Wednesday Astoria

Today we had an easy start, reheating the food from dinner and some bagels. We kept the morning lazy, and since I had written a two-day blog, I did not need to write. Coffee was waiting, and Deborah and I just had a nice morning together.

[Sorry, I am late delivering this]

We packed a day-trip bag for each and were soon on the road westward to Astoria. I had planned to go through Washington State, but my Nav had other plans. We also saw three coffee places and were sure the next one would be our stop, but of course, the next one was at Astoria. The trip was non-eventful, and the EV started at 100% and was at just under 60 when we arrived. We could, with no safety return and charge at home, but I will pay for a charge in Astoria to keep us safe. At the tallest, the passes were covered in snow and mixed precipitation, with my wipers going nonstop. No slipping, and I did not switch to mountain mode. I carry traction devices (a kind of tire sock), but I did not feel the need to use them.

I did carry a heavy coat, boots, and gloves in Air VW the Gray. You have to always assume the worst when crossing passes here. I never had to put them on.

It was the winding two-lane with blind spots and no shoulder (kind of a cliff) on Cornelius Pass Road near home that scared Deborah the most. It was not too busy, and no jerks were going stupidly slow or fast (or both). The passes and Highway 30 were easy.

We arrived, found coffee, and went to a cafe after parking a block away. We shared a hummus plate (and got regular hummus after we got the curry version in error). I had a Sazerac that left me slurring my words. Wow! We walked that off, and I found some excellent books I wanted/purchased at GodFather Books. We then tried a few antique stores. I found some overpriced (I thought) keys removed from typewriters and bought “Shift Freedom” for us. It seemed to speak to our times.

Another bookstore with a TARDIS and a TARDIS fairy door for sale (purchased), plus signed books that made Deborah happy (details withheld, as some are gifts). The kind clerk, possibly the owner, pointed us back towards the Superclub for dinner.

Dinner at the place was excellent. Deborah had the halibut, and I had the fried oysters. I skipped the prawns as I am seldom impressed by them, but they were highly recommended, and I might have missed out. I like my New Orleans style, at best. I like them peeled and cleaned, too.

It was an excellent night.

The hotel I didn’t mention, the River Walk Inn, was average and seen better days, not great, and the price, $78, was OK for what we got. A very average, slightly renovated, older hotel. Our room was small and was a bridge construction theme, with a blown-up copy of the plans on the wall, bridge parts, and even a locker that was not-as-clean-as-a-hotel room-prop as I want. Hmmm. The fireplace was just a fire-like light panel above the fridge and the microwave above it (no, really ). It was OK, and the breakfast on Thursday morning was OK, industrial. The price is right, and if you want to save some $ and be near the tourist railroad, not bad. But not as clean as we like.

We then returned to our room. We rose with the sunrise the next morning.

Thanks for reading.