Astoria
Ok, so there are just TOO MANY photos to post, so I made a couple slideshows-

Part 1


And Part 2


There are some AWESOME shots that are in these slideshows that are not in this post, so if you have time, check em out.

Then yesterday me and Hunter watched Xena and played Paradise Burnout. It was truly a day of rest, and I bloody needed it. I did a grand total of NOTHING and it was well deserved I think.

The night before the trip, I got 3 1/2 hours of sleep, and was SO TIRED when we were on the launch boat that I actually fell asleep. I was afraid I was going to get seasick, but I fell asleep like a fucking baby. It was great.

I now know that I love being on boats, and I was kind of heartbroken to have to leave Astoria.

It's an exquisitely beautiful town, and though horribly economically depressed, still manages to be wonderful and quirky. All the buildings were really old and all the paint was chipping and flaking. There were cracks in everything, and the cool, gloomy, grey mist that enveloped the whole town put me in a fantastic mood. I was bouncing around like a little kid half the time, and passed out asleep the other half.

Rindy, my coworker and guide, pointed out to me all the "Goonies" sights (the house, the jail, etc) and we ate Lemon Merangue Pie ice cream and the BEST goddamned squid I've ever had at this fish and chips place called "The Ship Inn".

We had gotten there just in time to see "The World", a floating condominium whose cabins go for a million bucks a pop passing by.
They were going to drop anchor to go to the Scandinavian Festival in the ailing township, but it was gloomy as hell, with rain-spittle and gusty wind all day, so I imagine most of the passengers just stayed on and played shuffleboard.

We ended up going all the way out to overlook the ocean, but by then my camera was out of batteries, tragically.
You'll just have to believe me when I tell you that it was really fukcking pretty.

In the 1800s they stacked up these HUGE boulders on the coast (South Jetty) so that the soil and sand would not erode into the channel and make it more difficult for boats to come in.
It's absolutely AMAZING there- like 15ft high of stacked rocks and if you climb to the top of them it's just ocean- that's all you can see. But if you're down on the ground all you can see is this endless rock wall. It's totally incredible.


Here's some of my favorite highlights for those of you who can't be bothered with a slideshow

The route from Portland



From Astoria to the tipppy tip of Oregon, looking out at the Pacific.














Officer Ron Wisecup, who took us on a tour of the Port of Longview



Wind Turbine Nose Cone at the Port of Longview



Potash Hopper in Longview



The Port Star




In Astoria, The "Triumph 2" Launch boat we got to ride



Approaching the Big Sky



Rindy, me, Pepper the 11 year old eyeless dog, Bucky (Pepper's person) the pilot, and Jim, my coworker



Pepper, asleep in the cabin. He had just these flat patches where his eyes once were.
He was a real trooper, and a real sweetie



Astoria Bridge.
Astoria is actually the oldest Settlement on the Pacific Coast,
way older than San Fran, Seattle, or Portland



Bucky at the helm



The color on my phone wigged out because the background is the Big Sky,
which was all red and threw off the color balance.
But I like it
It makes me look Borg.



The World in Astoria



Foss Dispatch Pilot boat, the Arrow 2



Keeping the Arrow 2 Secure



A copy of my book that I found of a shelf at Foss in Astoria, lol.
Made me feel mighty important



This was NOT taken by me, but it's a view of the last place we visited,
the South Jetty Observation Point.
It was TOTALLY aweosme.
I even brought back some driftwood for my dad.



Sent to me by Foss in Astoria.
Me, Jim and Rindy, all looking absurdly goofy.