Welcome to the Pacific Northwest!

After mom and I left Ecola State Park, we drove the 22 miles north up the coast to Astoria, Oregon. Astoria has that shabby chic kind of charm to it; which makes sense as it is the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies. The landscape is dominated by hundreds of Victorian homes clinging to steep wooded hillsides, and remnants of Astoria’s fishing industry past are still present near its wharf at the mouth of the Columbia River.

Approaching Astoria

Hello Astoria!

Astoria is filled with charming Victorian homes

Port of Astoria

We arrived in Astoria at lunch time, and ate at Bridgewater Bistro down at the wharf. I had to have my fish n’ chips of course! It was delicious!

Bridgewater Bistro

Fish n’ chips!

The Astoria – Megler Bridge connecting to Washington across the river.

Marina

After lunch we drove around Astoria visiting all the famous tourist sites. Such as the elementary school where Kindergarten Cop was filmed and the house used in The Goonies.

Astoria City Hall

Original County Jail

Historic Flavel House

Driving around Astoria

John Jacob Astor Elementary School. This is the school used in the film Kindergarten Cop.

The last time I was in Astoria (about 10 years ago), my brother and I made our parents drive all over town until we found this school. Our parents must have really loved us that day. This was before smart phones, so we literally drove up and down the streets of Astoria searching for this school!

You can see the Kindergarten Cop school from The Goonies house. The Goonie kids were definitely in Mr. Kimble’s school district.

The Goonies house

The views of Astoria from this house were amazing!

After our short trip to Astoria, we headed back to Portland to spend some time with Pat and Mariann! And mom got her homemade Thanksgiving dinner she missed last year. Mariann is an amazing cook!

Hello big mountain in the distance!

I think this is Mount Hood, but maybe it’s Mount St. Helens…

Mom got her Thanksgiving dinner! 😉

Monday was our last day in Portland and we only had until lunch time to explore the area.  We decided to head to Multnomah Falls which is about 30 min east of Portland. And what a beautiful site that is! Wow. Words can not do Multnomah Falls justice.

First glimpse of Multnomah Falls from the highway.

The waterfalls are literally right off the highway! Very easy stop to make.

We arrived in the late morning which was a great time to see the falls for lighting purposes. When I went to have a last look after lunch, the high noon sun was too bright for good picture taking.

Amazing.

Next time I’m here I hope to have enough time to hike up to that second bridge!

❤

Warning: you will get damp while visiting the falls. I shouldn’t have wasted time straightening my hair that morning haha.

In 1915 the Columbia River Highway was opened for travelers to get from Portland to Hood River. And this road also allowed tourists to visit Multnomah Falls, and a roadside inn stood at the base for visitors to stay. And this lodge still exists there today, though it functions just as  a restaurant now. Mom and I ate lunch here after seeing the waterfalls before we headed to the airport. If you are ever in Portland, Multnomah Falls is a must! I never realized how close this was to Portland. And Astoria is another great day trip to do from Portland.

Multnomah Falls Lodge where we ate lunch

Here, are a few photos of downtown Portland that mom and I stopped at before heading to Cannon Beach at the beginning of our trip. 🙂

Downtown Portland

More Downtown Portland

Portland Courthouse

I loved the architecture of this courthouse

Sporting my rain jacket while in drizzly Portland