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Lagniappe on the Columbia In the tradition now well-established by the various blues cruises and sandy beaches cruises, the festivities of the New Orleans/Northwest Mardi Gras on the Columbia River began the night before the departure. A party was organized at the Portland Embassy Suites Hotel. Portland’s Paul deLay Band anchored the evening and was joined in a jam by many of the musicians booked aboard the cruise. It was Friday, March 17 - Saint Patrick’s Day. Saturday The Queen of the West cast off and headed up the Columbia River toward Multoma Falls. Our Northwest winter was beginning to break, bringing us a colorful sunlit sunset as we cruised up the river. I observed hundreds of old pilings along the shore. Many of them had Cormorants perched on them. Many of them took flight as the Queen of the West approached. With the sun going down, the light was great for some nature photos. The Sheriff, drew his 400mm lens and shot his ass off into the sunset. The Cast Away Party found Paul deLay and his band laying down Paul’s brand of harp-soaked blues. He and his band took it to a higher level with the stimulus of the other great musicians aboard the Queen of the West. Tight arrangements piled high with harp solos, a very strong band, Paul’s original material threw down the gauntlet right from the beginning of the cruise. |
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