July Road Trip

Sometimes I just feel the need to drive. So, last Friday I packed up the car and headed west to the Coast taking Highway 30 from Portland to Astoria. I'd never taken that route before, and while I enjoyed it, it's longer than taking Highway 26 I think. I stopped briefly in Columbia City to see the Caples House, another of the Oregon Society DAR museums. Further along the way I contemplated taking the Ferry from Westport across the Columbia just because I could, but I didn't want to wait forty-five minutes, so I just stayed on the Oregon side of the river.

In Astoria I went see Fort Clatsop, which is part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. My last trip there was in 1994, and the fort burned a couple years ago necessitating that be rebuilt. It was as I remembered, which was reassuring. I love to visit National Park Service sites.

So, spending the night in Astoria required finding a good place for dinner. Following some signs, I found the Ft. George Brewery. Good beer and good food. It was definitely a good choice. I had the homemade sausage with sauerkraut and fries, complemented with a pint of Divinity.

Saturday
morning I crossed the Columbia and hiked to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. It was cold, foggy and misting rain. Typical coastal weather, but it was a nice mile hike. Then it was back to the car, where I worked my way inland to Bremerton where I caught the ferry to Seattle.

Seattle is a great place to visit, and to all my friends and family there, I didn't call because the trip was very last minute with a very loose itinerary. I only spent a couple hours in town. Just long enough to visit the new (opened earlier this year) Hard Rock Cafe. I like to visit them, have a snack and buy a guitar pin. I have now been to the HRC's in Las Vegas, Louisville, Baltimore, Washington DC, Gatlinburg and Seattle.

It was a good trip, and nice to get away for a little while.