Astoria

At last year's auction I was the high bidder on a "family fun package" full of gift certificates and event tickets etc. Among the fun was a stay in Astoria and tickets to the maritime museum there. So off we went!

We had a FABULOUS room, here is the view from the living room:


And from our master bedroom:


We arrived on a Friday evening and got settled before we went out for a nice seafood dinner then a night of swimming in the hotel pool. The next morning we stuffed ourselves at the complimentary breakfast (they lost money on us!)


It was fun seeing big ships pass under the bridge:


The maritime museum was great. There was much more interesting history about the area than I would've guessed. It was all detailed enough for adults, but also everything was hands-on for kids too, without being a cheesy kids' play area. This exhibit was neat because it told the story of various shipwrecks in the area:


Many of the exhibits were of a large scale:


The kids really enjoyed this replica of a ship's control room. It looked out to the river, but the windows were sketched with what it would look like if it was a real boat going down the Columbia:


My favorite parts were the World War II ships (I though of grandpa H. who entered the navy early after lying about his age...his job was to work the signal flags I believe) and I also liked learning about the special guides that board foreign boats to help them navigate this very difficult and dangerous bar/river.

Outside the museum was a Coast Guard boat that we could tour:


Not as big as the William Boyer in Toledo, but still fun.


The kids really wanted to go across the big big bridge so on our way out we took a trip to Washington:


Such a fun trip! Just the right length, no complications, kids had a blast!


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