Astoria, Part 2

After we left Cape Disappointment and crossed the bridge into Astoria, OR, we had one day of sunshine to explore the town before being hit with two rainy days. Then our last day it cleared.

First stop in downtown was Godfather's Books and Espresso -- we love independent bookstores, and this one had two comfy armchairs up front that we settled into with a stack of books.

Another favorite find was Coffee Girl, set out on a pier. It has fantastic breakfast sandwiches and pastries, so we went there twice for breakfast. Pecan upside down cake and almond poppyseed scones were so good, as well as lox and bagels and a breakfast bagel.

Coffee Girl's deck makes you feel like you're floating in the river.

Outside Coffee Girl, we found this sign for Astoria's Repair Cafe, a good idea for any town!

Another favorite eating spot, which we went to THREE  times, was the Fort George Brewery and Public House. We tried a couple of other restaurants, but this was our favorite. The wood-fired pizzas had perfect crusts and the sauce and other toppings were so flavorful. I also had a piece of chocolate stout cake, which they were out of the first two nights but I scored on the third try. (If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.)

On our last day, when the sun came back, we finally did the Riverfront Walk, which goes through downtown along the Columbia River. That's where I found Mary and her sweet goat selling homemade goat milk soap. Her etsy site is: MarysMilkMonsters. Actually, I'm assuming she is Mary -- I didn't ask.

Another touristy thing we did -- because everyone said we had to -- was climb the spiral staircase 164 steps to the top of the Astoria Column. The spiral frieze on the outside pictures significant events in Oregon's history.

The observation deck at the top gives a 360-degree view.

We also visited Fort Clatsop, which was the winter encampment of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805-1806. The original fort decayed in the wet climate, but this replica was built from descriptions in the expedition journals. It was drizzly the day we went, so we got a feel for how dark and damp it would have been for that winter stay.

Trees with nature's necklaces at Fort Clatsop.

Another tourist destination is the Columbia River Maritime Museum, but I didn't get pictures. It's definitely worth a visit if you are in Astoria. It emphasizes how dangerous it is to cross the Columbia River Bar, which is recognized as one of the most dangerous and challenging navigated stretches of water in the world. "Bar pilots" board each ship to take it safely across, and the museum has fascinating information about them. Check out this site for more info: columbiariverbarpilots.com

Our hotel, the Cannery Pier, above, was on a pier surrounded by water near the Astoria bridge. I took the picture from the restaurant in the building shown below, which is also an old cannery. Astoria was a major fish cannery back in the day, but now the canneries have been converted into other businesses.

Seagulls on an abandoned pier beside our hotel.

Water is always on the mind in Astoria, and ships are always in view. Next I'll show just some of the many boats we saw during our short visit. And that's the end of my report!

 Have a colorful day