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.