. But in the meantime, here is a link for those who want specific info about it and about the National Heritage Areas concept as it applies to the Columbia-Pacific area.

Willapa Bay Oysters

We love our Oysters!