Astoria
The weather forecast for Cannon Beach wasn't very encouraging, so we drove north to Astoria. Astoria was the first city settled on the Oregon Coast because of its importance for shipping.
It sits at the mouth of the Columbia River and is separated from Washington by a 4-mile long bridge. Many of the early city leaders were ship captains or related to the shipping industry.
Our first stop was Astoria Column, which sits on a hill overlooking the Columbia River. The history of Astoria is told in a series of art panels that encircle the column like a giant ribbon. It was a beautiful day with a few scattered clouds. One of the traditions here is to purchase a small, balsam-wood glider at the gift shop, climb a spiral staircase with 164 steps to the top of the column, and fly the glider off the balcony.
Astoria's Victorian Homes
Astoria is known for its concentration of Victorian homes from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Many were owned by ship captains, seafood shippers, and others related to trade. We drove the walking route that loops around the most famous Victorian houses, but we went at a very leisurely pace. We often parked and then checked out several homes in one area.
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George Washington Sanborn Home
George Washington Sanborn was a salmon packer in the early days of Astoria. While we were photographing from across the street, one of the current owners came out and asked if we wanted to come in and see the house. This was one of the coolest Victorian homes we'd seen, so we jumped at the chance to see the inside. The very friendly owner, Michael, gave us a private tour of the home he shared with his partner. It was beautiful.
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Astoria-Megler Bridge
One of my planned photo locations for Astoria was to shoot the Astoria-Megler Bridge. I had a couple of possibilities, but with no clouds or color in the sky, nothing seemed to work. We looked around for about an hour, but had no luck. On our final try, I missed the ramp to take us back south and got on the bridge ramp to Washington. We drove across the 4-mile bridge, turned around at a scenic view of the Columbia River, and drove back to Cannon Beach. That ensured that we will drive every mile of the Oregon Coast on this trip. On our way home, we will stay on Highway 101 to the California border.
Silver Point
The sun set just as we were driving through Cannon Beach, so we stopped at Silver Point to shoot the afterglow looking back toward Haystack Rock.
Today was a good day.
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