OK this is the rest of our trip to the coast
After we saw the second light house we headed out over that bridge in the distance that leads over to Astoria
Look at that beautiful old stone work on the bridge
More coastal shots along the way
Some of the coast was foggy out over the ocean, but made for a pretty picture
We stopped a few times along the way
We love the bridge that leads from Astoria to Washington so bare with me as I share too many pictures of it hehehe!
We get to Astoria you can see the old docks in the distance
Good picture of Jack below
After roaming around the docks we decided to take the bridge over to Washington and back
Shot from Washington side below about a guy I did not know of, but later saw a model of his ship
Robert Gray
When we came back we decided to see what else there was to see in Astoria
We found The Columbia River Maritime Museum
And the place was great you could easily spend days there. But we started with walking the dock in front
Saw a National Geographic ship tied at the dock- Totally COOL!
The Columbia in the background was the Coast Guard ship we went on
On the ship
Wheel House- through the door
Down below deck
Crews quarters
Jack looking at what seems to be where the officers bunk
Ship's anchor
That was the ship.
Next the museum- wish I could share with you the movie we saw on the history of Astoria- I had mentioned the docks crumbling and what they would have looked like and Jack told me that they were canneries and a major hub for fishing and logging industry
And I so wanted to see the old pictures and feel the times. Well ask and ye shall receive the movie was the best part of the museum but alas is something I cannot share here but if you would like to see some old Astoria pictures and history check out
http://homepage.mac.com/cearl/trolley/ahistory.html
http://www.astoria-usa.com/history.shtml
In the Museum there was an entire wall of lost ships
And because the river meets the open ocean it is a rough go crossing over at that meeting point the movie we watched talked about only a handful of men are able to pilot a ship over the bar safely. Some use a helicopter but most transfer to a moving ship via boat and ladder (see link below) I was also surprised to find in hunting up a link that as deadly as this job is (getting on and off the ships) the pay is only 180,000 a year.
http://www.northwestmagazines.com/oregon_coast_crossing_the_bar.php
Pictures out the window to the river
Just a few pictures I took of the massive displays in the place
This one I just could not get to take very well but loved it
This was part of a ship wreck
I tried to get Jack and me both in the mirror, I failed :(
So took one more to get me
Next ones are model ships I took mostly for Jack since he forget to bring his camera
And two views of Robert Gray's ship the Columbia
Columbia Rediviva
A model of the sloop Columbia Rediviva
of Boston. Under the command of Captain Robert Gray, it was the first
ship to sail the Columbia River (in 1792), and Gray is credited to have
discovered and named the Columbia River.
The ship was named after St. Columb, a patron saint of Ireland. NASA's ill-fated space shuttle Columbia was named after this ship.
Letter from Lincoln to Astoria
And a real Cost Guard rescue boat that came here to retire
We had a wonderful trip and I would absolutely recommend if you can go, do so. More pix to come :)
