Drive on a holiday

A drive out to the coats is always a good thing. On a holiday it is better, especially when there is not much traffic!!!

I drove out to the seaside town of Astoria and spent a nice day exploring the old lumber and port town. Astoria is actually one of the oldest towns on the west coast, that were not of Spanish origin. The incredible sea life and lumber brought wealth and jobs to this area at the mouth of the Columbia river. Even today it is a shipping center, even though the entrance to the river is one of the most dangerous entrances in the world.

Fishing and canning were a big business, and still is though not on the scale as before. Old peir pilings still pop out of the water at low tides, these actually show ownership and the are left there in case someone one day wants to build again.

The river is also a place where large ships wait to transit up river to the many mills and ports. At any one time the river will have a line of ships at anchor, also a stream of ships coming and going are common.

The very tall Astoria bridge allows these ships to pass under and head up river. This bridge allows access to the Washington State side of the Columbia River, this bridge is several miles long and it even hosts a running event, a half marathon across the bridge. The bridge has been in several movies over the years and is well loved by the people in the area. This is the only way to cross into Washington from Oregon, unless you want to take a boat or drive inland many miles to another bridge.


Astoria is a small town, but there are a few interesting and unique attractions. One is the Shallon Winery. SHALLON WINERY is located in downtown Astoria, Oregon, two blocks from the Maritime Museum and across the street from the Heritage Center. The wine marker, is an 'interesting' person. He will greet you, show you the winery, serve you tastes of the current wines, interrogate you as to your occupations, discuss dining at length within a fifty mile radius, and possibly offend you if your questions or comments provoke a curmudgeonly philosophical response.  He make a very few selection of very unique wines, possible the only ones of that type in the world. Interesting to taste, it is an experience, come with an open mind though...

The VooDoo Room is next to the movie theater, it is a fun place to have a drink and they do have pizza and other foods. A typical small local bar, but it has character and is fun. Good drinks and good eclectic music as well.

Astoria is on the water and can be cool and cloudy, but there is great fishing and clamming. Lots of trails and good biking as well. This is a nice place to stop if you are doing a drive on the Oregon Coast or just passing through.