It was too good to pass up...I've signed up for Groupon e-mails and they had deal for The Astoria Riverwalk Inn where I could stay on the river front by a marina AND get breakfast thrown in, too!! And it was for 50% off!!
My kind of deal!!
I've been to Astoria once before, years ago and remembered it mainly as the place where they shot the movie, The Goonies. I figured I'd give it another go and see what was what. I also remember it had some beautiful older homes.
So, we were off!!
Start of the Trip Selfie!!
We were on the road, again...
Headin' down the highway...
The weather wasn't all that good, but we're from Seattle, we can deal with it. The only weather we can't deal with is Galveston, Texas-like humidity!! Neither of us are fans of humidity!! Nope!! Oh, and possibly Alaska-like snow. Snow is fun to look at when you're inside with the heater on and absolutely no reason to go outside.
But those are the only two.
Otherwise, we can deal.
Heading south on 101 out of Olympia. The Fall Foliage was always entertaining but we did get some of that Fall rain, too. Still, it wasn't anything that created problems.
And, for the most part, once we cleared Olympia, the rain pretty much let up.
All along the road there was a color show for us. Seriously, some people pay good money to come see these sights that we get nearly everyday.
Just east of Aberdeen, we came into Satsop, Washington, looking for a place to eat...and wondered at the cost of the gas out here in rural America. Mind, the gas just down the street on MLK is just $2.75. I thought it was suppose to get cheaper the farther away from the Big City you got. I was wrong!!
We did drive around and got to see some interesting sights...
We're always on the look-out for some neighborhood diner, some roadside eatery that breaks the "One Plate Fits All Diners" mode. In other words, something that is not McDonald's.
Annabelle's might have fit that role once but...Annie has seen better days.
And, quite possibly, it might have been a good idea not eating right around Satsop...at least not the fish they caught there.
So we headed out again crossing the twin bridges over the Chehalis River just west of Satsop...
...about 7 miles into the picturesque Small-Town America town of Montesanto, proud Home of the Tree Farm.
Where the VFW rocks...they bought this building for a whopping $800 in 1948. Way to go, VFW!!
But I digress...we were, after all, heading out in search of a real Small-Town America Diner for breakfast or lunch...depending on the menu.
And my imagination, and trade, was immediately captured by this colorful and enticing restaurant!!
I mean, who wouldn't wanna eat there, right!?!
And inside, it delivered!! It was Small-Town America!! Hand-written menus reflecting the season...fishing rods for sale hanging on the wall...and apple pie in the counter display!!
I would have asked about the name, The Bee Hive, but none of the help was overly friendly...they got the service done but without too much of banter...really, none at all. Bummer.
This one was blending right in with her Autumny Scarf and bright smile.
And this one was getting hungry...and I had the Logger's Special.
It was satisfying.
And, no, I forgot to get pictures of it!! Drat that Old Age Memory of mine.
CB
After breakfast, we went to walk off our meal and met the Meter Maid. This city is so small, the Meter Maid has to walk her beat...but, and I'm going out on a limb here, at least the city provides her with a golf umbrella.
We sweet-talked her to make sure she wouldn't double back and give us a ticket after we got started on our walk and then I got her to pose for a picture. She seemed a happy enough Meter Maid. I'm sure we brightened her day just a bit.
That's a new thing for us...to get pictures of the folks we meet along the way.
I saw the County Courthouse, at least the top of it, from the Bee Hive and so we angled our way in that direction.
One thing about County Seats and Courthouses. It's where the rich folks lived and the homes around the Courthouse generally reflect that wealth. Unlike most County Courthouses that front on parks or business districts, this one sat just off the main road and had a lot of homes around it.
And some that were once homes...like this one which is now a mortuary...with icicle lighting around the front porch.
Don't ask.
I don't know.
But there were others that were still being used the way they were intended. Like this beauty across the street to the side of the Courthouse. Nicely done and well-maintained.
And properly decorated for the current celebration.
Across the street from the blue house was this one. Love the scalloped shingles. And the bay window. And the white picket fence. And the big, covered porch. Aw, heck, I just like it.
A block down the road and just across from a park with a veteran's memorial was the Post Office. And this building reflects the importance of Montesano as the County Seat of Grays Harbor County.
Reflecting the pride that Americans once held in their Country and the men who served is this monument erected to honor the men from Grays Harbor County who served their country during the Great War. This monument was built in 1926. It has three Springfield 09's stacked with helmets hanging from them.
What I was amazed at was that the rifles are not bronze casts of the weapons...no, they are the ACTUAL rifles, themselves!!
The wood is showing the years but there they are with metal actions and canvas slings. I don't know if the slings or the actions are originals, but it sure appeared to me that the stocks are original.
I've seen a good number of monuments and, other than a cannon, never seen one with the actual rifles used.
Hahaha, what would a Smilin' Jack blog be without at least ONE picture of a flower...right!?! And this one isn't all that bad now, is it!?!
Picture in a Picture Selfie!!
Hahaha, what's better than one Selfie?? You're right, nothing. But you can make it twice as much fun if you see a mirror inside the Realtor's Office of the window you're using as your reflective surface and incorporate that into the whole picture.
Two, Two, Two pics in One.
See us!?! Right there where the camera should be in the reflection!?!
We ARE too cool for words!!
Hahaha, too much fun.
So we got back on the road, again.
Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah Darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space
(Total apologies to Steppenwolf. At least I didn't muck up the words.)
And try to avoid any accidents with logging trucks.
CB
Next stop on our Road to Adventure was the Walmart in Aberdeen. Look, I've already told you Wally's our favorite store, besides $ Tree, so don't be all OMG because we stopped there.
Besides, we needed some healthy water. And by we I mean Carol. I had some DC.
We got the necessities and I got these pictures. I've taken to snapping pictures of the Christmas Village decorations. They had all the ones that are on display at our Wally plus a couple we haven't seen before.
Like this one.
And this one. Notice how clever I am to include the two Teddy Bear Marines guarding the entrance to the Toy For Tots store in the background?
Hahaha, I am so wicked clever.
Finished with Wally's, we headed out. I got this shot a half-mile away from Wally's. And, they have organic.
Hahahaha, oh my, those PC Yuppies!! They keep me amused!!
Next stop was this interesting sculpture that caught my eye in South Bend. This pretty town on the Willapa Bay became the County Seat in 1892 after an election dispute with Oysterville caused a group of South Bend citizens to sail to Oysterville and forcibly remove all books and records. Thus South Bend became the County Seat of Pacific County.
The early folks in South Bend had big plans for the future of this logging boomtown. It was to be the 'Baltimore of the West' and the 'San Francisco of the Northwest'. Unfortunately for them, although the railroad, an integral part of their plans, was completed to South Bend in 1893, it was never extended to Yakima and this doomed South Bends hope of being a major port for eastern Washington.
Although it got its start as a logging town, today it depends on shellfish for a major part of the economy. And this statue reflects their maritime history.
And I am sure this business has something to do with that history, too. Don't know how, but I do know they're capitalizing on it.
They are, maybe, left-over Hippies from days gone by.
What do you think?
See the flowers on the small table in the center of the picture above? I got a bunch of pictures of those flowers.
Quit griping!! I only used one in this blog.
Hahaha, don't act all surprised. You know by now if I can see a flower I will include it.
Fer sure!!
But, back to the elixir...decorated with just a little influence (think The Yellow Submarine) from The Beatles.
Yeah, these guys have NEVER experimented with hallucinogens. Nope!! Never!!
There's a crazy little shack beyond the tracks
And ev'rybody calls it the Oyster Shack.
Well, it's just a coffeehouse and it's made out of wood
Espresso coffee tastes mighty good.
(With sincere apologies to Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs)
Because, just to the left of the 'elixir espresso and tea' restaurant was this!!!
The World's Largest Oyster!!
Sporting the world's largest Pearl!!
Hahaha, ah, those crazy shellfish guys!!
And to drive home the point, just beyond The World's Largest Oyster was this fishing (?) boat. Piled high with shells.
Also in this small park was this, a mural dedicated to the love between the Chinook maiden, Katonka, and her paramour, Westwind.
Seems Westwind could control the seals and get them to heard the fish into the river. Well, he got a bit irked when the tribes along the Columbia were bad-mouthing him so he let the fish to go elsewhere...starvation followed so the folks pleaded with the Great Spirit to do something.
The Great Spirit created something that sallowed up Westwind into the river. Then ol' Katonka, with her great love for him, paddled around singing out and trying to find her love.
Something like that.
And there was also this totem. Carol wondered if it had any connection to the Bee Hive in Montesano.
And, now, having worn out The Oyster Shack and the park, let's take a look around South Bend...
Looking across the Bay. Ah, if only the roof had been thatched, this could have been a seen from the Auld Sod, Ireland.
You can see it, right!?!
There were plenty of Grebes in the Bay.
We, and by we I mean Carol, think this is a Grebe...in its "Autumn Phase".
On the land above Highway 101.
Folks in South Bend really like their fancy restaurants...here's Cafe Omni.
We think this is a juvenile and isn't completely matured.
I'm on the look-out for treasures these days...like old books and so I suggested we stop at the Thrift Store.
Hahaha, they can be great fun.
Carol found this nice sentiment.
And we got to meet and chat with Neala. She's a gregarious and entertaining young lady and we had a good time swapping travel stories with her. I sent her this picture via e-mail and we got back a nice thank-you note from her today.
See that book in her hands? I bought that...it's a book titled, Business English, published in 1905.
It's a great book. I think the thing I'm liking about finding these old books is the insight, the look into a life, time and culture that is long, long gone.
Here, here's the example they give for how to address an envelope. They show, grapically, how to address an envelope. The top example is a correctly addressed envelope and shows the proper placement of all the elements of the "Superscription", which consists "of whatever is written or printed on the envelope to insure its delivery to the person entitled to receive it." We've gotten so lazy in these modern times now that "the person entitled to receive" the letter is simply called the "addressee". Hahahaha.
The bottom example is the wrong way to do it.
Here's what it says:
"Fig. 2. Faulty; Inharmonious Arrangement and Parts in Wrong Position."
The horror!!
Inharmonious!!
Argh!!
Oh, see the name in the lower left corner? I quote from the relevant paragraph:
"3. The local address, as a rule, should be written at the lower left-hand corner of the envelope, opposite the name of the state."
Oh, how the times have changed!!
I've also included an example of a Model Letter. It shows the correct placement of all the elements of a Business Letter.
There's a lot more in this informative and educational book. They show you how to correctly fold a letter; use different salutations and proper Words of Curtesy such as "Yours very respectfully"; they even cover proper composition of payments and remittances and, oh, so much, much more.
See what I mean about a glimpse into a time gone past?
We said good-bye to our new friend and to South Bend and headed out again...and got about a quarter of a mile down the road when I spotted this Fine Fellow sunning himself out in the Bay.
A Great Blue Heron.
How cool, right!?!
Then I cast a melancholy eye back towards South Bend, almost Baltimore of the West, and saw this...and shot this.
Hahahaha, LOVE digital cameras!!
(I imagine, by now, you're beginning to curse them. Hahahahahaha!! Tough!!)
Adios, South Bend. We had fun.
Thanks!!
(P.S. Look at South Bend on a Google Map and you'll understand the name.)
And, back to the road.
We began passing large areas of what I'll call Wetlands. This one was relatively open but on the many curves and bends were were driving over, we saw reeds and water lilies and boggy openings. I'm wanting to come back and shoot more of the area.
Just a couple of miles from the bridge we saw this abandoned barge and a semi-sunken ship. I have no idea as to why the barge is there. It looks like most of it is above water. You can't say the same for the boat. I've looked but haven't found anything on it yet.
I did, however, find this...Since 1792, approximately 2,000 large ships have sunk in and around the Columbia Bar, the area at the head of the Columbia River where Astoria is. Because of the danger and the numerous shipwrecks the mouth of the Columbia River has a worldwide reputation as the Graveyard of the Pacific.
You'll hear a bit more about this and how they dealt with it when we visit the Flavel House.
Interesting fact, almost opposite the boat is the Knappton Cove Heritage House. Once called the Ellis Island of the West, it is where immigrants were once quarantined when they were suspected of carrying infectious diseases.
Not like today where they say "Huh, what chu' talkin' bout, Willis!?!", and wave you on in.
One of the many small islands in the Columbia River...with some stormy clouds hanging around.
Beautiful country...even when it is a bit damp.
The Washington side of the Astoria-Megler Bridge spanning the Columbia River. We had stopped at a rest stop along 101 and were able to see the bridge...
...the wild life. A cormorant running to take flight...
...and with my handy-dandy Super-Zoom lens, a shot of the Oregon-side of the bridge and a wee bit of Astoria, itself.
You can see the unique style of wood frame homes along the River.
In addition to having a handy-dandy Super-Zoom Lens, it also has a handy-dandy pretty good size wide-angle lens, too.
Like me, it is exceedingly versatile...and modest.
Although it looks pretty ominous, the weather held off and we were pretty dry for most of the evening.
But looking back to the east and a bit north, we could see we'd dodged a pretty good rain squall back from where we came.
On the road again after the rest stop and getting closer to the bridge. I have to admit, I am growing less fond of bridges with each passing year. It's like with flying...when I was younger, I had no problems with flying anywhere or driving over any bridge. Now, however, I have some pretty solid dislikes for both of them.
I think it might be that I recognize my own mortality I am less inclined to put what precious little time I have left into dangerous, and, yes, these are dangerous to me, situations.
Regardless, I'd much rather do something else than drive over a bridge...especially one that is so doggone high!!
But I do recognize that there is only one way over...now that they've stopped the ferry service. And that one way is directly over that doggone bridge.
The Astoria-Kegler Bridge is a steel cantilever through truss bridge between Astoria, Oregon and Point Ellice near Megler, Washington. It is 4.1 miles long and was the last completed segment of U.S. Route 101 between Olympia, Washington and Los Angeles, California. It is also the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.
Ferry service between Astoria and the Washington side of the Columbia River began in 1926. The ferry service didn't operate, duh, in bad weather and so, in order to allow faster and more reliable crossings, a bridge was planned.
Construction on the bridge began on November 5, 1962. On August 27, 1966, with more than 30,000 people in attendance, Governors Mark Hatfield of Oregon and Dan Evans of Washington opened the bridge. The cost was $24 Millon, equivalent to $174 Millon today and was paid for by tolls that were removed (WHAT THE....!?!?!) on December 24 (Merry Christmas, y'all) 1993, more than two years early.
I guess it is still OK.
But I still didn't like it.
But, obviously, we got across and there we were...in Astoria, Oregon.
And our DeLuxe GroupOn accommodations.
It wasn't bad. The Inn was showing its age but it was clean and it was right on the Marina and the river.
The Astoria Riverwalk Inn is built in an "L"-Shaped layout. We were on the bottom of the "L" and here is the other side, the upright part of the "L".
And the Marina.
And we had a good view of the bridge. You can see the Cannery Pier Hotel which was built on the site of the former Union Fish Cannery, 600 feet into the river.
It runs around $189 a night for two adults in a room with a King-sized bed. As you might expect, they only have King-sized beds available.
Ouch!!
The Marina.
The Cannery Pier Hotel...a Luxury Boutique Hotel (their description, not mine). And they have a spa, too.
Woo-Woo!!
There were plenty of cormorants outside the room we had.
And loads and loads of views of the Marina. Don't worry, I only used a couple of the Marina. Even though I had about a half-gazillion to chose from.
At least.
What!?! No, really!?!
Another shot of the Marina!?!
Hahahaha, OK, so this one is different!! Here you can see the Marina...and a bit of our balcony.
See!! Different!!
Hahaha, no, not the Marina nor the bridge!
Here's a shot of the ship traffic coming into the Bay.
Artsy-Fartsy Alert!!
Hahaha, I wanted, so badly (no comments and no allusions to how I 'succeeded'), to get a picture of boat reflections. I'll keep trying.
And, again, with the cormorants. And as I struggled to zoom in and get a good, clear shot of them I usually got this...
...shot of the swirling water where the cormorant once was.
I got a lot of these shots.
From our balcony a view of the Washington side of the bridge.
This we couldn't figure out. We had this 'colorful' adirondack chair along with a white one on our balcony. We were both hit with the striking color of this chair and wondered why the Inn would buy something so garish and gaudy.
More to come.
Another shot of the Marina. I don't know if this is a real working boat or just some rich guys play thing for some once-a-month fishing.
It's gotta be a working boat, right!?!
Oops!! This one is different...by at least ten or so minutes from the last one.
Remember, it's my first hour on the balcony with all this out there waiting to be shot.
After we got settled and worked out some of the aches from sitting in the Mini, we headed out for a walk. One of the first things I noticed were the colorful wooden frame houses along the hills surrounding the city of Astoria.
We wondered at the style and the deliberate choice of bright colors and figure it must have something to do with the fact that Astoria once had a large population of Finns living and working here.
Charles J. Newman, the first Finn to live in Astoria, arrived in 1859. There were only 2 or 3 Finns in the county until 1873 when 30 Finns were brought to the area by B.A. Seaborg. The arrival of these Finns coincided with the early growth of the canneries along the Columbia River.
As canning processes improved and more salmon was sold, canneries sprang up all along the Columbia and workers were needed to bring the fish into the canneries. The Finnish fishermen, experienced at fishing in Finland were well suited to this demand. They sent word back to their relatives about the opportunities waiting for them and soon a rush of immigrants from Finland came to join them.
The Finnish population was all male until 1877 when the first women arrived. The 1880 census lists 14 Finnish women. Out of the 189 Finnish men on the 1880 Clatsop County census, 171 were fishermen. From the 1880-s to about 1910, large numbers of Finns arrived. In 1907, one writer said that he had heard that half the population of Astoria was Finnish. That was a bit of an exaggeration. But Astoria did become famous as the Helsinki of the West, the Finnish capitol of the U.S.
The bridge. Hahaha, be thankful, I already deleted two other pictures just like this one.
But it was difficult...very difficult
And plenty of Cormorants...one of Carol's favorites.
Yeah, that's a crocodile in the front yard dressed up like a Happy Sailor.
We were walking along and not getting anywhere none too quickly.
Uh, yeah. It's the bridge.
But it's from a different angle, Man!!
The tide was out by the time we started our walk.
Hey!! There's the Unique Boutique Luxury Hotel down there.
These are all the pilings left from the canneries that used to line this side of the Columbia. You'll see a lot of these.
One of the nice features of Astoria is this, the Riverwalk. It's also known as the Astoria River Trail and stretches the entire length of the city's waterfront. The trial follows the route of the Astoria and Columbia River Railroad that was completed in 1898 and subsequently acquired by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway. It became popular with weekend tourists heading to the coast; later it fed the area's booming timber industry. By the early 1990s, though, the corridor had ended service and become overgrown or crowded out by industry. The city worked at revitalizing the riverfront opening the first short section in 1995 and adding to it block by block.
Now they have a trolley that runs the four-mile route on weekends.
We walked about a mile of it and then it was getting dark so we walked back along the street.
Ah, business booms and the ships roll in...and roll out.
Look!! It's the bridge...from a different view...with pilings in front of it!!
Now that's original!!
Annnnnnd, another cormorant.
And this Goofy Girl.
Something about reflections in puddles of water that make me want to take pictures of things in them.
Hahaha, an island in the river...with pilings in the foreground.
The river with Washington in the distance and pilings in the foreground.
CB
And the homes. Even the four-plexes are classy.
The Engiadina, waiting to take on a load.
Seriously, I checked out taking a cruise on one of these tanker/Container ships...they cost almost as much as taking one of the cruise ships. Whatever happened to catching a tramp steamer round the Horn? Ah, adventure has become so commercialized...and expensive.
Ratz!!
Even though my dreams of roaming the world from the deck of a tramp steamer were quashed, there were still plenty of waterfowl to excite and delight us.
This is a Wigeon. One of the many varieties.
Another heron!!
Hooah!!
And while we were walking we passed some flower pots. This is the only one I got. The light was fading fast and the others are slightly blurred.
Hahaha, but I tried, Man, I tried!!
It was getting dark and we were both hungry so I gave Carol a choice...because I'm a classy guy...either the Burger King or the McDonald's.
Carol wisely chose the Burger King.
I hadn't realized how long it's been since I've been in a Burger King!!
What the heck!!
I had the guy at the counter explain it to me before I went over and tried it.
What the...!?!
Future Shock...
...a book written by the futurist Alvin Toffler in 1970. In the book, Toffler defines the term 'future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. His shortest definition for the term, which I will use here, us a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of time".
I was in a bit of Shock...from the Future...which was in my face right now!!
There has been, in my lifetime, way too much change in a far too short period of time.
And my definitely not healthy and not as tasty as it sounded sandwich. It was a Barbecue Double-Cheeseburger. All it was, really, were two patties with cheese on a hoagie with barbecue sauce slopped over them.
I ate it.
All of it.
Ah, Burger King...so vastly different than McDonald's.
Hahahahaha...
On our walk back, we were reminded that this is still a working town. This one is called the Working Class or something with the word "Work" in it.
And a view of the bridge as it enters into Astoria and curls around to the ground level.
Don't ask me how she does it, but Carol can spot spiders everywhere!! We were walking up the steps to our room and there, about 20 feet away, is this guy.
I suppose you've already guessed that she spotted it. In the dark.
But, she did and I got this shot. I had to cover up most of the flash with my fingers so I didn't blow him out with light.
I'm fine with him as long as he stays waaaaaaay over there.
We saw this just below our balcony and our first thought was...is that a body? Second thought, is that a Halloween prank.
Final thought...interesting arrangement of seaweed.
So that was it. We hiked back and relaxed in our room and looked out at the stormy skies over the river.
Day One was in the books and it was a pretty good one. A good start on the trip. A pleasant drive and, by golly, we didn't run into any of the lousy traffic I expected outside Tacoma and Olympia. Miracle!! Then we had a nice breakfast, saw some interesting sights, met some nice people and took just a couple of pictures.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
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