Cheryl: Yesterday we said a salty goodbye to the ocean at Long Beach and turned our rig toward Fort Stevens, not too far from Astoria. And speaking of Astoria, we made a return trip there on Friday to see the Flavel (Flah-Vell) House, a striking Queen Anne in downtown Astoria and the new Film Museum next door in the old city jail.
Capt. Flavel became the first offical river pilot at the mouth of the Columbia River shortly after falling in love with Astoria and deciding to make it his home. He came to Astoria by way of a ship around the “horn,” and we wondered who takes over for the captain when he decides to jump ship and stay in Oregon. River pilots traditionally are hired to board vessels not their own to take them through treacherous waters, and the mouth of the Columbia where that mighty river meets the ocean has been dubbed “the graveyard of the Pacific.” I think the area around Cape Hatteras has that distinction on the Atlantic. We learned about “crossing the bar” and of course remembered the poem by Tennyson. A build up of sand and debris at the confluence of a river where it empties into the ocean creates a bar and the force of the two waters colliding causes treacherous sailing conditions. A river pilot trains rigorously on all aspects of “his” river and knows its “underbelly” like the proverbial “back of his hand.” This is not an occupation for the timid, shall we say! In his later years, Flavel became a successful businessman and then moved into politics in Astoria. The house he built for his family reflects his wealth in it’s hardwood floors, handsome woodwork, and indoor plumbing. It’s a spacious home any of us would find comfortable even today. The film museum highlights the hundreds of films made in the area in and around Astoria and for some reason focused in particular on the Goonies film, which we’ve never seen. Basically, the tiny museum isn’t worth the $4 admission, but we did buy a list of all the movies dating back to the 30s!
When we returned from Astoria, we found Long Beach in the midst of a 50s style cruise down the main drag! It looked like Sturgis with hot rods instead of motorcycles! Really! Frank took lots of pictures as we wandered around downtown watching the “parade” of “old cars on steroids.” By the time we dropped into bed on Friday night, dreamland arrived quickly. I almost forgot to mention that on both Friday and Saturday we noticed “bunches” of people with their folding chairs, hot coffee, and snacks set up at intervals along the highway to watch the hot rods go by! Some people actually sat in the same spot watching all day long! I’m not sure they even took “potty breaks!” It made me think of that phrase from an old tune, “a hot time in the old town tonight!”
Saturday we drove and drove and drove down narrow beach town streets crowded with people, people, people. Our quest for “smashed penny” machines for Frank’s grandchildren’s collection took us places we’d never dreamed of going! We zinged through Cannon Beach avoiding the crowds, but long enough to understand why people rave about the place, it’s lovely. We hunted down one machine at Pirate’s Cove grocery and another at the Picnic Basket store. The one in Seaside took us to the aquarium right in the middle of all the action beachfront and center where kites flew and children swung on swings out on the beach. We ate lunch at a fancy place and had a terrific view of people passing by on the “boardwalk” and gathered on a large cement “pier” outside the window. The big U.S. flag hung at half-mast in remembrance of 9-11 and the patriotic colors of the flying kites seemed a fine tribute to those whose lives were cut short that day. I’m glad we got to see that after parking the rig and walking 10 blocks to get there!
We had a sort of “frantic” search for an RV Park for the night since we don’t have Internet coverage in the truck this time. (Frank: We WILL next year!) Fortunately, Capt’n Frank magically saw a sign for Shorewood RV Park just outside Tillamuck. Wow! What a great place to stay! As Frank would comment, “Sometimes you win!” We have a lovely spot within a few steps of the ocean beach with no dune grass to trudge through! A lovely spot with Adirondack chairs sits by the sea wall where I watched the sun go splash, sizzle into the ocean last night! What a light show with the afterglow lighting up the wet sand on the beach like an iridescent painting of cream, silver, and rose, so, so otherworldly! “I’m lovin’ it,” to steal a phrase from MacDonald’s. And thinking of food, my sweet husband just clanked a skillet on the stove, so I think breakfast soon will appear.
Frank: The cars! Oh my, the cars! They were everywhere, not just in Long Beach but also in the surrounding small towns. Gorgeous street rods and hot rods (is there a difference in the two?) all over the place. Thank goodness for digital cameras as I shot about a ba-zillion photos. I’ll post ten or so.
Fort Stevens was neat. It was built during the Civil War to protect the shipping at the mouth of the Columbia River but was finished and commissioned the day after Lee surrendered. None the less it was an active protector of the river’s mouth all the way through WW2. The gun emplacements and powder storage rooms are massive. I’ll post a couple of those photos also.
Shiver me timbers, Matey, that’s all she wrote for today.
Love from Capt’n Jack, Tinker Bell, Long John Silver, and the parrot
