Astoria has an interesting hill overlooking the town and the Columbia River. There is a tower that Bonny and I climbed (164 steps) and the view is amazing. I will stop with the words but here are the pictures. Click on them to see full size.
October 7th marks our 14th anniversary.
Bonny and I feel very fortunate for our families and many friends both in Southern California, Redding and all across this wonderful country. We also spent time reminiscing about past adventures and travels and planning more of the same to come!
Thank you all for enriching our lives! Really, thank YOU.
We enjoyed a wonderful evening and dinner at the Bridgewater Bistro here in Astoria, Oregon. We had wonderful seafood dinners and attacked a bottle of matured grape juice from Roderer. The combination and location were just great. We would really recommend this restaurant if you ever get up this far into Oregon. Here is there web site:
Some pictures follow and as usual you can see them enlarged with a simple mouse click! Anniversary Dinner
I woke up this morning completely surrounded by fog. It was delightful sitting up front watching the sun rise and the fog lift on the beautiful golf course that we have called home for a few days. I have always said that one of the best things about retirement is “sleeping until I’m through”.
Today is our anniversary….14 years. We have had a lot of fun and I can honestly say, still, that I have never once been bored!!! I would gladly sign up for another 14……that should put us into our mid 80’s.
Yesterday we visited the beach communities of Seaside and Cannon Beach. (Pictures are here – just click) They are typical beach towns and very different from Astoria just a few miles to the North.
Astoria is built on a hillside near where the Columbia River meets the sea. Most of homes are Victorian and some are 200 years old. At one time the population was as high as 100,000 with a thriving logging, shipping, and canning industry. At that time the town was build on wooden piles over the water. A huge fire in the 1920’s destroyed the city as it swept under and burnt the support the city was built. Today the population is 10,000, however, Doug and I spotted a Costco which tells us a lot about the surrounding community.
We arrived in Astoria, Oregon last evening and found our RV site on a beautiful golf course. Getting here was a challenge. Our GPS choose to route our 40 ft motorhome with our Jeep attached (63 feet total) up a steep hill then onto a narrow residential street which was a dead end! This necessitated unhooking the Jeep and blocking the street while we made a tight multi-point u-turn. Bonny was a great spotter! All went well! But check out the sign on our GPS “approved” route!
We plan to stay a few days here it is so lovely.
Bonny will add her thoughts.
October 3, 2014 Columbia Gorge
We started with brunch at Multnomah Restaurant. It is a beautiful lodge like structure with a huge fireplace that always seems to be well fed. We ate in the room next door that is a sun room with a steep glass roof. We seem to find beauty everywhere we look….a beautiful cloudless day, a bit windy with white caps seen on the Columbia River. The Multnomha Falls are the 2 nd highest year round water falls in the US. Doug and I walked up to the 1st of 11 switchbacks. Since we had planed a bike ride, we decided that was high enough.
Oregon provides many miles of bike riding trails for its citizens and we only got a very small taste. Today we did a trail that is dedicated to bikes and runs from Dobson to Cascade Locks. It is 8 miles long. As beautiful as it is, it follows the freeway and is noisy. We started from both ends and would recommend beginning at Cascade. It is away from the freeway and is dominated by tree covered tunnels………it is like riding your bike into Heaven.
On our way out, we stopped at an outdoor market for fresh fish ( or folks selling fish out of coolers in a parking lot). It is very interesting that the Indians in the area have no restrictions on fishing and can use nets as well. The smoked salmon didn’t last very long, yum.
Tomorrow, Astoria.
October 2, 2014
Mt. Hood, Cascade Locks, and Columbia River Gorge
We drove to Mt. Hood for a pleasant morning at Timberline Lodge. After visiting the mountain, we ended up spending quite a while at a small town called Cascades Locks, population 1000. We met the mayor who was mowing the lawn at the park and is also the paddle boat captin. There was a very small beautiful island called Thunder Island that we explored. We did make it to the Multnomah falls, but late. We watched the sun set at Vista House on the Historical Route 30. We are going back tomorrow via Route 14 from Vancouver over the Bridge of the Gods and have brunch at the falls.
October1, 2014
Portland, Oregon
Bonny and I arrived in Portland and met her long time nursing school friend, Maggie. We attended the Oregon Symphony that evening in one of the most beautiful music venues we have ever seen.
Then next day we had a personal Portland tour by Maggie
The following day we did a self guided tour of the Japanese Garden and the Western Forest just on the edge of the city. We had a beautiful day and a wonderful experience. Portland is an attractive city with a lovely, lively downtown and much to see.
October 1, 2014
Portland
September 30, 2014
Portland
September 30, 2014
Leaving Eugene for Portland
Hi everyone,
To be continued……….We are anxiously waiting for news from Andy & Lindsay about Dylan’s new brother or sister : )
September 27,2014
Enroute to Eugene
Hi everyone,
Doug and I are on I-5 headed towards Eugene, Or. We have spent the last 4 days in the Rogue Valley State Park. After a day of rain, the skies are beautiful and most everything is refreshingly green. I think we both needed a few days to just chill. We rode our bikes, visited my friend from nursing school, Linda Hanson, saw a couple of movies, cozied up and read, and I refamiliarized my self with the coach. I also took a tour of the kitchens and packing facility at Harry & David’s. I learned that they are the major employer for the city of Medford. I have always loved their products and like them even better now.
September 26, 2014
Doug and Bonny on the Road
This will serve as our photo gallery and our memory/scrap book of our new RV adventures. We are camped on the edge of the Rogue River in Oregon as I write this just before sunrise on September 26, 2014. This has been a lovely 4 day stay – complete with a day of RAIN. I had almost forgot what rain was until I was awakened by the sound on the RV roof. Bonny of course want to WALK in the rain – like a little kid. Of course we got wet but what the heck – we are retired!!
Stay tuned
