Anniversary Trip

Bill & I rarely treat ourselves, but we celebrated our anniversary this last weekend in Astoria at one of our favorite hotels, The Cannery Pier. The hotel is built near the site of an old fish cannery, and all the rooms face the Columbia River. It is located next to the Astoria bridge that goes across the river into Washington.
We arrived rather late due to a detour we had to take to avoid flooded roads on the coast. The hotel manager didn't want us to starve, so she brought up these smoked salmon and cheese treats!

She knew it was our anniversary so she had a bottle of champagne waiting for us which we traded out for a bottle of sparkling cider :-).

This was the view from our window and deck.

We watched several large barges and ships go out over the bar and come back in. The Columbia River Bar is one of the most trecherous bars in this part of the world! Many have lost their lives there.

Crossing the bridge into Washington...

We didn't expect such lovely weather as we explored Cape Disappointment and the beach.

The sand was charcoal colored due to the amount of granite in it. The camp host told us that it is washed up from a deep trench just off the coast.

The beach was also loaded with drift wood. It was a fascinating place to explore!

A close up of the lighthouse at the north end...

Bill found a wonderful float (not to mention other odds and ends :-).

Many ships have wrecked on the Columbia River Bar. This one has been here for about 15 years.

I wish I could take this one home with me :-).

One end of the beach is called Waikiki Beach. Unlike the rest of the Pacific coastline, there are no undertows so this beach gets a lot of traffic in the summer.

There was another light house at the south end of the beach.

I got a few snaps of this little fellow in the campground. He was busy eating something interesting.

Look at those teeth! A "tame" coon bit me one time and I can tell you that it is no fun!

Licorice Fern on the trail to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center...

This bunker at Fort Canby was used during WWII. I learned many new things about Lewis and Clark at the interpretive center. I have a much greater appreciation for their efforts and skills as they explored this area.

We took a side road and saw a little wildlife. This was all I could capture of this China Pheasant before he disappeared!
This middle bull had a pretty nice rack!

Who can resist a little baby calf?

This heron made some pretty stunning reflections.
He was eating a tiny little fish.

The logs and rocks on the water were a work of art during the late afternoon hours.

This second year bald eagle was one of the largest I had ever seen.

This juvenile eagle was much younger.
This mature bald eagle was posing right on the side of the road in a pasture!

This was either a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk or a juvenile coopers. I believe it was a juvenile sharp- shinned because its streaks were coarser. It was "posing" on the side of the road as well

:-).

We saw some more cow elk on the way to Willapa Bay, and the light was quite nice. The whole weekend was a very nice break for us. Now we are ready to tackle whatever comes next :-).