Up the West Coast - Day 10 - 9/2/12 - Astoria, OR to Portland, OR

Astoria Column

Today is the day when I say goodbye to Jeff and all the other riders who are going to bicycle down the west coast from Astoria Oregon to just south of Los Angeles California. Their ride will take three week and it'll be 1,400 miles (2,250km) long. But first I have a few thing to see in Astoria since I'm here.

We had breakfast at the hotel and after that Jeff and the other cyclists unpacked their bikes and put them together. The bikes and the helmets had to be checked by the ABB staff to make sure they are OK and safe to use. Couple of the riders had some problems and had to go to the local bike shop for supplies. Jeff's helmet mirror had broken off the helmet and he had to get a new one.

Unpacking the bikes . . .

. . . and putting them together

After all that stuff was done, Jeff and I headed to the Astoria Column. It is located on top of the Coxcomb Hill and has great views of the Pacific Ocean, Columbia River and the mountains around, if the weather is clear. The Column is 125 ft (38m) tall and has 164 steps. It is also has pictures going up the column depicting the history of the area. It is really worth seeing if you are in the area.

Indian boat on top of the Coxcomb Hill

Astoria and the bridge to Washington state

Astoria

view of one of the smaller rivers

Jeff on top of the column

Columbia River

Columbia River

Astoria

Inside the column

Pictures on the column

Pictures on the column

Views of the mountains

Astoria is like (as Jeff said) a poor man's San Francisco. It is on the hill and has some deep streets and some nice houses but nothing like the real San Francisco, it is also a LOT smaller. Soon we headed towards the coast and went to the Fort Stevens State Park. This is the place where Jeff started his bicycle trip across the country two years ago.

Astoria's hilly streets

Astoria's hilly streets

Astoria's hilly streets

Jeff thinking of his 2010 trip from this beach
across the country to a beach in New Hampshire

A shipwreck on Fort Stevens beach

Fort Stevens beach

a shipwreck on Fort Stevens beach

Before going for lunch we stopped at the hotel and left Joe's and Mark's bags there. They stayed in a different hotel the night before and their bags were still in our rental car. We heard from Barb that Urban Cafe was a good place for lunch so we headed there. But as we were walking closer I noticed that there is a Finnish store across the street. Finn Ware is a really nice store and owned by a Finnish woman. They seemed to have everything in there, and not only Finnish stuff but also things from Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. There seems to be or at least has been a big Scandinavian population in that area, for what ever reason. After lunch we noticed that there were some other Finnish places in town also.

Finn Ware Finnish store

Finnish Hall in Astoria

Used to be a Finnish butcher shop

After we got back to the hotel it was time for me to say goodbye to Jeff and the others. I drove the rental car back to Portland the same way we came and checked in at the Sheraton by the airport. Before getting there I filled the gas tank on the Washington side, just didn't want to go to that iffy looking gas station closest to the airport. I had my dinner at the hotel, felt too lazy to go and find a restaurant anywhere else since it looked like there really was nothing else than hotels around the area.