(Sorry this is delayed but the internet connection at last night's Best Western left much to be desired)
We started the morning with a delicious breakfast at the Columbian Cafe (which seemed to be run less by Columbians and more by Hippies than you'd think).
It started out rainy but cleared up as the morning went along, so we walked around town a bit and then visited the Columbia Maritime Museum and learned how mean the Columbia River is. "Graveyard of the Pacific" and all.
We headed up to the Astoria Column next, which involved climbing 162 steps to the top. Once we were up there and caught our breath, we enjoyed some views of Astoria and the surrounding area. Luckily it had mostly cleared up at that point.
Then we hit the road and grabbed lunch in Cannon Beach before hiking the Clatsop Loop Trail in Ecola State Park. After a bit of a hike, we ended up at the overlook, about which Meriwether Lewis said "I beheld the grandest and most pleasing prospect which my eyes ever surveyed".
Regarding the "bit of a hike" thing...we got to the base of the trail, at which point I noticed it was a bit uphill so I asked Katy if it was going to be uphill much. She starts reading from the guidebook "The Clatsop Loop Trail is a steep, 2 1/2 mile trail...". Twenty minutes later I discovered that the guidebook is prone to understatement. Imagine a ladder up a water tower. THAT's how steep we're talking.
(Chris is a huge whiner. - Katy)
Anyways, after a more enjoyable hike (downhill) back to the car, we headed off to the luxurious Best Western in Tillamook. You may laugh at "luxurious", but they were out of normal rooms with king beds, so they upgraded us free to a King Suite, which basically involves a couch, a 3-foot "wall", and two TVs that I could literally touch at the same time.
The dinner options in Tillamook left something to be desired (where something = a lot), so we drove a bit to Oceanside and had a nice dinner overlooking the beach at Roseanna's.
You can see more of our photos here.
Leave a comment