Rosemary and I recently took a cruise on the American Empress Steamboat on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. We flew into Seattle, Washington a few days early to visit that city. Neither of us had been there before and we wanted to see Seattle since we were going to be in the northwest. We did the tourist things of visiting the Space Needle and taking a boat tour of the bay. We also visited the Pike Place Fish Market. We enjoyed a side trip to visit the Woodinville Distillery.

We then flew to Spokane, Washington where the hotel for the boat trip is located. There we visited the Dry Fly Distillery. The American Empress was docked in Clarkston, Washington so they loaded everyone on busses and made the two hour drive to get on the boat. The scenery was magnificent and we did not mind the trip. Once in Clarkston, we checked in on the boat and had dinner. The next day, we visited the neighboring town of Lewiston, Idaho briefly where we purchased some cigars at a local tobacco shop and returned to the boat. The next day, we were down river some miles at Richland, Washington, where we did an excursion called “Vine to Wine” where we visited two wineries and tasted some excellent local wines. 

The weather turned quite windy and cold for the rest of the trip, so we stayed on the boat and did not take any additional excursions. There were several presentations by the “Riverlorian” and one by a Native American from the Nez Perce that were quite interesting, entertaining, and educational.  We had clear, but cold weather and had several views of Mount Hood, which we were told was unusual for this time of year. It is usually rainy and overcast, blocking the view of Mount Hood. 

After getting off the boat, we spent a couple of days in Portland, Oregon. There we had dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel’s new restaurant, Bellpine. The food was excellent and the cocktails magnificent. They have a very good Bourbon and Rye selection and I had a Manhattan made with Michter’s Rye and Rosemary had a very tasty cocktail called “My Man Dan” named for Dan McKee, the Michter’s Master Distiller. The next day I visited the Multnomah Whiskey Library where I tried two whiskeys made in Oregon – a Bourbon and a rye from the Stone Barn Distillery. I liked them both quite a bit.

We flew home the next day after two weeks in the Pacific Northwest. It was an enjoyable trip and I am glad we made it. I think I would do that trip again, but in warmer weather.

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller and Michael Veach