Finally Some Warm to go with the Beach
As much as we enjoyed Long Beach, it was time to move down the coast and cross into Oregon. Our drive took us over the 6.5 kilometre Astoria-Megler Bridge. It was a new experience for us to be on a bridge for so long. It was nice and warm upon our arrival at Seaside Thousand Trails so we finally got to bust out our shorts and Toms. Then onto our bikes and off to the beach to ride along the waterfront. We tried to checkout the campground pool and the Seaside visitors center but neither were open. No problem, more beach time for Wookie!
Unintentionally Jam Packed Day
We had some errands to run on our third day in Seaside, so why not check out some sights while we’re at it? It snowballed quickly from a couple of fun stops to a whole day of driving and exploring. We grabbed breakfast at Firehouse Grill, which included fresh biscuits and house-made marionberry jam, and then headed south.
The small city of Cannon Beach was made even more interesting covered in fog. We headed down the beach to the main attraction, Haystack Rock. It was magical how the 235 foot rock slowly emerged from the fog as we got close. We explored the tide pools full of sea anemones and watched the waves crash against the rocks. Wookie would pull us close to the water and then we would all run back when the waves came in. We still had lots to do, so we grabbed a dark hot chocolate from ‘The Chocolate Cafe’ and headed north to Astoria.
After a quick veggie burger at Ruby’s Roadside Grill, we popped into Lewis & Clark National Park to acquire an America the Beautiful pass. It was only a short visit to ensure we could make it to the post office before closing. Mail in hand, we figured we still had enough time to check out the Astoria Column. The $5 fee to park was a bit of a surprise, but definitely worth the views. Wookie got to stretch his legs for a bit and then we did too on the 164 step climb up to the top of the column. The spiral staircase took us up and out to a 360 degree view of the Columbia River. We climbed down quite bit faster than up, and didn’t make the connection until too late that a lot of fast circles equals dizziness.
We really did need to get groceries and head back to the trailer but we couldn’t pass up just one more stop first. Astoria has been the set of several movies, including Free Willy. The iconic Willy escape scene was filmed at Hammond Basin. Morgan climbed out onto the jetty and threw his hand in the air as though it was his turn to free Willy. It was so much fun. We watched a cargo ship sail by and then finally decided it was time to get groceries.
