Derick decided to take us out of town for Father’s Day and we went to Astoria, Oregon.  We’d been before but really just as an excuse to drive over the Astoria Bridge, a really high, really long bridge over the Columbia River.  This time we actually got to toodle around town.  Some highlights:

We could not figure out the noise outside our hotel room.  We wandered down to one of the piers and found over a dozen sea lions resting on the concrete pier, many of them barking.  and barking.  and barking.  Apparently these are single males, up from California, hanging out for the summer at the fishing docks.   Seems like a single male thing to do. 

Our second night we were all lying in bed, trying to get to sleep, listening to the barking.  We couldn’t stop giggling.

There is an old trolley that runs along the Astoria Waterfront that you can ride all day for $2.  It took us from our hotel to the downtown and back and beyond so it was quite great.  The trolley conductor and driver both had a ton of great stories about the history of Astoria.  We did not know that it is the oldest city west of the Mississippi and has a really rich Scandinavian heritage.

We also did not know that both The Goonies and Kindergarten Cop were both filmed here.  Which totally made us laugh.  After the trolley ride we hopped in the car and visited the house that the main kid lived in and drove around the school from Kindergarten Cop.  They have a film museum in the old city jail.  I’m not sure if it covers just the two movies or if more have been filmed there.

Derick and the kids let me spend about 30 minutes in one of the nicest art supply shops I’ve ever been in.  It was tiny and gorgeous and absolutely filled to the brim with every type of art supply.  It was wonderfully organized though and the owners very, very helpful. 

I bought some brushes for collographs and some lovely Japanese printmaking paper.  I could have stayed for another hour but but, there were many other shops to explore and my family’s patience for my type of shopping only extends so far.

Next time I need some “me” time though, I know exactly where I’m going.