Magnificent Maritime Museum

The town of Astoria has a cool observation column/tower, they have cool vintage architecture to explore, great places to eat, a little historical trolley ride that's cheap! AND a fabulous museum called the Columbia Maritime Museum. They don't allow you to take photos in there, or you would have seen why it's so terrific and why you need to go see it if you are in the area. (Some of their pieces are on loan from other collections and so photos are not allowed.) I was frustrated, but I behaved and did not take photos, although my camera phone called out to me in my pocket. "Use me, use me!"

This is a well designed, well thought out, interactive museum of the nautical history of the area. An excellent movie about the river starts your educational journey about the Columbia River. There are fantastic full scale model ships on display, there are excellent and interesting quality videos running about the Coast Guard, the rescue training in Oregon, steamboat history exhibits, a special exhibit about Viet Nam, (we missed that corridor, darn it!) a full scale model of a famous lifeboat series (the boat was self-bailable and self-righting), and you can listen to real recorded rescues on the coast. There are wonderful exhibits about Astoria being the #1 salmon cannery in the world with photo documentaries about how the cannery workers felt about their jobs.

"Nobody minded the smell. It smelled like money to us. When the canneries were working, it smelled like we were really prosperous, so I'm sorry they are not here any more, really." Frankye Thompson, cannery worker---

out "on deck" of the museum grounds

As usual, we learned lots of really interesting things. Did you know the word "nausea" comes from the Greek word for ship? If I hadn't accidentally deleted all my phone notes from the visit today to the museum, I could tell you what that Greek word was! (nafat?) Phooey!

The Columbia River,  as it empties into the Pacific Ocean, is a swift moving, large volume of water passing through a narrow channel, carrying tons of silt and sand which are making constantly shifting and changing sand bars. Right where it empties into the Pacific Ocean, it meets the ocean with all the fury Mother Nature can muster. The two bodies of water collide with a vengeance. This is one of the country's most hazardous water areas, and it takes TWO types of pilots--river pilots and bar pilots- to navigate freighters through the river and what's called the "Columbia Bar"--a zone of about seven miles from the river channel to a buoy in the sea. The bar pilot's job is EXTREMELY hazardous. We asked one of the volunteers what a bar pilot's job pay was, but nobody wanted to say or they honestly didn't know. I'll bet it's a LOT! And they deserve it after seeing the pounding, 40 foot waves batter freighters around like bathtub toys! The lifeboat in one of the galleries that was used for many years of service was very interesting to read about. This boat was tumbled end over end in the waves and would still right itself and come to the rescue! There are outstanding schools in the area for rescue training and they are right here in Oregon.

There was a terrific exhibit about tattoos--the history, video recordings of sailors talking about getting tattoos during the war, videos about famous tattoo shops, videos of how tattoos are done in the islands, in the U.S. back in the day and how they are done now. In the islands, nails were attached to the ends of sticks and then the design was tapped or pounded into the skin with another stick. Some people think the word "tattoo" has origins in the tapping sound of the tools used to make them. Some cultures used CHISELS to make their tattoos, then rubbed pigments into the wounds to dye the tattoo. Ee-e-e-ow!  Modern day tattoo electric machines use multiple needles that pierce the skin 80 times a minute. (Oooooh, that hurts no matter what way you do it!) We learned what certain types of tattoos signified in the early days...like an anchor which signifies the obvious--"holding fast during storms" and many more interesting ones. We learned that sailors were VERY superstitious. Many of the tattoo symbols were to "protect" them from harm.  Great exhibit, and I think I am no longer interested in EVER getting a tiny little tattoo...(You REALLY weren't thinking about getting one, right? You'd better not!)  Guess who that was?!

After the tour inside, your 10.00 admission ticket gets you onto a lightship, the Columbia. You've heard of a lighthouse? Well, this is a lightship. I'm not sure how a ship manned and outfitted like a little city is more stable or less dangerous than a secure, cliff built lighthouse, but there used to be lightships in service on the coast. I guess these were used to serve where a major aide to navigation was needed, but maybe conditions for construction of a lighthouse were impractical.  The lightship marked the entrance of an important river like the Columbia. It would remain anchored in one place, in this case five miles out to sea. The Columbia stored more than 12 tons of food, 13,000 gallons of fresh water, and 47,000 gallons of fuel on board. Thirty foot waves were common during winter storms and even the most experience seamen got seasick. The ship bobbed like a cork instead of rolling with the waves...uh, excuse me for a minute, I think I need to visit the ladies room...I don't feel so good! You get to walk around the ship, see the living quarters and talk to a retired Coast Guard guy if you have questions, like how much does a bar pilot make a year?

I googled river pilot for the area and the annual average salary was stated as over $200,000, so I'm assuming bar pilots make more. When you see them trying to board the freighters in the pounding waves, you can see boarding and exiting the ships they are going to be navigating through the river bar is the most dangerous part of their job. Maybe lifeguard on the Pacific coast sounds better at this point. (Eldy wants to know, hey, Sparky, did you see where Santa Monica, CA coast lifeguards make over $100,000-200,000 a year?) Yes, I did, honey....There's a lot more to that story..paramedic skills, etc. etc. But boy, do they have a retirement package! But hey, I digress...So many things to read about and learn about...fascinating history in this area, and the maritime museum is one cool way to learn about it. We HIGHLY recommend this museum to all. (Hm-m-m-m, maybe we should start a rating system for this stuff....) (Sparky, time to get off line and let people read other blogs and stuff!) ....I must have had one too many Cokes today.......Sorry! See you later.....

A Short Hike to Hug Point

Any short hike is a great hike, even if it is just a walk down the steps to the beach and an amazing viewpoint right around the corner. Hug Point is a cliff formation that "hugs" the beach. You go exploring it when the tide is out, otherwise you might get trapped on the cliffs. THAT sounds adventuresome! (Now, Sparky, you get plenty of adventure, don't be getting any crazy ideas, says E.) There are several sea caves there and a little waterfall. It's so beautiful, weddings take place on the beach and the photo opportunities are fabulous for couples photos, or family photos.

All we had to do is walk down the steps to the beach and head around the corner. We got to climb part of the cliffs, and see some fishermen catching crab. I have to say it irks me to see someone smoking out in God's world in the heart of nature when we have to smell the smoke, too! We didn't stay long because of that and moved on....but not before the guy had caught a crab. Not sure if he was actually fishing for a crab with the pole and all, but that's what he caught while we were there.

It was a day for children to kick up their heels, too...this little guy below was running around in his birthday suit. Wish I had a longer zoom, (NOT to photograph HIM,  but just to get a better photo of him running away from his grandparents to go and explore the caves.) He's so tiny, and the caves are so huge in comparison, I loved it that I caught him in the view. And maybe that's a good thing that I didn't have a bigger zoom so to better show the contrast between him and the cliffs.  (I got permission to take his photo.) I love that when he gets to the entrance of the cave, he stands and looks in awe at the size of it.

Then, another little guy hoofing it through the wet sand, trotting along to catch something in the sand....

And this little  explorer is having fun....

And this big guy seems to be having fun....

There was a couple getting married on the beach today...they're GONNA have fun. After the wedding  they went walking through the water as the waves came in...hard on the dress, but it makes for great photos!

It was an easy hike today...but well worth it! The waterfalls and sea caves are around the corner of this big cliff you see when you first go down to the beach. You can climb easily onto the cliff at the base and see some starfish and tons of anemones as you go exploring around the sides of the cliff.

Hug Point is a must see when you are in the area...about six or seven miles south of Cannon Beach, just a little wayside with a BIG view! Be sure to check the tide charts before going....

A Little Bit of New Orleans in Seaside

When you start exploring a town, you never know what place or jive hot spot you might encounter..Actually, I found a little newspaper in the laundry room that had a list of community activities going on in Seaside and the surrounding area. The magic words for me are "swing", "jazz", "blues", or "70's rock". The paper said there was music down at a restaurant called L'il Bayou in downtown Seaside. It's a "taste of Louisiana" in the town of Seaside. Cozy, intimate atmosphere...neat decor...beads, cool art/music prints on the walls, low lights. We sat in the Magnolia Lounge and listened to the group for a couple of hours. Very cool!

The New Orleans atmosphere was enhanced with the "Swing Cats" playing swing and jazz music at the restaurant. They were a GREAT band--there were two guitar players, a bass player, a drummer, a guy on the clarinet, a sax player, AND a terrific violinist. They played GREAT dinner music while we sat and kibbitzed with the lady behind the bar. She told us that the violinist, a stellar player who really shined in the performance tonight, was grateful for the Portland, Oregon school system, as he learned to play violin in the local schools on rented equipment. Hear, hear! for the school art and music programs that are barely hanging on these days due to budget cuts. I am so grateful for my mom and dad who pushed me to play both piano and flute for quite a few years. Even though I didn't seem to enjoy it at the time, I learned so much about classical music and concert band music through my school training and home lessons. I really developed an appreciation for all kinds of music through that exposure.

Boy, have instruments changed since my school days...check out the bass in this group. Skinny! Both of them! Loved the newsboy caps and hats these guys had, too.

There was a little girl there who really got into the music as most small children do. I love their exuberance and natural rhythm. She bounced and bounced to the music and was enthralled at what she heard. I don't think she was much over two. I hope she keeps that love for music with her all her life.

L'il Bayou is having live music on Thursday nights and Sunday nights for quite awhile. Looks like we will be back on Thursday night for "blues" night. This time we'll try out the food and support the restaurant for providing FREE entertainment--no cover charge! L'il Bayou serves New Orleans and cajun style food along with more traditional dishes as well. I'll have to leave a nice review on Yelp for them, we really liked their place.

We like to explore local restaurants when we travel. Chains are everywhere, but unique restaurants like this are gems waiting to be discovered. We're glad we found this one.....Thanks to Matt and Karen Goodrich for providing such a cool place, L'il Bayou in the small town of Seaside!

Sand Soccer at Seaside

Say that ten times really fast! Too bad it wasn't a sunny day or I could have said "Sunny Sand Soccer at Seaside."  It was cloudy but at least it didn't rain today. There were soccer fields set up yesterday on the beach, so we figured something might be going on either yesterday or today. While riding our bikes down by the Promenade (the boardwalk), we saw a LOT of action going on today and stopped to watch.
Lots of teams playing, and a wide variety of ages participating. The bright colorful jerseys--hot orange, chartreuse, pink made up for the grey day.

Great fun, it looked like. The kids were really enjoying themselves and playing hard. Some played barefoot, others played in those water socks. The fields were very short so the game went quickly. They even had a father/son or daughter match going on! I'll bet some of those dads are going to be VERY sore tomorrow. It made me think back to my soccer days. I started playing late in life, at the age of 32 and played adult soccer for a couple of years. Sprained both my ankles numerous times but never at the same time. But, I loved it and when my girls showed an interest, they played, too, for quite a few years.

Here's sand in your eye, kid! A different kind of hazard in playing sand soccer, that's for sure, besides the usual shin kicks, twisted up feet in the melee, and other possible injuries involving bare feet.....

And here is some more action in the sand...these kids were playing their hearts out...

There is always a story and as a budding photographer, I look for the story when I see an event like this. The beautiful black dog (black lab?) was at attention for a good 20 minutes staring at a flying disc at his owner's feet. It was like he was pointing for the disc. The minute the owner was going to pick up the disc, the dog was going to be ready. But because his owner was watching the soccer game, he wasn't in the mood to throw the disc for awhile. That dog stayed at attention for all that time until the game was over. Then the fun began. You could tell he was an experienced disc catcher! He looked really happy to be chasing his yellow rubber disc....

Kids celebrated their wins in different ways...some did the jump for joy....

Some went down into the water to cool off....BR-R-R-R-R! I believe the water is only in the fifties right now?

There were the usual congratulatory photo opps with proud parents and coaches....

There were other things going on at the beach besides the starring soccer feature....ALWAYS the opportunity for kite flying at the beach....I'm envious of this boy's kite, it's so pretty!

It's great to stumble upon local things in your travels, you can't always find out ahead of time what's going on in a small town so we were glad we saw this. We'll see what more we can stumble upon in the next few days or maybe something more planned, who knows? Only Eldo knows.....(well, actually, Sparky is the event planner usually, but Sparky doesn't plan too far ahead so even she doesn't know at the moment).....See you later!

Building Castles in the Sand

Who doesn't love building sand castles in the sand? Cannon Beach had its 47th annual sand contest this year and it was fun, even if it did rain steadily all morning! The rain didn't dampen the spirits of the crowd who poured out of town to come down to the beach for the chance to see the sand sculptures. They let you drive your car right down to the beach and give you a couple of hours before you have to get off the beach as the next tide starts creeping in. There were over 100 cars parked on the beach today to view the contest. We parked somewhat near Haystack Rock and walked a little ways to view the sand artistry.

The contest starts as soon as the morning high tide is out and ends when the next tide comes in.  The projects are judged on the final sculpture AND on the enthusiasm and teamwork shown. The contestants get a 20' X 20' plot to sculpt, and they can't add any sand or take any away.

One of my favorites was "Ecola Rocks"! A reference to Ecola State Park, I assume. Love the guitar and the strings! (You have to use natural materials that you find on your plot to decorate your sculpture.) Nice job, guys and gals! Some of the sculptures were a mystery to us as to why they were chosen, but I'm sure they had a special meaning to others or were references to pop culture that we aren't familiar with....

The rain didn't let up, so it was difficult to take photos--I had to keep wiping my camera lens dry and hiding it inside my jacket, then I whipped it out to try and get a photo before the rain and mist hit the lens. Some of the sculptures were quite elaborate, and some were quite simple....but it was great to be out and about on Cannon Beach on a rainy day and see all the support the locals give this event. And while the tide was out, I took a quick look around the base rocks at Haystack Rock to see what sea life was in the low tide pools...not as much visible today as the other day, but still cool!  We really enjoyed it! Cannon Beach is a cool beach and a cool town to explore. I'm sure we will go back again while we are staying in the area.  See you tomorrow!

A Campfire, Finally!

It's been about six months since we've been able to have a campfire...for many reasons...while we were in Arizona, we couldn't have one at the park we were at, we couldn't have one in Texas as the winds were too strong, sometimes the sites were too close, and other places we were at were motorcoach resorts and they usually don't let you have fires. With many parts of the country being so dry and fire danger high, we didn't mind the parks telling us we couldn't have a fire. Some of parks we stayed in said yes, but it had to be propane fueled. A propane fueled campfire? Yuck! I'm a purist...it's gotta be genuine firewood to be a campfire so we waited and we waited.

Here at Seaside, you can have a fire as long as it's off the ground. We have a portable  fire pit with a dome screen top and have been waiting for the right time to use it, so out it came! It's pretty nifty..(boy, am I showing my age with THAT expression!) It has foldable legs on it and a carrying case, so it's pretty compact. We bought it several months ago because SPARKY had to have a fire but hasn't been able to. (They don't call me Sparky for nothing! It's not just my feisty personality, I have a thing for fires! Campfires, that is!) We've been carrying around firewood in our car for such an occasion, so it was time to get that really dry wood out and have a fire. Yay! A lot of times campfire wood is IFFY in lots of places--too green, not dry enough, bad wood, period. Eldo has wanted to get that firewood out of the car and burn it!

Well, it's also been a long time since I've built one..I usually build 'em, and Eldy tends them because I mess with them too much. Up, down, up, down, out of my chair to poke, prod and push around the logs, usually dumping the fire on itself and almost causing it to go out. Then Eldy does his thing with the fire poker and brings it back to life. But this time I used a LOT of kindling to get it started, as you can see. Can you also see the bemused expression on Eldy's face at how much kindling I used? And not a drop of lighter fluid! I use little fire starters like waxed toilet paper holders with shredded paper in them, or little dixie cups with shredded stuff in them coated with parafin wax or other commercial little firestarter blocks. I can really get a fire going, as you can see!

Well, of course it's going to slow down eventually...we were worried that the park "police" were going to come and tell us our fire was out of control, but nobody showed up. Whew! And here's our fire later in the evening...not too shabby, Sparky!

Did we have s'mores? Naw, didn't have any marshmallows, chocolate or graham crackers, darn it! We're not really big on them anyway. We can't seem to keep chocolate around long enough to get the rest of the ingredients together all at the same time. (Sparky, have you seen the Hershey bars anywhere?) Uh, nope! Sorry, honey, don't know where those Hershey bars went to!  A nice night for a fire, we hope to have a few more while we are here.

A shout-out to our newest followers, Mike and Pat McFall, (Mike and Pat's Travels), who are the Pressure Pro tire sales people and have been on the road for about 16 years, I think. I had a booth next to them when I was selling Tastefully Simple at Nick's rally this year. Nice folks and great blog! We also have connected with a young couple, Duncan and Jessica, who look like they are in their early thirties, at their blog, Traveling on the Outskirts, who are going out on the road full timing EARLY!  Good for them! It's fun to have new followers and for us to find new blogs to read, too! We're headed to Cannon Beach tomorrow for a sandcastle building contest, but we're not in it. It's supposed to rain cats and dogs, too, so should be interesting. See you at the beach!

Sitting Pretty at Seaside, Oregon

We're at the Thousand Trails membership Seaside park here at Seaside, Oregon, for two weeks at the very low cost of three dollars a day. This great rate is figured in the cost of the 199.00 zone membership for the northwest coast that we purchased back in December at the RV show in Fort Meyers. It was a heckuva deal at the time. Normally, Thousand Trails memberships for zones (northwest, southwest, etc.) in the U.S. run $499.00 at the time of purchase. You get 30 days of "free" camping, then 3.00 a day thereafter, a max of 14 days in the park system, then one week out before you can go back into a membership park. For Thousand Trails, you have to make reservations in advance, you can't just drive into a park. So we're doing a little more advance planning than we are accustomed to lately. (Eldo likes to "wing it"!) Me, the nervous Nellie ("What if we get there and we can't get in? But it's going to be Father's Day weekend!") likes the organization of knowing that we've got a place and we don't have to scramble to find something as we are going further down the road than we intended, and one or both of us are getting stressed and crabby. (ME? Crabby? Never! says Eldo.) Says E..... ;-)

We really like this park. The sites are spacious and we picked 30 amp service with cable, sewer and water over 50 amp service, sewer and water with NO cable. They have pickleball courts, although they were just resurfaced and the lines need to be painted on them. The manager said they are supposed to paint the lines Friday. Woo-hoo! Maybe we'll get to play! But the manager also told us the contractor has taken three years to get the pickleball courts done. THREE YEARS!!?? That's ridiculous!  (Don't hold your breath, Sparky, says E.) Oh, well, I can definitely ride my bike for about three or four miles around the perimeter of the park on residential streets so I'm happy about that. And you can, too, Eldy!  (R-I-I-I-G-H-T!)

Astoria-Megler Bridge

This is a great location for branching off for day trips...Cannon Beach is 8 miles away to the south of us. There are state parks, Lewis and Clark historical sites, and the town of Astoria to explore. Astoria is the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies and has some great things to see there.  I love cool bridges and Astoria has the longest truss span in America at the Astoria-Megler Bridge. It also has a mural decorated cement observation tower  that Sparky just HAS to see.

Seaside is where Lewis and Clark's expedition ended at the Pacific Ocean.

In the town of Seaside, there is a little aquarium where seals do all kinds of antics and routines to get you to feed them. There is a family fun park in the middle of town with a big carousel and lots of fun stuff for the kids or grandkids. There are the usual cute shops, boutiques and neat little restaurants. Seaside is where Lewis and Clark ended their journey as I mentioned and a statue marks the spot at the ocean's edge in town. We drove to the trail end just to see the "Turnaround" where people come in with their cars, check out the statue as they drive around and go back out, so we did just that.

This would have been a cool place to cruise in the day...but it looks pretty new....There's a "Muscle and Chrome" show this week in honor of all the gear heads and dads who like old cars. We checked that out today and here are some of the cool cars we saw...several were ones Eldy either had in his youth or WISHED he had!

And of course, Cannon Beach is also a well known destination for its great shops, boutiques, eating spots, and its famous trademark, Haystack Rock. We saw it from afar today, but we'll plan on getting closer and checking out the tide pools soon.  Beautiful weather today...The rainy days are becoming less and less and the sunshine is starting to kick in. Temperatures are in the sixties and creeping upwards a bit. Great weather!

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach