Astoria, Oregon

 Sunday, April 28, 2024

Initially I was excited to see that this cruise would be visiting Astoria, Oregon because I had such special memories of our previous visit there in 2017. On that day we (Bob and I and our friends, Kent & Laurel) had rented a car and driven down the coast to Cannon Beach and Ecola State Park. The jagged Oregon coastline was so beautiful!

But this time we would be docking on a Sunday and the only car rental agency in town was closed on the weekends. 😕 I checked into using Turo for a rental, but no cars were available even remotely close. That meant we needed to come up with a new plan.

Astoria has a trolley that runs between the cruise ship dock and the downtown area but from what I had found online, its regular schedule hadn't started yet for the summer season so that option was crossed off my list. (But we found out otherwise later...) And we found out at the last minute that an all day shuttle to the downtown was available for $15 a person but by then we had made other plans.

With so much onboard credit I decided maybe booking a ship tour would be a smart move for Astoria. There weren't too many options so we chose to do a four-hour bus tour. The Zaandam docked in Astoria at 10:00 am and since our tour didn't begin until 1:00 pm that was plenty of time for Bob and Jon to do a little exploring on their own in the morning. I was thankful that Michelle and I could hang out together while the guys did their own thing.

Blogger Bob's report...

Jon and I had just enough time to jump off the ship and do a guys walk-a-bout before the scheduled tour. Again, as in the past, we had no set agenda, just explore. We began by following the boardwalk along the coast. This follows the back side of many of the local business establishments along part of the main downtown road. Its a few miles long and has lots of interesting things to see along the way. 

We first stopped at an interesting hotel that I think used to be a cannery. We stepped inside and looked around and caught a view of the waterfront. There's also an interesting old boat that sits outside the hotel along hundreds of old pier posts. 

Our next stop was a memorial to many of folks in the area that had lost their lives. Then it was onto a long bridge that runs over the bay. The foundation was loaded with sea birds. We continued along the path, much of which is a wooden boardwalk, until we had to jut out to the main road to find a restroom. To our luck we came out at the city visitor center. We found relief and spent some cash for souvenirs and had a lovely visit with a gal who gave us a great tip on where to have a quick meal. (Like we really needed that!). 

Our journey took us to a local seafood shack that was right on the waters edge. We split a clam lunch and Jon picked up some more souvenirs. At this point I made the call to start our way back. 

We opted to return through downtown which was just 2 blocks over. We saw many of the shops in Astoria and many of the local characters as well. There were many interesting older buildings which had unique architectural qualities that we stopped to admire on the way back.

I remember seeing the time and thinking, "Are we gonna get back in time?". I suggested we take the trolley back which follows the boardwalk much of the time. We walked over just as it pulled up. We hopped on and for a buck each we had a blast hearing the local history as we made our way back to the ship with two trolley engineers dressed in the part.

We arrived back just in time to find the ladies waiting for our tour. This was a great way to see things up close that we wouldn't see on the bus outing. I got the impression this is a sleepy little community that thrives on tourism and took a big hit when Covid came along. Astoria seems to be trying hard to bring things back and really utilizing its history and cultural amenities to the fullest.

Back to Mary...

Michelle and I had lunch together and then met Bob and Jon on shore where our tour was to begin. Here is a description of our tour (except we visited the museum first.)

Travel a short distance from the pier to the Astoria Column. Built in 1926, this 125-foot tall concrete-and-steel structure features a cast-iron 164-step staircase that leads to an observation deck. If you decide to climb to the top, you'll be rewarded with majestic views of Astoria, the Pacific Ocean, and the snow-capped volcanoes of the Cascade Range.

Head towards Lewis & Clark National Historic Park for a tour of Fort Clatsop. Here, you'll take a step back in time to the cold and wet winter of 1805. The structure here is a replica of the seven-room fort built by members of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Named after the friendly local Native American tribe, Fort Clatsop was the explorers' home for three months. Rangers and re-enactors are on hand to answer any questions. 

The Columbia River Maritime Museum, located on Astoria's historic waterfront, features one of the most extensive collections of nautical artifacts on the West Coast, including the lightship Columbia . Lightships served as floating lighthouses, providing a beacon for ships at sea when a beam from a traditional coastal lighthouse was insufficient. Return to the ship via a scenic drive through Astoria -- established as a fur trading post in 1811 and the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies. Today, Astoria boasts Victorian- and Queen Anne-style homes and churches.

On the way to the Maritime Museum, we drove through residential neighborhoods and the guide pointed out some of the historic homes, with many that had beautiful azaleas and other spring flowers in bloom. We saw the house used in the movie, Goonies, but it was on the opposite side of the bus so no photo. 

Admission to the Maritime Museum was included in our tour cost and we were free to browse for about an hour. 

This boat set the record for the longest successful solo non-stop rowing across the Pacific Ocean.
It took Jacob Adoram 356 days to row from the state of Washington to Australia in 2019.

The lightship, Columbia. 
Lightships served as floating lighthouses, providing a beacon for ships at sea when a beam from a traditional coastal lighthouse was insufficient.

The 125-foot high Astoria Column was located at the top of a hill overlooking the city. The column was built in 1926 and is covered with artwork depicting the history of the area. Bob and a couple of other folks from the tour climbed the 164 steps to the top. The rest of us browsed through the gift shop and enjoyed the "almost as good" panoramic view of Astoria and the Columbia River.

Bob at the top of the Astoria Column.

The 4-mile long Astoria-Megler Bridge connects Astoria, Oregon to Point Ellice, Washington.

Fort Clatsop was a short distance outside of Astoria. A volunteer guide took over our group as we got off the bus and we took a short path through the woods to where the fort was located. Afterwards we had time to walk some other trails (which Bob and Jon did) or browse through the visitor center gift shop (which Michelle and I did!)

Sitka Spruce Tree

Fort Clatsop

Stringing back to back cruises together is a great way to get a longer cruise and often at a better price. Our 11-day cruise was actually a 7-day followed by a 4-day but it was ALSO sold by Holland America as a "collector's cruise" for the full eleven days. But even though we purchased the trip as a single cruise, we found that now that the second part of the cruise was beginning the food and entertainment were being repeated. The scheduled show on the Main Stage was once again the dance show, Humanity. 

None of us cared to sit through the performance again so we skipped it. BUT...that turned out to be a bonus for us! Around 8:15 Bob, Jon and I had gone out on the aft pool deck to look at a beautiful sunset.

The cows didn't seem to mind that there were waves on the pool!

 As we were standing there we noticed a helicopter flying right towards the ship. Our first thought was that perhaps there was going to be a medical evacuation. But then I remembered reading that because the currents are so strong in the Columbia River, the ship pilots often use helicopters to come and go from the ships entering the harbor. That's what it was!

Lowering the line to hoist the pilot off the ship.

We watched as the helicopter hovered over the front of the ship. Bob and Jon ran up a deck and were able to see the pilot being hoisted up to the helicopter.  It happened so quickly that if we hadn't been outside we would have never known it happened! 

Up he goes!

Waving goodbye!

What an interesting way to commute to work! 😉