After putting in four 15+ hour days at the station (we held our yearly fundraiser, with $93,000 in pledges toward our goal of $90,000!), it was time for a change of scenery. Jen and I pulled out the map to see where we might go. It was a long weekend for all three of us (Veteran's day). We considered going via ferry up to Vancouver Island, but that's about a four hour drive to the dock at Port Angeles. Jen voted for the beach, so we settled on the Oregon coast!

Jen's parents offered to lend us their mini van, and it turned out to be a great vehicle for our journey. We took it easy on Friday night, and slept in a bit, leaving the house at about 11 am on Sabbath. Our first stop was Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia river. It rained off and on during our 90 mile drive through picturesque valleys, over misty bridges, and passed lingering colorful fall leaves. In Astoria we drove through the historic district looking at the beautiful 1890's architecture, then headed for the waterfront pier to view fishing boats and noisy sea lions!

The sun goes down at a painfully early 4:45 at this time of year, so after a yummy supper of vegetable quesadillas and salad at a fashionable local cafe, we searched for a suitable hotel room. We stretched our budget for a luxury river view room at the new Comfort Suites, complete with a king bed, queen sleeper sofa for Jay, and an in-room jacuzzi! Thanks to the AAA discount it was ours for less than a night in Maui. We took an evening stroll in the rain down a path that ran behind the hotel, next to the restored waterfront trolley tracks.

Sunday we helped ourselves to the bountiful free breakfast buffet there at the hotel, then headed for the Maritime museum downtown. What a fun place! Dad, I'm sure you would have loved all the boats. They had ship models, history, a film, real boats, and hands-on stuff that Jay liked. We spent a couple hours there, then got to tour a retired lighthouse ship from the 1950's in the harbor.

Next we visited a state park right on the tip of land that juts into the Pacific right where the Columbia enters the sea. There was a huge rock breakwater, and a viewing platform where we watched the churning sea. No wonder so many ships were lost here through the years. It was the most violent sea I'd ever seen in person. The storm off shore was really mixing things up, even though we had some nice spots of clearing.

We ate our picnic lunch a few miles away at Fort Clatsop, where Lewis and Clark's expedition spent a rainy winter. It didn't rain, but it was shivery as we ate outside under a shelter in the forest. Inside the visitor's center was a neat movie about their journey across the wilderness, plenty of historical artifacts, and maps and journals.

By now it was getting late, so we headed down the coast about 30 miles to the seaside community of . . . you guessed it, Seaside! It was raining now, but we still checked out the beach, walked around the town, window-shopped, rode the carousel, played some pinball, and had supper. Better sense prevailed as we arranged a room for the night at the local Motel 6 for a mere $43.

Monday dawned partly clear, so we grabbed an earlier breakfast at the Pig 'n Pancake (local eatery that was quite good!), then headed south ten miles to the resort village of Cannon Beach. Enjoyed walking on the sand, viewing the distant sea stacks, and running from the waves. Jay enjoyed running through the waves, and got quite soaked!

Down the winding and windy coast through small villages and gorgeous vistas we drove, suddenly arriving at the Tillamook Cheese factory! Helped ourselves to the self guided tour, free cheese samples, and yummy ice cream.

By the time our cheese fantasies were over it was nearly three pm, so we headed inland 72 miles to Portland, had supper at Taco Bell, then shopped tax-free at REI for a fleece jacket, socks, bike helmet, and long underwear. Traffic along North I-5 was dense, as were the raindrops and fog, but we made it safely home by 7:15.