20 days in North America: Cannon Beach & Astoria

The last part of our North America safari was a couple of days at the Oregon Coast.  We stayed two nights in Cannon Beach and spent a whole day in Astoria.  Be prepared for a 'foto fest'!

The view from our hotel balcony.

We went for a walk along the beach and met this guy.

The famous Haystack Rock

 The view from the front door of our hotel room.

Keith drove us to Astoria stopping on the way at Fort Clapton.

Then to Astoria Column with its 165 steps.  And yes, I climbed to the top!

Worth it for the view - even if it was a bit grey and hazy!

The spiral staircase

 

In Astoria itself there was this tram car chugging up and down.

Astoria has a Maritime Museum - so guess where we went!  Yep - round the museum.  However in one part there were these computer screens.  The images reminded me of textiles.

After lunch we visited the Flavel House.

Back at Cannon Beach later in the evening, Roger and I walked along the beach.  There were several people with campfires.

 Next morning Roger went for a stroll.

On our way home we went to a viewpoint to see along the coastline.

We had the most amazing time while we were away.  We went to so many places and saw so many things.  We visited our good friends and laughed and laughed.  Even with so much time away I was reluctant to come home.

Coming up: normal service is resumed.  A blog post on something creative!

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

20 days in North America: Portland

It was an extremely hot day in Portland - the type of weather unknown for June!   We took the MAX into Downtown and walked to the Chinese Gardens.

The view from the Teahouse where we had lunch.  The gardens were an amazing oasis in the midst of the city.

We walked alongside the river which is crossed by 12 bridges.  The centre of this one lifts up and down to let boats through.

Roger wanted to visit the Oregon Maritime Museum which was on this paddle tugboat.  The Portland is the last steam-powered, sternwheel tugboat to be built in the United States.

We walked back into the Downtown area and visited the Wells Fargo museum which was really interesting.

Next up: the last post - the Oregon Coast

Thanks for stopping by
Bernice

20 days in North America: Oregon

Wednesday started in Washington State and ended in Oregon.  And it was all about rivers, lakes and mountains.

We stopped off for lunch at Toppenish whose claim to fame is its murals.

This amused me

We had lunch at a Cantina.  The owner spoke very little English and we don't speak Spanish.  So it was mostly pointing at the pictures and seeing what turmed up.  It was delicious and only cost $5 per plate each.  The best value meal we had on the whole trip!

We carried on through Washington State.

We crossed over the Columbia River into Oregon and stayed at The Dalles which also had murals.

We continued the next day driving along the Columbia River Gorge.  We stopped at Rowena Crest for this view.

We drove away from the river towards Mount Hood.

And back to the river ar Cascade Locks.

The locks are no longer necessary so the edge of the lock has become a fishing pier.

The Bridge of the Gods

We stopped to visit the Bonneville dam.  We arrived just in time for a free conducted tour.

We tried to go to the Multnomah Falls but couldn't find a parking space.  I took this from the car window!

However we did manage to park at the Bridal Veil Falls.

The last part of the journey took us to Crown Point and Vista House.

Our road trip was at an end when we returned the hire car at Portland Airport where we were picked up by our wonderful friends Keith & Valerie.

Next Up: Portland and after that the Oregon coast.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice