End of June - Coast Visit

Since I am so far behind on this blog, I am going to skip our days of working at the Park and talk about our adventures each week exploring Oregon.  As you read this post, we have left Oregon and are headed back - via a visit to Kelowna, BC and Glacier Park.  SOUTH DAKOTA or BUST!

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Sunday, June 22 - Wednesday, June 25  - Work days at the park.  Wednesday afternoon, we packed up the car and headed to Salem.  Gary had his installation ceremony for the Elks Club - Keizer, OR.  He and Gary went to the lodge for the festivities, I stayed at the house and caught up on pictures, paperwork and rested.  Marilyn came and picked me up at the house after she was off work and we met the boys for a late supper at the Roadhouse.

Thursday - G&M were off to work and we headed out to explore the northern coast of Oregon.  Our first stop was the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  There is a self guided tour and it was very interesting to read about the history of the area, how Tillamook Cheese started and the coop that has been formed with the area dairy farmers.  We sample tasted cheese and bought some to enjoy.  Also in town is the Tillamook Air Museum.  This is a huge building, one of the original two hangars built in 1942 by the US Navy, to house the K-class blimps used for anti-submarine coast patrol and convoy escort.  We did not go in to the museum, but spent time looking at the information in the gift shop.
We continued up Hwy 101, next stopping at a rest area with free coffee (Oregonians love their coffee) and then stopped at a state park, Manhattan Beach. We walked out to the ocean on a picturesque path, through the rushes.  On the beach, as the sand fleas were jumping around us, I wrote the boys' names in the sand.  As usual, it was raining as we traveled to the coast and on and off while we were there.  Next was lunch in Cannon Beach, at the famous seafood place, Mo's.  Gary enjoyed oyster stew and I had fish and chips. On through Seaside with the famous Haystack Rock and to our destination of Astoria, OR.  Arriving in town, we stopped at the Visitor's Center and they recommended the Astoria Column. Standing 125 feet high, on top of Coxcomb Hill in Astoria, you can see for many miles after climbing the 164 circular stairway steps to the top.  The artwork on the column displays 22 historic events that occurred in the region. At the top after enjoying the scenery, we realized it was 4:15 PM.  This was significant because we wanted to tour the Columbia River Maritime Museum and it closed each day at 5:00 PM.

Tillamook Air Museum

Haystack Rock, Seaside. OR

Walkway to Manhattan Beach

Manhattan Beach - Names in the sand

Astoria Column

Astoria Bridge view from the Column

Astoria History

A house (and goats) in Astoria

Our plan for the next day had been to drive on up north to see Mt. St. Helen's and return back to the park.  Decision time.  Then we remembered that the advantage to being retired, is that we can stay longer somewhere when we want to and decided to do so.  The Visitor's Center had given us a list of motels in the area.  We decided to try a local hotel/hostel and were pleased to find they had availability.  We asked for the room with private bath, the other hostel rooms had a shared shower and bathroom down each hall.  We enjoyed the newly remodeled accomodations, the rooms were IKEA type furnishings but very comfortable.  Our room had plush terry robes, we assumed they were provided also to those sharing the hall showers.  We could see the river over the rooftops.  After checking in, we walked down to the wharf area and hopped on the riverfront trolley car.  The conductors shared the local history with us, we learned alot about the area - a bargain for the $1 fee. Walking back to find supper, we wandered into a glass blowing place - they were showing a young lady how to make her own ornament.  Next door, we had supper at the Fort George Brewery.  They had three floors, pizzaria on top, restaurant on the middle floor and a small pub on the main floor with the brew tanks.  The pizza was great!

Our room at the Norblad Hotel - Astoria

Trolley car in Astoria

Friday - We walked down the block to the Rusty Cup, a little coffee shop we had seen the day before.  Then on to the museum.  The Columbia River Maritime Museum collects and exhibits maritime artifacts from the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest.  The collections include models, full-size watercraft, paintings and all manner of gear, wardrobe, weapons, and instruments employed in commercial, private and military maritime operations. Very interesting - we were glad we stayed to see it all.  Outside we boarded the Lightship Columbia, a floating Coast Guard lighthouse. Leaving Astoria, we crossed the amazing Astoria-Wharton bridge.  (We crossed this bridge on our honeymoon trip - it was scary then because the top road portion of the bridge was all fogged in.  Looked like we were driving into a cloud)  Across the bridge, we drove north to Ilwaco and on to Long Beach, WA, another place we had stayed on our honeymoon.  Then we headed back on the Washington side toward Portland.  Along the way, we turned off to see a covered bridge, in Gray's River.  We drove on to Portland, stopping at the World Market and Total Wine stores for groceries.  We stopped in Gresham at the Walmart for groceries and then back home to the park.

Coast Guard rescue display

The Captain at the wheel

Coast Guard Lightship Columbia

Lightship Columbia

History plaque

Grays River Covered Bridge

 Saturday - we slept in after our travels.  We watched a movie in the morning, did laundry and computer work.  Later, we went out and walked some of the trails in the park.  A restful day.