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What that “red neck” houseboat really was

Posted on September 12, 2009 by jackieinpdx

I published this photo on my blog last month in a post titled Rolling on the river – part II. I had just got my new camera and took it down to the Willamette River boat launch to take some photos. My timing was perfect to see both the above houseboat and the Portland Spirit float by.

I heard that the story of the houseboat was covered by a local TV evening news but couldn’t find anything online about it. Yesterday my massage therapist said that she saw a story in the newspaper. So I did some more searching and found the story.

Two friends, a houseboat and a river: A final adventure before real life beckons. – James Mayer The Oregonian

“William Steele has been dreaming about floating down the river since he was 9 years old.

It wasn’t Huck Finn who inspired him, but a book at home on backyard bungalows that had a drawing of a houseboat. The design looked like it would fall over. Steele thought he could do better.”

It is a story of friendship, a dream and determination. Go read the story and watch the video interview.

Filed under: blogging, Local News, Milwaukie, Oregon, photos, Portland | Tagged: interesting photos, milwaukie, Oregon, Portland, Willamette River | 3 Comments »

Rolling on the river – part II

Posted on August 30, 2009 by jackieinpdx

I went down to the Willamette River Saturday to try out my new Olympus Stylus 9000. I thought that it would be a good place to try out the panoramic feature. I need some practice using that feature.

As I pulled into the parking lot the Portland Spirit was turning around for the return trip to the downtown Portland Waterfront.

Then along behind the Spirit was this thing. WTF? A redneck houseboat equipped with a barbque. A man riding a bike stopped and asked me “What the hell is that?” I said “I don’t know, I was just trying out my new camera and there it was.”

I took several photos of the “houseboat” but this has to be the funniest one because that house you see is probably valued at $3+ million or so.