We left the Columbia Gorge and headed north west. On advice of our friends in Astoria, we took the 5 Fwy up into Washington and backtracked into Oregon. Either way, Astoria is isolated out on the northwestern point of the state.
What once was a vibrant port town is now a sleepy, funky area.
This is the most common sight, The Astoria-Megler Bridge. Probably the original bridge to nowhere, it goes across into the Olympic peninsula. Today it gets a lot of use, but probably not enough to justify it’s cost, or the cost of constant upkeep. (notice the white huts – they are repainting there). It is very clear to see why this is now the symbol of the town.
What used to be a bustling port, fisherman and fur trading town is now simply a ‘holding tank’ for the large cargo ships from Asia. These are waiting for an open berth at either Vancouver WA or Portland OR.
The original Hotel Astoria, an eight story Beaux Arts building is one of the tallest buildings on the Oregon coast. Built in 1923, it is a symbol of a busy prosperous town. Another claim to fame is that an antenna on the roof in 1948 is the birthplace of cable television. An ingenious resident figured out how to get reception from Seattle and run a cable to his own home. Of course friends and neighbors wanted in on the invention.
As Astoria declined, the hotel closed and the town declined as well. In 1984, the vacant building went through an adaptive reuse process and reopened as low income apartments
Aside from the bridge, the big landmark in town is the Astoria Column. Vincent Astor, great-grandson of John Jacob Astor (for whom the town is named), in conjunction with the Great Northern Railway commissioned and built this town. Based on Trajan’s column in Rome, this tower commemorates important dates in Oregon history. The nascent Cable TV antenna moved here as well. Inside are 164 spiral stairs, yes I climbed them, despite my fear of heights. The climbing wasn’t bad, the observation deck was a little more difficult for me.
No way would I lean out over the railing like these people did!! It was a very windy day, many people came up with little bolsa wood airplanes and sent them soaring down. Most caught the breezes and gracefully glided down, some quite a distance away. 
The view from the column
Then it was on to Fort Clatsop the final stop for Lewis and Clark on their expedition. One thing I learned there is that Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the son of Sacajawea, led a very interesting life, unlike his mother, who died young after returning from the trail.
We took a lovely walk out to the Netul River Trail
The pilings are the remnants of a busy industrial port that fell into disuse. Today it has been reclaimed by nature and is part of the park. Throughout Astoria you see more old unused piling than any active sea port.
After a lovely dinner, we walked along the pier to watch the sunset.
A beautiful end to a wonderful day.
Leah