Yesterday, we celebrated by taking a day trip to Astoria and the Columbia Bar (not THAT kind of bar).

After leaving home, we picked up coffee at Albina Press, the coffeehouse that originally made me a convert to really good coffee. Yum.

We then drove around the NW corner of Oregon to Astoria. It’s a beautiful drive.

Purple Cow Toys
1380 Commercial St, Astoria, OR 97103, (503) 325-2996

The first thing we did was pop into Purple Cow Toys and buy a gift — a bathtub-safe tea set — for P and A. Oh, and playing cards for us since we left all 300 sets of cards at home.

Commordore Hotel Astoria
258 48th St, Astoria, OR 97103, (503) 325-4747
www.commodoreastoria.com

Then, we walked around for a bit and found a hotel which was renovated by a friend of a friend. Check out the website. It’s cool. The lobby is cool. We’re going to come back, stay overnight, and become cool.

We’re going to buy some chairs like this for when we grow old…eh…older.

Lunch at Clemente’s Restaurant
1198 Commercial Street, Astoria, OR 97103, (503) 325-1067
www.clementesrestaurant.com

Then, it was onto a fabulous but affordable restaurant, Clemente’s.

The place settings and decor are well done.

The food and drink menus are yummy but not filling.

Nearby is the Elliot Hotel. We hear that they have wonderful beds but what about everything else? Odd ad:

Ok, back to the restaurant. Clemente’s moved from where we last saw them two years ago. The old space was a bit rustic and worn. The new space is stellar.

See the ‘hidden’ booths?

I always try to match my attire to the artwork of my favorite venues.

She’s why I’m writing.

A personal indulgence. This reminds me of family reunions on Hood Canal. More on that another time.

We couldn’t choose entries for ourselves so we ordered family-style….

Oysters on the Half Shell
Freshly harvested Willapa Oysters served on the half shell with traditional cocktail sauce and lemon

The fried food here uses rice oil. It doesn’t taste fried…at all. It’s amazing.

Nori Fries
Natural French fries tossed with fresh garlic and dusted with Nori

Prosciutto Salad
Natural prosciutto, fresh melon, and rogue river blue cheese served on local summer greens with cracked pepper vinaigrette

Fish and Chips
All fish is fresh and wild then lightly battered and flash fried in rice oil. Rice oil contains no trans or saturated fats and no cholesterol. All of our waste oil is used for bio-fuel.
Halibut…..

Walk along the Astoria Waterfront
We walked down to the waterfront. There’s a coffee shop I can’t recommend for coffee. However, they make great shakes and there’s a well-protected place on the docks for playing cards, talking, etc.! Wheelhouse Coffee Company, 175 14th St, #150, Astoria, OR 97103, (503) 325-8430, no website found

Check out these clouds!

Oregon requires all ships crossing the Columbia Bar to have a registered bar piloton board. Read more on the Columbia River Bar Pilots’ website. Here are four big ships waiting for their turn.

The Pilot House

Trolley

The sky cleared

Ft. Stevens State Park
This is one ugly sign for a beautiful place. Ft. Stevens was opened during the Civil War war and closed down 84 years later after World War II.

On the night of June 21, 1942, Fort Stevens saw its only action when a Japanese submarine (the I-25) fired 5.5 inch shells in the vicinity of the fort. The shelling caused no damage. The Fort Commander refused to allow return fire. The incident made Fort Stevens the only installation to be attacked by an enemy since the War of 1812.

- From Friends of Old Fort Stevens

This is one of my favorite places in Oregon with great wildlife, views, and history. More information is available here and here

We drove up to the Columbia River near the bar

My beautiful wife.

There’s a foot bridge that takes you to a ‘nature viewing bunker’. Does nature shoot back? Why a bunker?

Big game coming up tonight…maybe my team won’t punch anyone.

The sea (Pacific Ocean) is extremely turbulent near the bar. There’s a cool viewing platform from which I’ve taken a ton of photos over the years. It’s on the South Jetty, just south of the bar.

Where were we?

Pelicans?

I’m not sure if these are really pelicans or another bird. Either way, they were amazing to see.

What are these for?

There’s good coffee on the coast! OMG! And good food, nice people….
Astoria Coffeehouse, 243 11th St, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-1787
www.astoriacoffehouse.com

We didn’t partake, this time, but we saw great looking/smelling entrees and deserts here, too.We liked the reference to sharp cocktails.

We then picked up dinner and snacks at New Season’s Market back in Portland, went home, and watched some SNL.

What a great day! I’m very lucky to have such an amazing friend, partner, and wife.