It had been many years since we’ve visited the little town of Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River in the northwest corner of the state of Oregon. BowlingWidow and I recently took a long weekend to do just that.
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| Astoria Bridge (5 miles long!) in the Background |
We stayed at the Hotel Elliott. Like most of downtown Astoria, this six story
structure has been around for a long time.
But it’s been nicely updated and though the rooms are small everything
was clean and comfortable (though the water pipes in adjoining rooms are a bit
noisy). Its location is perfect and
every place in town is a short walk away.
Which is a great thing, as when you’re walking you don’t have to be
concerned with the confusing one way streets that make up the town.
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| The Elliott Hotel |
One place that we were thankful was in walking distance is
Fort George Brewing. This fine
establishment has a separate taproom and restaurant. Hit the taproom for one or two beverages before
you go next door for dinner and it’ll be one of the best nights in town. We love hops in our beer so can recommend
their Vortex IPA. The food is great with
many healthy options on the menu such as the bean and rice burrito that I
enjoyed.
Rogue Ales also has an excellent brewpub on a pier at the
eastern edge of town which we visited.
There is one more, Astoria Brewing, that we didn’t have time to visit
and will provide a good reason to make a return visit sometime.
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| The Many Taps at Rogue Brewing |
On the Sunday we were there, the NFC Championship game was
played and we weren’t about to miss watching the Seattle Seahawks dismantle the
San Francisco 49ers. We met some friends
at a run of the mill sports bar called Merry Times to watch on the big screen
and eat some average tavern food. The
saving grace was that they had Vortex on draft.
In “non beer” news, there are two places in the area which I’d
suggest visiting. First is the Astoria Column. It’s just a 5 minute drive from
town, but by the time you climb the 164 spiral stairs inside the column, you’re
725 feet above sea level (higher than
the Space Needle!). If you’re lucky and
have clear weather you can see a very long way in each direction. The tower was built in 1926 by Vincent Astor,
the great grandson of John Jacob Astor, the city’s namesake.
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| Astoria and the Columbia River from the Astoria Column |
The second is a 17 mile drive to town of Seaside. It’s definitely a destination for tourists
and conventions, especially in warm weather times. The beach is classic. Sandy with waves breaking in the distance and
long stretches of places to walk along it if you don’t want sand in your shoes. And if you like shopping, carnivals and
amusement rides such as bumper cars there’s plenty of that, too.
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| The Beach at Seaside, Oregon |
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