On The Road Again

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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Day 2 - Oregon Coast

Started the day with breakfast at McMenamins and then headed north to Fort Stevens. Built near the end of the American Civil War, it was to guard the mouth of the Columbia River. Not much to see there other than empty gun mounts. We took a short drive out the Jetty Road and then headed to Astoria.

Once in Astoria we took the bridge across the Columbia to Washington. At this point the river is quite wide and the bridge, which is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America, totals just over 4 miles. On the Oregon side there is clearance of nearly 200 feet for ships traveling upriver to the Port of Portland.

Our first stop was Fort Columbia. Finished in 1904, it was to guard the Columbia like Fort Stevens across the river. This fort has many of the old buildings and is well worth a visit. Then it was off to The Depot in Seaview, Washington, which we were told had the best ever clam chowder. Well, it may have the very best clam chowder, but not today. Closed.

So it was back to Astoria. Many times we have driven past the Columbia River Maritime Museum, but not this time. If you are in Astoria and you like ships do not pass this place up. Great exhibits. Great videos. Great history of the river.

We stopped at a little place in downtown Astoria for a bowl of B- clam chowder and then headed back to Gearhart and the hotel. As a Cosmic Tripster we have happy hour prices on beer for one year, so we sat out on the deck overlooking the golf course and took advantage. While there we spied our neighbors finishing a round of golf and they soon joined us.

We finished the day by splitting a burger. All in all a nice day. Too bad we have to go home tomorrow.

Fort Stevens
Fort Coloumbia
Posted from my iPad 2 Air

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