My amazing weekend!

So, I just had a fantastic weekend at the coast! I went to visit my friend who lives near Astoria, and the two of us went on a ton of adventures. I participated in the traditional Chinook First Salmon Ceremony, I saw the Interceptor from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, I met the crew of the Lady Washington (what the Interceptor is really called), I went to a tea house, I bought the tool I need to change the strings on my guitar, I drove the longest I ever have on my own, I watched the Road to El Dorado, I climbed ocean rocks, I ate salmon, I went to Washington, I saw birds dive into the river and catch fish, I bought a new thing of burts bees lip balm, and helped make dinner. It was awesome!!!!

(The picture is of the tool needed to change the strings on a guitar)

I suppose if you're being all anal, it really wasn't a weekend, it was a thursday and friday, but I'll call it my weekend!

Upon my arrival I was confronted by my friend, Sarah, her car keys in hand who marched me right back out of her house and told me we were going to Astoria (something I was excited about, but I had just experienced a two hour drive, and more time in the car wasn't exactly my idea of a warm welcome). We ended up going to the tea house there, the most wonderful place in Astoria, even including where The Goonies was shot in. As we wondered around the town, I realized that Astoria is not the pit I had originally thought it was. Now, don't get me wrong, it's a tourist trap/pit if I ever saw one, but it certainly is a nice place to visit! That evening we didn't do anything except try to stay awake through Letterman to watch Pink Martini, though we gave up soon after it started because we were too pooped.


We got up early the next morning, and she took me to experience something I had never experienced in my entire life, a traditional Chinook First Salmon Ceremony. This one wasn't for tourists, this was for the actual tribe themselves. They caught salmon earlier in the day, and were starting to cook it early in the morning by placing the fish in between two cedar planks, and smoking them over the fire. The official first fish of the season was ceremoniously brought on shore by a small crew of Chinook Indians in a traditional canoe. The fish was covered in cedar branches, and the canoe was signaled by Native Americans on the shore singing and playing their drums.

We were told the story of Coyote, who is the reason they must do this ceremony each year. Coyote caught a fish the wrong way for the area, and as he kept making mistakes, he was told how to properly catch fish. You caught it by kicking it's head, filling it's mouth with salmon berries, and eating the entire fish. There are rules for people who can eat the fish, though, you can't have killed someone (like in a battle), you can't eat if you're mourning the loss of a loved one, and you can't if you are on your moon cycle. Before you eat some salmon, you take a drink of water to cleanse your body, showing the salmon as much respect as you possibly can. It is a tremendous ceremony, one I'd like to be a part of again. It took place at the mouth of the Columbia river, At Fort Columbia. It was the most beautiful and fun park I have ever been to! There was so much history there; Sarah's grandparents told us about the cove that was the chief's private canoe launching cite, and a place for him to go and think or escape. They knew their heritage all the way back to the chief, Sarah being the 9th generation of descendants. There were lots of rocks to climb around on, and being the mountain girl that I am, I looked very clumsy trying to climb these sea rocks...give me some dirt and I know what to expect, this rock thing is a bit new to me. So, I got made fun of, and some old men tried to help me by telling me the easiest way to get up to where they were, but it was so much fun I didn't care!!
(The pictures are from the 2002 first salmon ceremony, the canoe coming towards shore, and the first fish on a cedar plank, being thanked by the Chinook)

(The Lady Washington)

The real highlight of the day was to meet some of the crew from the Lady Washington, or as you probably know her, the Interceptor from Pirates of the Caribbean, (or the ship from Star Trek Generations, if you're a geek like me). They were there to celebrate with the Chinook because of the long history the Chinook have with tall ships, and the personal connection with the Captain if the Lady Washington and the Chinook people. The crew were AMAZING! The kindest, funniest, brightest group of people I've met in a long time! They were just so dang cool!!! I talked mostly with two gals named Holly and Bethany, they were so enthusiastic about living on a tall ship that I am very tempted to do their volunteer training course, where you go out to sea on the Lady Washington, become a crew member for two weeks, and have a "life-changing experience" as Holly called it. The Lady and her crew sail from Washington to California, giving history of the ship, tours, "living education", transporting people, and just living the life sailing from place to place. I believe it was even just recently made the state ship of Washington. It is quite cool to see the ship up close (well, as up close as you can from shore, but still...), and it is absolutely gorgeous!! They were sailing with the Hawaiian Chieftain, also from the West Coast, and the two of them out there in the open ocean (actually it was the mouth of the Columbia river, but I call it the ocean) made me feel like I was a pirate or something, even with all the gas-powered boats speeding by.

(The Hawaiian Chieftain on the left, the Lady Washington on the right)

Yeah, so that was about it. Now I'm sitting and drinking really good coffee in Salem, and enjoying my down time...but what a great time at the coast!!!!!!

Links:
An informational page on the Chinook Indians
The Lady Washington
The Lady Washington volunteer information
The Hawaiian Chieftain
Fort Columbia State Park
How to change the strings on your guitar
The Road to El Dorado quotes
Star Trek Generations quotes
Pirates of the Caribbean 1 quotes