Microtel Inn & Suites Seaside

... We watched a lady on a surfboard but she didn't get very far out in the water. Dennis stepped on a dead seal on the beach. We watched the waves move the logs on the beach. There was plenty of elk poop in the grass but we didn't get to see any elk.

We drove to Seaside and checked into our motel. We had dinner at one of the restaurant in town.

Our first stop of the day was at Cabela's in Lacey. We walked around and looked at rain jackets but didn't buy anything. We drove down I-5 to Highway 505 and drove to Mount St. Helens Johnson's Observatory. It was so foggy in spots we could not see the mountain so we decided not to go in the Observatory and drove back out and down to Long Beach along Highway 4 and the Columbia River.

We flew into Portland, Oregon to meet my daughter, Elizabeth. She was attending a GSA conference. Picked up a rental car with Dollar and drove to Seaside, Oregon. We drove along Highway 26 which is a very pretty drive through the forest.

Seaside is a tourist town with plenty of souvenir shops and restaurants. We walked on the beach and went shopping before dinner. We had dinner at Norma's Ocean Diner. The food and the service was good.

... visibility was limited. However, we still had some great views, especially when Jim climbed to the top (164 steps). The column itself is amazing, with 500 linear feet of art depicting exploration history wrapped around the column. The column is 125 feet tall, so it was difficult to see the artwork at the top.

For more info on the column, see www.astoriacolumn.org

... exhibits. As we did with the paintings of Lewis and Clark that we saw in Cody, we came away from the center in awe of the feats of the Corps of Discovery in the face of tremendous challenges.

We also drove up to the northern part of the Long Beach Peninsula to the Leadbetter unit of the Willapa Wildlife Refuge. Here, we hiked along Willapa Bay along tidal flats and a wonderful primitive beach. On the way back, we went ...

... A huge "G" stands out on the hill above the town, simulating Hollywood in a small town fashion. The town itself is long and narrow with train tracks running parallel. Near the beginning of town was a Myrtle wood store and at the end of town was a massive abandoned smokestack, growing foliage out of the top like a mop of green hair on a stickman. Leaving Garibaldi we next came to Bay City with lots of homes on the hill.

We stopped at Cannon Beach and drove in (tiny road).

We hiked to the point but the camera didn't work.

We watched a herd of elk.

We got her cell-phone and took some pictures.

We continued south and decided to stay in Tillamook.

We had oyster and seafood pasta.

In the morning we headed south towards Newport.

Driving through Lincoln City, there was terrible traffic.

Some guy cut me off driving so we stopped in Depoe Bay.

We crossed the long Astoria-Megler Bridge.

We drove through Astoria city center (very much traffic).

We went to the Astoria column.

We walked up the Astoria column and took pictures.

We continued driving down 101 and stopped at Seaside.

... at has been very dog friendly. After haystack rock, we went back to the hotel for a quick change then out for a late lunch. The hot place for breakfast in the area is the Pig and Pancake. and it lived up to its name. One of the number 1 lessons of travel is, if the food is in the name of the restaurant, order that! Karen was smart and had pancakes and bacon. They were awesome. Dave, hung up on the time of day ...

... on our way. For havng had a blowout - we certainly had some good luck as followup! Things like today's having to get the tow dolly to Portland are always a challenge, as the motorhome is the only way we can tow it - the Trans Am just isn't set up to tow anything! So, even at today's fuel prices, we drove the motorhome a hundred or so miles out of our way, so that the tow dolly can be properly repaired by the manufacturer, who knows how to do it right! With all the miles ...