Seaside and Astoria

We decided to head out early this morning and splurge on breakfast out, so we made our way into Seaside and found the Pig N Pancake restaurant. ENORMOUS breakfasts for a pretty good price. The highlight was either Jim's kielbasa breakfast, a huge skillet of kielbasa, eggs and gravy, or my sourdough pancakes, which were delish! Stuffed from breakfast, we walked around the shopping area. The hot rods are still here, so there are lots of people around, and most of the stores were open by 10 a.m., even though it's Sunday. There were so many fun stores, like the candy store that sold all things bacon. Chocolate covered bacon, bacon truffles, chocolate-covered twinkies with bacon, and even bacon soda. We had to try a few of these delicacies. The bacon soda was fairly nasty, while the chocolate covered twinkie with bacon was ok. We skipped the truffle.

Breakfast

Pig N Pancake

Sunny Smile

Someone took one of me!

It actually says "pop" on the bill for soda.

There were also some really great stores featuring local artists. Kate was making notes on project ideas when she gets home. We are also brainstorming for the next great idea of things we could make and sell. Skirts and dresses made from recycled t-shirts is in the lead, but the chandeliers out of silverware is a close second.

Who wants some Bacon Soda?

Huge selection of glass-bottled sodas.

mmmmmm... bug barf.

Collage necklaces

Painted sliverware chandelier

Love these valances.

Kate is going to make one!

"Stained glass" How cool!!!

Redskins football in Oregona, at 11 a.m.

The next stop was the arcade, the largest on the Oregon coast! according to their sign. It's a pretty clever setup. There is a pizza place attached to the arcade, complete with 15 TVs playing all the football games. So we sat and watched the Redskins, while the kids played games. It was fairly reasonable, as $10 kept them occupied for a good hour, much to our surprise. Not a bad way to kill sometime on a somewhat rainy day at the beach. Oh yes, I forgot to mention the weather. We really can't complain, since we've had great weather for most of the trip, but this part of Oregon is living up to its wet reputation. It was blustery and damp all day, with this light misty rain and pretty stiff wind. It's actually kind of pretty and seems to fit, for some reason. We did have some clear times, and the rain was never heavy enough to get us wet. Just misty. Lots of mist.

By mid-afternoon, the kids' had spent their arcade money and traded in their tickets for trinkets, so we headed north to Astoria. Can you name that movie? Actually, there were several movies made in Astoria, but we were most interested in The Goonies... One-Eyed Willy and his treasure! ARGH!!! Turns out, Kindergarten Cop, Free Willy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and several others were filmed here.

We rolled into town about 2:30, a little later than we had planned. There was a Sunday Market (these markets are really popular in Oregon), but it was winding down. We did do a quick walkthrough and loved what we saw. We also stopped at the Astoria Hemp Shop and had a long chat with the proprietor while the kids played with his two dogs. We are missing our two, so it's nice to get a little dog fix when we can. It's amazing how dog friendly the area is. Everyone seems to take their dogs with them everywhere, and almost every store we went into had a dog or two there.

So the Hemp guy told us all about how great Astoria is, and that he and his wife live full-time in their 40-foot motorhome that they traveled in for a few years before settling down in Astoria. He does a great job of selling the town. The population is about 10,000, but it's got a downtown of a city of more like 100,000. Great restaurants and almost all locally-owned mom-n-pop businesses. No Walmarts or Targets. They have a JCPenneys and Sears, right in downtown, that looks just they did 50 years ago, and that's nearly it for franchises or chains. But the stores are like something you would find in Portland or Seattle. Trendy shops, great local art scene, a Michelin 3-star restaurant (the only one on the coast, and it's Bosnian, of all cuisines!) Anyway, this guy should work for the chamber, because he could have had us moving here in another 15 minutes.

We checked out some of the shops that were still opened and had some award-winning Astoria Chowder, and Charlie's Chowder and Coffee House. Another thing we have noticed about Oregon. Something like 50% of the businesses end in "and Coffee House". Seriously! Chowder and Coffee House. Real Estate and Coffee House. Book Store and Coffee House. Daycare and Coffee House (ok, not really that one.) But damn, these people like their coffee.

Waiting for our Astoria Chowder.

Just cute decor

Conner being a smart ass,
standing under the
No Minors sign.

  

Warmed up with chowder and a latte, we headed up to the Astoria Column, http://www.astoriacolumn.org/. This column, or tower, is perched on the highest spot in Astoria. We climbed up 164 steps to get to the top. Ouch. The views were amazing, even on such a stormy day. We could see Washington, and the ocean, as well as several tanker ships in the river and all of Astoria. Very cool. It was also EXTREMELY windy and cold up there, so we didn't stay too long. Back down the 164 stairs, with a quick stop for Kate to drop her Kerrie Smith "This is Not a Journal" journal down a few stories (after checking to make sure noone was below.)

The Astoria Column

The whole thing is decorated with this
elaborate art depicting the history of the area.

So cccccold.

Astoria and the Columbia River

The coast

Astoria and Washington, barely.

So many stairs

Silly children.

One more stop at the nicest Good Will I've ever seen, we made it back home and prompty fell asleep. After some naps, dinner, and Pictionary, it's time for bed. One more day here, then we start making our way south along the coast. I wish we could do this for another 6 month.. or ever.

Game time

:-)