Columbia River Maritime Museum

A trip to Astoria would not be complete, without an educational trip to the Columbia River Maritime Museum. This first-class, highly interactive museum shares the story of the Columbia River, including Oregon’s rich history with the fish industry.

The entrance to the museum is filled with cool photo opportunities, such as giant anchors and propellors.

Basic admission was a bargain at only fourteen dollars for adults ( children 6-17 are only five dollars). We had the option, which we declined, to add a 3-D film for five dollars. Also notable, the Columbia River Maritime Museum is a designated “Blue Star Museum,” which offers free admission to active military members and their families.

Admission includes the opportunity to board the Lightship Columbia, a decommissioned vessel that was a former floating lighthouse. We arrived when the museum first opened and we were advised to tour the Lightship Columbia first, as it gets very busy. This was great advice, as we pretty much had the vessel to ourselves.

We were met by a cheerful volunteer, who introduced us to the Lightship Columbia, before allowing us to explore on our own. We were allowed to walk around a majority of the vessel, including the crew quarters. It’s hard to imagine spending weeks at a time in cramped spaces with terrible weather tossing the boat around. I felt seasick just thinking about it!

A U.S. Coast Guard Vessel was parked across from the Lightship Columbia. It was heavily guarded!

Dan took this great picture of ships out in the Columbia River.

The Columbia River Maritime Museum is massive. I absolutely love museums and could have spent all day here. I’m one of those people who likes to read everything. However, my husband is not as much of a museum person. We both compromised and did a speedy, yet thorough tour of the museum.

One of the first things we encountered was this amazing map of the known shipwrecks in the Columbia River. The Columbia is a very treacherous stretch of water.

Among the most memorable exhibits included a section on Oregon during World War Two. There was a very moving exhibit regarding the Obon Society. The Obon Society is non-profit humanitarian organization that is headquartered in Astoria. During WW2, many American soldiers took Japanese flags home as souvenirs. These flags were carried by Japanese soldiers as a token of good-luck, signed with well-wishes from family and friends before the soldiers headed off to war. The Obon Society is collecting flags from American soldiers and trying to return the flags to the families in Japan. The museum had several flags on display that the Obon Society has not been able to trace to a Japanese soldier. These are active cases and if the Obon Society can discover the owner of the flag, it will be mailed to Japan. I was very moved by the mission of the Obon Society and the act of helping families heal that spans both cultural barriers and many generations.

In no particular order, here are some pictures from the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

When I was a kid, my mom loved nautical themed prints. We had one nearly identical to the picture below hanging in my living room.

They were not my aesthetic at all. When my mom died, I dumped what I called our “Shit Pictures.”

We spent about two hours at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, but we could have easily spent double the amount of time. It is really first class with exhibits that will educate both children and adults.

No museum visit would be complete without a stop to the gift shop.

Dan was convinced that I needed this spiffy hat!

But I really wanted the octopus!

We managed to escape the gift shop with zero purchases: a museum miracle!

Astoria Road Trip: June 2019

In June, Dan and I took a one-night road trip from Portland to Astoria. We had visited Astoria in the past, primarily so that I could see the filming locations for my favorite childhood movie, The Goonies. You can check out that blog trip report here.

We embarked on this trip with a hotel booked, but with no specific touring plans for Astoria. We just wanted to explore the town and check out the things that we had missed on our previous visit.

We set out on a Friday evening, as soon as Dan was finished with work. Unfortunately, it was during rush-hour, so progress getting out of the city was slow. Astoria is in Oregon, but our route had us cross over to Washington state, where we stopped for Dairy Queen Blizzards. This was Dan’s first visit to a Dairy Queen! For bonus points, it was located in a small town with signs displaying the mascots of the local high school teams. Even though we live in a smaller town currently, I’m still very much a city-girl and I get a kick out of small town life.

Most of our drive was during the waning daylight. We drove across a huge bridge that took us back into Oregon state. We also stopped at a scenic point for sunset snaps.

Our hotel was the Hampton Inn Astoria, located right on the water.

We have been primarily staying at Hilton properties to build up Hilton Honors Points and we’ve become very aware of the various Hilton brands. This Hampton Inn was a little older and grander than the average Hampton Inn. I don’t know for sure, but my gut tells me that this was not originally a Hampton Inn.

My favorite aspect of this hotel was the sea lions warning sign at the check-in desk.

I was disappointed when we didn’t get a room facing the water. Normally, I’m not too fussed about views, but I would have loved to have seen the sea lions. I wanted them to sing the song of their people to me! To be fair, they were noisy when we walked outside. Very noisy. I didn’t realize it until we checked-out of the hotel, but we were actually given a room that faced the Walsh house from The Goonies. It was dark when we arrived, so I never noticed it, but I should have been geeking-out!

Our hotel was just a short walk, over train tracks and along a pier, to the Rogue Public House, where we ate dinner.

The Rouge Public House is an Oregon staple. Their beer, which is delicious, is sold everywhere in Oregon. The restaurant itself was dead for a Friday night. We were among only a handful of patrons and it was empty when we left. Still full on Blizzards, we stuck with a bowl of clam chowder each and shared smothered fries. The fries were amazing and the portion was enormous; enough for six people. What the Rogue Public House lacked in atmosphere, it more than made up for with delicious nibbles, cold beer, and attentive service.

Hampton Inn’s have decent breakfast buffets, but in efforts to enjoy Astoria, we skipped the hotel breakfast and left early to hit the town.

Our first stop was the Astoria Column. Located on the top of a hill, the Astoria Column is a tower, which you can climb a narrow, spiral staircase to be rewarded with amazing views of the city. This historic landmark was built in 1926 and is 126 feet tall. The exterior is decorated with a mural that depicts key moments in Oregon’s history.

Views from the top!

Access to the Astoria Column is free, but there is a five dollar parking fee, which actually gives you parking access for an entire year. Make sure to visit the gift shop before you walk up the column, to purchase a small wooden glider to launch off the tower. Ask for tips to make your plane glide further than those of your friends and family. My husband sneakily got the inside scoop and his glider really traveled!

Downtown Astoria is quaint. It is filled with antique and specialty stores. It also has the oldest and smallest JC Penney’s that I’ve ever seen!

For breakfast, we landed at the Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe. It was jammed and based on its popularity, we decided to give it a try. Oh my goodness, it was delicious. I had an enormous breakfast burrito that I am still craving. If we lived in Astoria, we would be regulars. Great food and an utterly charming ambiance.

Keep an eye out for my next Astoria post, all about our afternoon spent at Astoria’s Columbia River Maritime Museum.

Portland's International Rose Test Garden

Last week, I had the joy of visiting Portland’s International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park. Although we lived in Portland for a year and have visited many times since, the International Rose Test Garden was a place that I not seen. It did not come without some effort.

I took the Max train from downtown to Washington Park. The Max is a convenient and inexpensive way to tour the Portland metro area. The trip took less than fifteen minutes each way and only cost five dollars round trip. A bargain!

I arrived at 7:30 in the morning. The garden opened at sunrise, so I was actually not early. However, as the garden is two miles from the Max station, I had been counting on taking a free shuttle that stops at the major sites of Washington Park. Other attractions in Washington Park include: the zoo, arboretum, children’s museum, a war monument, a forestry museum, and a Japanese garden. These is a lot to see! I had failed to check the operating times for the shuttle and learned that it didn’t start running until 8:30.

I was not going to stand around until 8:30, so I started walking.

My walk took me through winding roads and hiking trails. I was alone for most of it, including the wooded areas. It was both peaceful and unsettling. These was no one around! I saw about fifty wild rabbits and an enormous water cistern covered in graffiti. I crossed train tracks and bridges. I applauded my sensible decision to wear athletic shoes, rather than sandals. I’m not a morning person and this was quite an early morning adventure!

I also got super sweaty and decided that it was a good idea to take a selfie in the woods. At this moment, as I’m writing this post, I’m thinking that it is sensible to share this photo with my readers. I will probably regret this. I’m a hot mess.

Shortly before reaching the Rose Garden, I encountered The Elephant House, which is now a picnic area made out of the elephant barn from the original zoo. The Elephant House has delightful animal art.

About forty minutes after beginning my walk, I reached the International Rose Test Garden. Entrance to the gardens is free and it was jammed with visitors. A fascinating fact about the garden, is it was founded during WW1, because people were worried that varieties of roses in Europe would be destroyed in the bombings. Rose afficianados sent roses from Europe to be cultivated and preserved in Portland.

The garden is amazing and magical. It was just like stepping into the pages of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. I’m fairly certain that I visited at the very best time of the year, as all of the rose bushes were in full bloom. I was there just a week after Portland’s annual Rose Festival, which includes a parade and fair in downtown. The vibrant colors and sweet fragrance overwhelmed my senses. I was in awe at the spectacle. I had no idea that there were so many varieties of roses. Simply stunning.

Every year, a queen is chosen for the Rose Festival. The garden has a “Queens Walk” which features paving stones, each with the name of a former rose queen and the year that she reigned. It’s a lovely tribute to a Portland tradition.

The garden also has a modern geometric sculpture with a water feature.Kids were splashing in the water. The entrance to the garden has a bronze statue of a man that is named The Royal Rosarian. It was created by artist Bill Bane.

Portland usually has wet and gloomy weather, however the summers are glorious. This particular day was on track to beat heat records. I love extremely hot weather, but I was melting. To refresh myself, I purchased a bottle of Fentimans’ Rose Lemonade at the garden gift shop. It was the yummiest lemonade that I have ever tasted.

I spent about an hour in the garden. If you want to maximize your time and see another amazing garden, you can also do the Japanese Gardens, which are located just feet from the International Rose Test Garden. The Japanese Gardens do have an entrance fee, but it is absolutely stunning and worth paying to experience. Check out my trip report from the Japanese Gardens here.

Luckily, by the time I was ready to leave, the shuttle was running. Two miles is not a long walk, but with the heat, I didn’t want to do it twice!