Sunday, September 15, 2013...

 

Logs stacked at an Oregon Lumberyard on
our drive to Astoria

We all got up early today, including Janis, as we got ready to travel to the Oregon coastline at Astoria, Oregon.  We filled up the car with gas, and made a brief pit stop before driving on into Astoria.  It was a foggy & rainy typical Northwest Coastline kind of day.  We stopped at the Marine Museum and watched as a Coast Guard ship pulled into dock.  We spent some time in the dry atmosphere of the museum's gift shop, picking up a few postcards, and took a look at the Columbia Light Boat, that was docked there for tours.  I learned that the mouth of the Columbia River was so rough and had no land suitable for a lighthouse to be built, so a lightboat was required.  The Columbia Lightboat was anchored in the center of the mouth of the river, to help guide ships through the area into the dangerous harbor. 

 

Our first sight of the Astoria Bridge

 

 

Historic Columbia Lightboat

Steamboat docked in Astoria

US Coast Guard ship at Astoria dock

National Geographic Ship at the Astoria dock

Next we found a restaurant, the Blue Scorcher Bakery, for lunch.  The restaurant is employee owned, and featured locally grown products.  I ordered a delicious French toast with organic blackberries and wonderful coffee.  After lunch we drove up the hill to the Astoria Tower.  We headed into the visitor center first, picking up a brochure telling all about the Astoria Tower landmark.  Dedicated in July 1926, it was constructed by Ralph Budd, president of the Great Northern Railroad, for a cost of nearly $28,000.  Atop the 600 foot tall Coxcomb Hill, the concrete column rises another 125 feet with paint and plaster carvings of 22 significant events that occurred in the Northwest.  The events depicted include imagery from 1792 with the arrival of Capt. Gray & his ship Columbia...through Lewis & Clark's exploration in 1804...to the arrival of the railroad in the 1880's.

A great place for breakfast or lunch

My yummy French toast with blackberries

 



The Astoria Bridge from Coxcomb Hill

 

 

 

 

 

Astoria nestled on the hillside at the foot of the
bridge crossing the Columbia to Washington State

Marker to honor Lewis & Clark's Expedition

 

Lewis exclaimed these famous words, upon arriving at the
this hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the mouth of the
Columbia River

 

 

The Astoria Tower

The to of the Astoria Tower, where there is a platform
after climbing164 steps to enjoy the view

 

One of the sections of the Astoria tower

 

We headed out of Astoria and headed south on Hwy 101 to Seaside, Oregon.  We stopped at a unique candy shop and found Salt Water Taffy and some other treats.  Next door was a Tillamook (local dairy) Ice Cream Shop, where I enjoyed a dip of espresso chocolate chip ice cream cone.  We climbed back in the car, drove around to the beach and dock area on the Pacific Ocean, then headed east across Hwy 26 back to Portland. 

 

John, Sharon, Janis, and Pat enjoying our lunch
together in Astoria, Oregon

Arriving back at the condo about 5:30 PM, we learned that Megan & Rick were on their way over for a brief visit.  They soon arrived and we chatted about the weekend, their wedding and their plans to head out tomorrow for a mini-honeymoon at a resort area just south of Seaside, OR.  You could tell that Megan was really worn out from all the events of the past week....but it was great to see them before we all headed home the next day.  The rest of our evening included getting everything packed up and ready to roll out for our trip to the airport in the morning.