We arrived in our next port of call, Astoria, Oregon, to beautiful sunshine. We were parked right behind two Coast Guard cutters, so we felt perfectly safe ?. We had docked the night before around midnight, so we could get up and head out whenever we wanted. Kathleen and I had visited Astoria numerous times since 2022. Once on a big cruise ship and twice with our kids when we rented a summer place nearby, so we decided to skip all the American Cruise Line (ACL) excursions and just do our own thing.
After breakfast (more on the food later) I headed out to finally get in a nice, long walk. And I figured since it was so beautiful outside (especially after how stormy Kalama had been) I would make it a photo walk. And you get the benefit of it.
Astoria has a very nice river walk that runs about three miles along their entire waterfront. I walked that as well as some time downtown, all the while shooting away. Here are the first photos I took on the walk. Don’t forget: if you click the first shot, you can scroll through it using your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
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- A barge being pushed upriver
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- The lighthouse ship Columbia that is now part of the Oregon Maritime Museum.
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- As were two Coast Guard Cutters so we felt very safe.
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- The aft end of our ship.
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- The front of the Columbia
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- This reminded me of a good old fashioned church meeting for gulls.
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- There was a Scandinavian-themed park nearby with seven great trolls.
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- This boat was racing with the big guys.
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- Loved the color combinations on these old piers.
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- Looking across the river to Washington we can see a bridge we have crossed many times.
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- It always amazes me when a 10-story ship passes a 3-story building on shore
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- It just dwarfs them.
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- You know you always wanted to see the butt end of a sea lion. This guy wedged himself in there under an office building and was making a lot of noise.
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- Lots of ships in the river because Astoria allows them wait there are no charge until their dock upriver is open.
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- And these cormorants cracked me up.
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- They seemed to be courting.
A few steps further down the road, this is what I was seeing.
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- The state-connecting bridge that starts way over there in Washington State
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- There is a trolley that runs along the waterfront and when you walk you walk along the tracks
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- A close up of the bridge..
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- And a full bridge shot
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- With hotel.
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- They have a really nice marina as well.
On the way, I ran into a really cool, old railway car. Some of my favorite photos of this walk.
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- I found this incredible old railroad car that was just drop-dead cool.
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- Ferns growing inside.
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- Some great spider work.
Still walking down the river walk as it curved around and went out to a place where I had a great view of a ship repair yard. Ran into a really cute little guy on the way.
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- They have a really nice marina as well.
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- The path I was walking on.
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- I liked the color of this boat.
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- Saw this little guy and was impressed with his energy.
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- The bridge that takes you down to Seaside and Cannon Beach.
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- A panoramic shot of the bridge and the bay.
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- A whole bunch of old piers with a very rusty ship in the background
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- The Merchant Marine Memorial
At the end of my riverfront walk, I decided to take an alternative route back to the ship, passing through downtown. Glad I did because there were some great shots I could take, both funny and photogenic.
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- Does anyone want a credit union?
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- This is the Astoria Tower. We visited it in 2021 with our grandkids. It was very cool. To read more about it and see my photos from the top, choose August 2021 from the date list.
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- Love this sign on an old hotel.
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- In Astoria, Oregon today, I took a photo walk along the waterfront and through their downtown. There are a lot of great old buildings downtown, but I especially loved this old movie house, which is now an arts center with live performances, some movies, and other arts events.
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- I also love the way the downtown area decorates for Halloween.
That just about concludes the day. We had a nice lunch at Fort George Brewery before heading back to the ship to watch my Seattle Mariners dominate the Toronto Blue Jays. What a great day. And dinner was pretty darn good as well.
With Victorian-era homes etched into hills overlooking the Columbia River, the picturesque settlement of Astoria is a port city with Scandinavian flavor. —Travel Oregon Magazine
WHAT !!!! No goonies.