The Oregon Coast, Part II

Back in May I went to the Oregon Coast with Kevin and his sister and brother-in-law. We mainly stayed in the Central Coast area and ventured a little further north to Cannon Beach, OR. This past weekend my Mom was in town and we started our weekend at Cannon Beach as well. This time we spent a lot more time shopping (I got a great photograph of the coast for cheap) and a little time walking on the beach while it gently rained on us. Of course the star attraction at Cannon Beach is Haystack Rock, a 235 feet tall monolith and marine garden. If this rock formation looks familiar even though you haven't been there, then you must have seen "The Goonies." This beach, and big rock, was the site of the final scene of the movie, the one where the pirate ship comes out of the cave. This was my Mom's first trip to see the Pacific Ocean so it was pretty exciting to show her the beach.

After spending most of the day in Cannon Beach we drove north on Highway 101 to Astoria, Oregon. We visited Fort Clatsop, the camping location of the Lewis & Clark party during the winter of 1805-1806. Unfortunately, the park had a fire in the main attraction, the replica of the fort that the party stayed in. Needless to say, we didn't get to see much there but did manage to take a nature walk and tour the museum. On Sunday, we visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum, the Flavel House, and the Astoria Column. These are the three main attractions in Astoria, the first permanent settlement west of the Mississippi. In typical Astoria fashion, it rained most of our stay here but decided to clear up just in time for us to catch the great views of the Columbia River, the town of Astoria and the Pacific Ocean from the Column atop the highest hill in Astoria.

I had a great weekend with my Mom and got to see some new places in Oregon. I hope to get to see more of Washington too.