Astoria, Oregon
We spent today in historic Astoria, Oregon. After breakfast we explored the fabulous Columbia River Maritime Museum, which has recently completed a major upgrade to its exhibits, all of which focus on history and nature as these themes relate to the Great River of the West. Surely the Columbia River Maritime Museum must rank as one of the great maritime museums of the world. Next we boarded motor coaches and made our way through the community of Astoria on our way to Fort Clatsop, where the National Park Service has recreated the fort where the Lewis and Clark expedition spent the winter of 1805-06 before they headed east again after their long trek to the Pacific Coast.
We returned to the Sea Lion for lunch, after which some guests returned to the Columbia River Maritime Museum, others strolled through Astoria, and a small group went by motor coach up to the Astoria Column, which offers a visual presentation of the rich history of the area. Our trip toward the mouth of the Columbia River meant sailing through some rough seas and high winds, and prudence dictated that we turn around before reaching our goal, but we nonetheless saw the Pacific Ocean on the far horizon.
For the rest of the evening we sailed slowly upriver past Astoria and continued into the night toward our final destination of Portland. It seems impossible that our week of exploration— of “sailing in the wake of Lewis and Clark”— is soon to come to an end.
We spent today in historic Astoria, Oregon. After breakfast we explored the fabulous Columbia River Maritime Museum, which has recently completed a major upgrade to its exhibits, all of which focus on history and nature as these themes relate to the Great River of the West. Surely the Columbia River Maritime Museum must rank as one of the great maritime museums of the world. Next we boarded motor coaches and made our way through the community of Astoria on our way to Fort Clatsop, where the National Park Service has recreated the fort where the Lewis and Clark expedition spent the winter of 1805-06 before they headed east again after their long trek to the Pacific Coast.
We returned to the Sea Lion for lunch, after which some guests returned to the Columbia River Maritime Museum, others strolled through Astoria, and a small group went by motor coach up to the Astoria Column, which offers a visual presentation of the rich history of the area. Our trip toward the mouth of the Columbia River meant sailing through some rough seas and high winds, and prudence dictated that we turn around before reaching our goal, but we nonetheless saw the Pacific Ocean on the far horizon.
For the rest of the evening we sailed slowly upriver past Astoria and continued into the night toward our final destination of Portland. It seems impossible that our week of exploration— of “sailing in the wake of Lewis and Clark”— is soon to come to an end.
