7-21-17

Today is the last day for this refreshing vacation.  We are still in Gig Harbor, WA but will head for home in the morning.

This is a view of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  I never noticed two spans of a bridge not matching before.  We were heading east into Tacoma and had to pay a toll.  Going west back to Gig Harbor there was no toll.  We wondered if that span was already paid for and the eastbound one still had debt.

We took a short trip into Tacoma to see the Museum of Glass.  We have tried to see it twice before but it has been closed for private events both times.  The Chihuly Bridge of Glass that leads to the museum is just beautiful.  Here are some pictures of glass to be found there.

We are big Chihuly fans and have taken both grandkids to his fantastic display next to the Space Needle in Seattle.  We expected this museum to be mainly his work but were disappointed to see only a few things of his displayed.  There were other works there, some terrific, by other artists and some of his students.

If you have to make a choice, definitely choose the display in Seattle.

Outside the museum there are two glass fountains to enjoy, and if you look closely at the window under the dome of Union Station, you can see some of Chihuly's glass pieces displayed.

This is a piece found outside the Tacoma Art Museum.

Back in Gig Harbor we enjoyed a statue of a fisherman after a wonderful dinner at Marketplace Grille, which offered excellent Caribbean fare.  I will end this blog entry with a picture of our friend, Sue looking up something on her phone.

Home tomorrow.

7-19-17

Yesterday we left Astoria by driving over the bridge above.  It crosses the Columbia River from Oregon to Washington and is about four miles long.  It had to be tall enough so that huge ships can enter the mouth of the Columbia to reach ports upstream.  There is quite a view up there.

We arrived at Gig Harbor, Washington in the early afternoon and parked at Gig Harbor RV Park, which is a nice, wooded park with fairly level, graveled spots.  The trees make up for all the rocks.  Baby hates walking on rocks but she likes walking in the shade, so she is happy.  Jazzy doesn't care where we park.  She is always up for an adventure.

Our friends, the Cowans, met us here and cooked dinner on their grill last night.  It was very good and we were happy to see them.

 

We ate lunch at Devoted Kiss Cafe where we could sit outside with Gracie, Bob and Sue's elderly dachshund. 

Bob tried out a pup carrier for Gracie, who was not too thrilled with the experience. 

Gig Harbor is a picturesque small community to the west of Seattle.  It has a population of about 7500 and has many cute shops, galleries and restaurants.  We had dinner at a very good Italian restaurant Bob found on Yelp.  Then we went back to the TrailBayser for a fruit salad dessert. 

We will be here two more nights after tonight.

7-17-17

This is the famous Astoria Column. It had its 90th birthday last year.  Curling around the circle are painted images of the history of Astoria.  It is the main feature of the skyline.

This was our view last night from the window of Baked Alaska, a typical Astoria restaurant.  So beautiful!

This morning we drove about fifteen minutes south of Astoria to Seaside, OR.  This typical tourist town reminds me of many beach attractions on both coasts of the United States.  It has salt water taffy stores, ice cream restaurants and a plethora of souvenir shops.  It also has a beautiful, big beach and breathtaking views.

Here are two views of a cloud-covered mountain over the ocean.  

Have you ever heard of sneaker waves, you east-coast readers?  If not, they are large unexpected waves that can take visitors by surprise with sometimes fatal results.  The rules on Oregon beaches are a little different.  You don't turn your back to the ocean and you never stand on driftwood.  Look it up.

Lewis and Clark reached the west coast near here and everywhere you go there are monuments to them and places named after them.  This plaza is overlooking the beach in downtown Seaside.

One fun thing to do here is to rent a paddle boat shaped like a swan.  People ride these in Quatat Park.

A favorite sight here is the huge Adirondack Chair.  People often pose for pictures on it.

We visited a small outlet mall on the way back to the RV Park but didn't find anything we absolutely couldn't do without.

We went shopping for a few groceries and then relaxed in the TrailBayser for a while.  In a little while we'll go out for some dinner.  Tomorrow morning we leave for Gig Harbor, WA.

7-16-17

We are having a great time in Astoria, OR.  We had an easy, relaxed morning with the pups, taking them for a walk and just being lazy. 

We drove to Cannon Beach before lunch, one of our favorite places on the coast.  It is about half an hour south of Astoria.  The scenery is spectacular and includes Haystack Rock, above.  The mountains reach all the way to the coastline, unlike east coast beaches.

We visited the usual art galleries and found a perfect small art piece done with the quilling method.  Quilling is a technique using the winding of thin paper pieces into shapes.  The one I fell in love with is in brown shades wound into circles and tiny bowls.  I know exactly where I want to put it.

We went to lunch and afterward went to Gary's special place, Cannon Beach Bakery where he had a cream horn and I had a chocolate chip cookie.  He was especially happy because the Astoria Bakery is closed for vacation and won't open again until we have left.

This art piece is called Which came first? and is made from chickens and eggs.  So beautifully whimsical. 

We drove back to Astoria and Gary was able to play another 9 holes of golf before stopping for a nap.  After we woke up we went into town for dinner at a cute restaurant on the water called Baked Alaska.  He had his third order of fish and chips since we arrived, but still thinks the food at Bowpicker was the best.  More adventures tomorrow.

July 15, 2017

Yesterday we left Lake Oswego for the refreshing cool weather at the coast.  We arrived at Lewis and Clark Golf and RV Park in Astoria, OR in the early afternoon after an easy drive on the Sunset Highway.  The RV Park is very nice, small with lots of places for dogs to walk and quiet except for many bullfrogs at night.

On the way we passed a place selling glider rides.  People pay for an airplane to drag a glider into the sky to be released and allowed to ride the air currents until it "lands".  NO, THANKS!!

We also passed an amazing new golf driving range with three stories of places from which to practice your shots.  The fence surrounding the place was huge, which is a good thing, as the golfers are aiming directly at the highway.

We drove to Ft. Stevens State Park to see the wreck of The Peter Iredale, a ship that sank off the mouth of the Columbia River in 1906.  Amazingly, no one was killed and the wreck remains today, visited by many.

Ft. Stevens itself, is a much-visited destination.  It was built during the Civil War to protect the Columbia from Southern ships, and is the only place in the U.S. mainland to have been attacked by the Japanese in World War 2.  A submarine fired on it in 1942.

The other important fort here is Ft. Clatsop, which was a base for the Lewis and Clark expedition and was used in 1805-06.

Astoria was named for John Jacob Astor, whose fur company founded the town.  At the juncture of the Columbia River and the Pacific, it is a major seaport and known for great seafood.

The Pilot House is where pilots wait until needed to direct ships across the dangerous Columbia Bar.  This is a particularly treacherous place at the mouth of the river.  Coming into the river is not a problem but leaving the river for the open sea means fighting large waves and shallow narrows which require a pilot's skill. 

Today we had lunch at the famous Bowpickers Fish and Chips, a food cart on an actual land-based boat.  We stood in line for an hour, which is not at all unusual, for the excellent battered tuna and fries.  That is all they serve.  You can get a whole order of 5 pieces for $11 or a half order of 3 pieces for $9.  It is worth the wait and there is hardly anywhere else I can think of that you will hear me say that about.  I am not a patient waiter.

Gary is playing nine holes of golf as I type this.  He hasn't played much golf this summer because of the weather where we have been, but hopes to make up for it this week.