When we departed from Lacey, WA, we took the coastal route southwest, and drank in the beautiful scenery all along the way. Entry into Oregon was via the Astoria Bridge (officially the Astoria-Megler Bridge), a 4+ mile long expanse over the mouth of the Columbia River.
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The bridge was completed in 1966, and is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. It was the last link for US Highway 101 to connect from Los Angeles, California to Olympia, Washington. On the south end of the bridge, in Astoria, it's connected to land with a 360-degree curved spiral that reaches 200 feet above the water.
The city of Astoria was named after America's first millionaire John Jacob Astor, who established his fur trading company in the area in 1810. The Astoria Column is 125 feet tall and built on a hill overlooking the city, providing a panoramic view even from its base (for those of us who don't climb that many steps). The Astor family built the column in 1926. A plaque commemorates the first Community Antenna Television (CATV) in the US, which was built in 1949 using the column.
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We visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum, which includes among other things several life-size replicas of boats and the people who worked on them.
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Below is a photo of a Coast Guard rescue ship in rough seas, followed by the replica depicting that boat as it rescues a man from the treacherous water.
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While the town thrives, there were obvious signs of the recession's effects. For instance the photo below announces luxury condos to be completed in March 2009.
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From the looks of things, the construction is a little behind schedule.
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We found plenty of other places to explore, including this lookout platform above the river.
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A free trolley takes people to various places along the waterfront.
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One of the best farmer's markets we've been to was held on Sunday, where we bought fresh fruit, tomatoes, herbs and flowers.
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Just exploring the downtown architecture could occupy lots of time, for example this restored theatre.
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South and west of Astoria are the historical Ft. Stevens, a coastal defense fort in service from the Civil War days to the end of World War II, and Ft. Clatsop, the encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition during the winter of 1805-1806. Both offer interesting evidence of the area's history and occupied many hours of exploration. Here's one of many pictures I took of a replica of Ft. Clatsop. Accommodations were primitive, but I imagine it was luxurious to the tired members of the expedition, after thousands of miles and many months of hardship on the trail.
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Heading north back across the Astoria Bridge, we took a day trip to Long Beach, Washington. Don was curious about how cranberries are grown, so we visited the Cranberry Museum.
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The home of a research foundation of Washington State University, the grounds include many cranberry fields with the fruit in various stages of growth.
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I've seen a cranberry bog before, in Massachusetts, but I never realized how densely the vines grow.
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We saw the World's Longest Beach, with a sign telling you that, in case you didn't know.
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However, when I checked Wikipedia on this topic, I found the following:
"There are several beaches which are claimed to be the "World's longest", including Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (120 km), Fraser Island beach, 90 Mile Beach in Australia and 90 Mile Beach in New Zealand (88 km) and Long Beach, Washington (which is about 40 km). The longest beach in the world is Praia do Cassino, a 240 km long beach located in southern Brazil, near the border with Uruguay."
Oh, well, at least we saw *one* of the longest.
We visited the Cape Disappointment and North Head Lighthouses, which guide ships into the mouth of the Columbia River. Museums and displays at the lighthouses themselves provide information about the Graveyard of the Pacific, where almost 2,000 ships have wrecked, claiming some 700 lives over a 300-year period. For interesting stories about these shipwrecks, visit www.funbeach.com/attractions/shipwrecks.html. Here's the North Head Lighhouse.
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Finally, I found time to engage in one of my hobbies: sewing. I was inspired by helping Craig & Terilu Christen during the SMART rally, with their Sew Much Comfort project to adapt clothing for the use of injured service personnel. They recruit volunteers during rallies to assist in this effort, and for a few hours I helped make accessory bags to attach to walkers or wheelchairs. For more information on this worthwhile service, go to http://www.sewmuchcomfort.org/
Using my sewing machine for that project made me remember how much fun it used to be to make most of my own clothes. However, it's been several years since I made anything from a pattern and fabric. I guess it's like riding a bike. I bought this nifty fold-out cutting board and laid out the pattern, measuring twice and cutting once.
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The next afternoon, I had a new "morning jacket." It sure feels good now that Autumn mornings on the coast are getting cooler.
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