Astoria 7.17.13

For our 3rd day of vacation we headed into Astoria.  Out first stop was at The Astoria Column.  The Astoria Column is a tower overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River on Coxcomb Hill. Built in 1926, the concrete and steel structure is part of a 30-acre city park. The 125-foot-tall column has a 164-step spiral staircase ascending to an observation deck at the top. The spiral sgrafitto frieze on the exterior of the structure is almost seven feet wide, and 525 feet long.^[1] Painted by Electus D. Litchfield and Attilio Pusterla, the mural shows 14 significant events in the early history of Oregon with a focus on Astoria's role including Captain Gray's discovery of the Columbia River in 1792 and the Lewis & Clark Expedition.  Logan couldn't wait to climb up it.  He would have raced ahead had I let him.  Mom, Logan, and I trekked up all 164 steps while Dad elected to stay on the ground.  The view from the top was awesome!!!  After that, we headed back down to the main part of town and took an hour trolley ride that took us along the waterfront, through town and we learned a lot more about Astoria.  What a neat place.  Oh, we also saw on the Goonies house! :o)  On the trolley ride, we went past a place we thought would be perfect for lunch...Wet Dog Brewery.  It was really neat and great food.  I will definitely come back some day.  Then it was off to the Columbia River Maritime Museum.  Before you even go in, you see a huge anchor and propeller.  Unfortunately, as Logan was climbing down from the anchor his tripped and landed pretty hard on the concrete.  As it turned out, there was a naval officer nearby when it happened and he came to the rescue with band-aids.  Logan walked limped away with a bandaged knee and some scrapes on his hands and face.  Then we got to explore the museum itself and it was really fascinating.  I was afraid Logan might get a little bored, but he loved it.  After our fun-filled day in Astoria, we headed back to the hotel to relax.  Then Mom, Logan, and I headed down to the beach for sunset.  It was gorgeous and I was floored at all the people down there with their tri-pods just snapping a picture of the same spot every couple minutes for about an hour.  I'm sure they got some awesome shots.  It was a great end to day 3!

If you look closely, you can just see Logan at the base of the column.

We made it to the top.

On the trolley.

My partners in crime.

The Goonies house! :o)

Great place for lunch.

Logan and I.

Huge anchor and Logan before the tumble.

I was fascinated by the pelicans.

My little guy.