Water safety

If there is one thing I enjoyed tremendously this week it has been doing a presentation at the Cooper Mountain school in Beaverton, Oregon for third graders. Divided into two groups of about 75 students each I had a captivated audience so open minded and inquisitive about the use of lifejackets this summer during water activities. It makes me rethink the language to use when composing questions. In an answer to one of my questions:- "What kind of bodies of water do we know?" I've got a small dissertation about this kids body and how it was made out of this precious water. 

It also made me realize that the teachers, who are dedicating their time and efforts, have to use a language that third graders understand all the time. 
Anyhow it was a blast. With the help of my laptop connected to the overhead projector I was able to show pictures and text to emphasize the importance of wearing a life jacket and how important it is to tighten the bottom strap of the jacket and/or having an extra strap attached to the jacket looped between the legs. I threw in a little science by using statistics to show these little fellows the odds of an accident when not wearing one. As an river guide/outfitter I hope it all contribute to a great summer while spending time on beaches, lakes and rivers wearing lifejackets in safe manner.

Annual BBQ and Wine Tasting

For our 10th annual BBQ and Wine tasting we wanted to do something different. So we had Alphonse (www.rollingbaywinery.com) doing the honors of serving a variety of wines to our guests. For our musical needs Bert played light acoustic songs along side with Rachel on cello. It turned out to be quite successful. Guests raved about the wines and appreciated the musicians efforts to please everyone. Isabelle's (Hubertina's and Bert's daughter) birthday was celebrated with a sing along birthday song and in return Isabelle sang, shy but not overwhelmed, "Midnight Sun" into the microphone accompanied by guitar and cello. You have to start somewhere!

Next day family and friends could enjoy rafting and a driftboat float. We put in at Hamlin boat ramp to float down to the McKenzie River Inn. The weather was outstanding and the kids loved the excitement.

This weekend also means the spin-off for the summer season and it turned out July as one of the busiest months of the year. Two weeks in July we welcomed back the Weinberg/Reppert reunion and what a great week that was. From Bacchi Ball to Badminton tournaments, from rafting to hiking, this family is able to cram in quite some activities in a week stay. If you work, or start working, in the hospitality business and read this blog, I can tell you right now that guests like these are one of the highlights of being in this business. We are grateful to have them coming back every other year and to share our spot on the McKenzie river with them. With the help and exchange of pictures (thanks Jill!) we can look back on other great and successful summer.