Ok, I thought I would liven up this forum up a bit and start posting some of the MANY images from my 11 day trip to the Pacific Northwest.

I got in on Thursday afternoon, 4/14, and spent the rest of the day relaxing and unpacking - we went to visit my sister and her family. Friday rained all day, so that was spent downtown Seattle at Pike Place Market.

Saturday am, I packed up my daughter and off we went to drive down and hit the coastal lighthouses of Washington State. Well, I decided to venture a bit further into Astoria on my way to Cannon Beach and grab Tillamook also, and as I was passing through Astoria, I spotted a USCG chopper conducting a training exercise dropping divers into the water at the mouth of the Columbia River. Only about a 10 minute stop, but what an opportunity! I don't think I've ever seen anything like this on Lake Michigan.

Thanks, Jen, for the preview of things to come.. Is the seagull a Coastie, also?

He sure was a pretty good observer, so I'd have to say perhaps he was an "honoree".

In this day of ever decreasing budgets, the seagull is actually the exercise observer.

Actually he is a member of the CG Auxilliary. The Coast Guard's fuel budget is being taxed to the limit and he will be going on Search and Rescue Missions as soon as he certified. Only problem is they haven't figured out how to strap a radio to him for communications.