So Aftan and I took a trip to the Oregon Coast yesterday. We started off at her place in Warren, then headed west on Highway 30 through Rainier.
In Rainier, we stopped at the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant, where for the first time I was not greeted by the 499-foot cooling tower that once uglified the region. We drove past the park and were greeted by visions of backhoes and other heavy construction equipment, removing concrete pieces of what used to be the tower.
We also stopped at Rainier High School…oops, since I graduated in 2002 it has become the Rainier Junior/Senior High School. It hasn’t changed too terribly much on the outside, but just the same we snapped some photos of it and went on our way to Astoria, where we didn’t stop until we reached the Astoria Column.
We hiked all 162 stairs up the Column and enjoyed an absolutely breathtaking view of Astoria, the mouth of the Columbia River where it meets Youngs Bay, Warrenton, Hammond and in the distance, the Pacific Ocean. Absolutely beautiful.
After that we stopped at Josephson’s Smokehouse, much to my delight (and Aftan’s disgust). I picked up a quarter pound of smoked salmon and ate it quickly — mostly because I enjoyed it, but also to hide it from Aftan. Plus she wouldn’t let me kiss her with salmon breath.
We stopped at Fort Stevens State Park and walked across Battery Russell, which was an active Army installation during World War II. When the Air Force was created in 1947, Fort Stevens was decommissioned and saved as a historic site which the State of Oregon (and now the National Park Service) takes care of today. Anyway, we walked through the decommissioned fort, and couldn’t help but wonder what it was like in the 1940’s. Pretty neat place.
After that, we continued on to Seaside, where we stopped for lunch at Pig ‘N’ Pancake (a favorite among the locals) and walked down the promenade onto the beach for a bit. Coming back up, I stubbed my toe and rolled over it, and Aftan was feeling tired, so we just walked back to the car.
It was only 1:30 but we wanted to head home, so we drove across the Astoria-Megler Bridge into Washington, and I don’t remember much of the trip through to Longview because I fell asleep. So I guess I was pretty tired too. 
When we got into Longview, we visited Wal-Mart to get some supplies, and continued down Ocean Beach Highway past Fred Meyer and Safeway, when lo and behold, I was greeted by a completely unfamiliar sight — a brand-new Lowe’s that stands where many homes once stood. Very different to see for someone who hasn’t been back in Longview in a couple years. We then stopped at OfficeMax to get a FireWire cable for my videocamera, then we headed on over to Three Rivers Mall in Kelso.
Three Rivers was once a very popular mall, but you wouldn’t know it today. Just by walking around inside it, you can hear the eerie chord of a death knell being sounded. I’m serious…I counted at least seven store spaces in the mall that were vacant, and in a complete shocker, one whole side of the food court is shut down, with only three or four stores left inside. Radio Shack is closing and most of its inventory is gone, The Treasure House has been replaced by some local fashion designer….ugh, the entire mall is going downhill and I seriously think that I may have just walked inside it for the last time before it shuts down. Thank you to the new Triangle Center in Longview and Portland’s superior shopping experience for sticking a fork in the Three Rivers Mall.
Anyway, after that we headed home and ate tacos and watched movies. That sums up Day 2!!! Photos of it are available in the PhotoCenter.
Today we are driving up to Seattle to see a Mariners game and spend the night there, then do some major tourism tomorrow. What an awesome trip this is becoming. We’re leaving in about an hour to beat traffic and find a hotel.
Leave comments, check out the photos, God bless and stay safe.
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