Viewpoint & Little Boy Fun

On Friday evening, I met with 6 people to discuss the "future" of the historic View Point Inn that was built in 1924.  It sits on a beautiful piece of land above Vista House with it's view West overlooking the Columbia River Gorge.  The Inn was featured in the movie "Twilight", the prom scenes.  There was a fire in the upper story last year and those of us who love the building have watched in horror as nothing has been done after the fire to save the building.  The gaping holes in the roof were left uncovered as the rain and snow flooded inside.  The water has damaged the lower parts of the building that were perfectly fine after the fire.  From reports of one of the men at the meeting, the basement is full of water and the crawlspace too.  Then we all went to the building to see what we could see - and it was not good.  The photo below is BEFORE the fire.

And how it looks now.. a year after the fire.

The original wood floor is all buckled and cracked.  This is the great room - with a rock fireplace.  The "owners" had no fire insurance when this happened and from reports, they are thousands of dollars in debt.  At one point we'd heard that the owner's declared bankruptcy, so it should be in the hands of the bank.. and they aren't dealing with the issues.  At the meeting someone said the "owners" still own it.. no one seems to really know who owns it.  Then we noted that the original wainscoting woodwork has been stripped out, and it the original light fixtures are gone.. vandals are stealing the bricks from the exterior walkway.. it's a disaster, a mess, a big huge bummer.

Here is the dining room when I visited PRE-fire.  ::sigh:: 

This is the porch, it used to be screened in and the last owners glassed it in to be able to have more tables for their restaurant venture. 

This is the view from the Inn, looking West towards Portland, Oregon. Just imagine the sunsets that have been enjoyed from this wonderful old Inn.

I am sorry to report that the experts at this meeting feel that there is nothing left of value in this building and is not worth saving.  ::HUGE SIGH::  I completely disagree, I think that if someone with funds was able to get it, that it could be brought back from the brink of extinction.. what do you think?   

OKAY.. now I will talk about happy things.  This is my koi and they are growing bigger. 

When I got home from the meeting, feeling all depressed and depleted, these two were waiting for me, my son brought them out for us to keep them overnight and the next day while his wife recuperates from having her tonsils removed.  He brought them and pizza. We enjoyed dinner together and then our son Travis headed to work.  This is the next day as we had fun outside.

The fish were hiding from them.. :-) 

Then they did some adventuring.. and posed for grandma. :-) 

Around the big tree... 

They went up to the top of the falls and I heard them call to me.. "GWAMMMA"!  They had climbed on top of the stump of a huge Douglas Fir we'd had cut down a few years ago.   

LOVE the zoom on my Lumix... I just adore this image of brotherly love. 

Grandpa had to move the tractor.. and of course he had passengers. 

I decided we needed to go on an outing with the boys so we headed to Cascade Locks for lunch and some fun.  After lunch we got ice cream cones for everyone and then drove down to the park to eat them and let the boys play.

The Marine Park is a gorgeous place, right along the Columbia River.  See the sailboat on the river and the tall Douglas Fir trees?

This is the view of the gorge cliffs of Washington across the river.. and the pretty green grass and swings. 

This play structure is why I wanted to take the boys here.. it's in the shape of a Sternwheeler boat! 

Speaking of which, it just returned from a cruise so I snapped this photo. 

Caleb swinging on the bars.. the boys had a blast on this and made a new friend, too. 

Grandpa gave them a twirl on this spinning tire swing. 

As I walked through the lush green grass I spied a feather, so I snapped a shot of it in honor of my blog friend Meredith at Mereknits. 

We then drove East in the park to show the boys the boat marina and were just THRILLED to see all these amazing vintage Cadillacs drive past us.  There must have been an owner's rally and had all been on the Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge cruise.  I pulled to the side of the road and snapped my camera away... 

Dayle figures the years these autos spanned was from the early 1900s to the 40s. Every one of them were completely restored and beautiful.  

And this.. oh my! 

And this one in pale yellow. 

And pale blue! 

And this British racing green one..  

This is the marina - we had our 26 foot Ranger 26 Stargazer sailboat moored here for several years when we first got her.  There is great wind here on this part of the river.  Sometimes too much! LOL! 

We then drove down to the old locks where the fisherman line up and got this shot of the Bridge of the Gods.  The river was high, Bonneville Dam must be holding water back, it's right around the bend from the bridge. 

They just re-painted the Historical Museum here, isn't it pretty? 

I love this image of the river under the bridge. 

Let's zoom in a bit.. ahhh.. pretty. 

Last but not least.. a friend of mine, Sharon Quade, had seen my photo of the "Blue Moon" the other day and forwarded me a shot her cousin had taken.  He took it with a Lumix camera through a Zeiss spotting scope.  I asked if I could show you and give him photo credit and he said yes.  The photographer's name is Ray Hamlyn.   

Today we are taking it easy.  I hope you have a great weekend and week ahead of you.  Thanks for visiting!!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)