We had a good day for our stop in Astoria. We've been to Astoria before, but this was one of our best visits. We did a lot of walking - all over the town and up to the Astoria Column on top of the hill. Some great views from up there. Then we rewarded ourselves with a stop at the Buoy Beer Company on the waterfront to sample some of their craft beer.
The old electric tram that is now powered by an attached electrical generator - no overhead lines to draw power from. It runs from close to the cruise terminal along the waterfront's "Astoria Oregon Riverwalk" making for a very picturesque and easy way to get from one end to the other. We walked the route, with a few detours along the way.
The Astoria-Megler Bridge, joining Oregon and Washington State. "Opened in 1966, it is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America." In the foreground are the remains of one of the many piers that dotted the shoreline years ago.
Some long unused piece of equipment (no idea what for) along the shoreline.
Here's the flower shot for Astoria - a lone sunflower plant growing next to the Buoy Beer Company.
A few sea lions, lounging on the pier structure under a shoreline restaurant.
One of the shoreline warehouses along the Riverwalk, still being used today, but someone has painted a mural depicting what it might have been like many years ago.
Thought the storm drain covers were nicely designed.
After we had walked through the town, we were welcomed to Astoria. This structure is more for motorists approaching the town from the highway.
Sea Lions have pretty much taken over this part of the marina. You can hear their constant barking from a long way off.
This (very) big guy made the effort to raise his head and say hello to us.
All the easy spots were taken, so this guy had to make several attempts to climb up over the railing to get onto the dock.
"Art Shot" - One of the many steel plates that form the breakwater around the marina. Thought the algae and rust made for some interesting colours.
An old cannery building, that looks like it's still being used (though we saw no activity this day).
Our next objective was the Astoria Column. We had already walked for about 30 minutes uphill to get to this point. That last hill up to the base of the column was more of a hike than it looked.
After our long walk up the steep hill, we took a break to read some interesting facts about Astoria (right image), then did the 164 steps up to the observation platform at the top of the column. The views were fantastic - it was well worth the effort.
Looking northwest from the column, with the Astoria-Megler Bridge stretching across the Columbia River. Our cruise ship was docked on the far side of the bridge.
Looking south from the column, with the Youngs River winding it's way to the ocean.
Back down into town, we came across a few older buildings from Astoria's heyday, like this pink trimmed house with it's commanding view of the Columbia River.
An abandoned house, which would have been very impressive in it's day.
This quaint, and very old house from 1852 was "Built by Capt Hiram Brown who came to Astoria area in 1848. Original portion of house built in Adairville (East Astoria) was barged downriver about 1865 to Tenth St. and rolled to present location without cracking wallpaper or breaking a window. Astoria's oldest dwelling."
Another stately old house.
We paid a visit to the Flavel House Museum, former residence of the Flavel family. "It was built in 1885 in the Queen Anne architectural style, by George Flavel, a Columbia River bar pilot who was one of the area's first millionaires."
The back of the house, with gardens. The 11,600 square-foot house and grounds span a whole city block. At one point there was discussion about tearing it all down to provide a parking lot for the courthouse. I'm glad they changed their minds.
It was a fascinating tour of the carefully restored house. Both levels had very high ceilings, and the house featured some of the first indoor plumbing.
After our day of hiking around Astoria, we took a well deserved break and visited the Buoy Beer Company on the Riverwalk. It overlooks the Columbia River and features a couple dozen beers to choose from. We got their 6 beer sampler (you choose which ones to sample) and enjoyed them all. Sorry, we got right into the sampling, so I don't have picture of the glasses filled with beer.
Our ship awaiting our return. We did a lot of walking this day, but enjoyed it all. We got to see a lot more of Astoria than we had before.
NEXT: (Day 5) San Francisco, California
PREV: (Day 2) Victoria, BC
Pacific Coastal - Sep 2018