Astoria

Well, everyone, another great day on the road. We stayed at a KOA campground and they had hot coffee and doughnuts in the clubhouse. Notice the word doughnuts was plural. I think we had two each. Then we went to Church in Longview. Soon Donna was able to check something off her bucket list. The world famous Nutty Narrows Squirrel Bridge. Good thing it was Sunday, because Donna was standing in the middle of the road laughing so hard she was crying. In 1963 Mr. Peters was so upset with squirrels getting run over that he decided to build them a bridge to cross the street. It is the narrowest bridge in the world, also the narrowest animal crossing bridge. He originally used a fire hose as the roadway. When the bridge had to be refurbished, Chip and Dale and Mickey Mouse were there for the rededication. Every year there is a squirrel fest. They even carved a giant squirrel in the park nearby to honor Mr. Peters memory. I sure keep busy trying to find these wonderful places for my people.

Crossed the border into Oregon again. Went to Astoria. Lots more Victorian buildings. We watched the Astoria Riverfront trolley and then decided to have Cmor take us up a crazy windy road to the very top to see the Astoria Column. Look it up if you want. It is covered with murals and you can climb to the very top to get a 360*view of Pacific Ocean, Columbia River and surrounding area. We were almost to the top, when we saw a sign, $2.00 per person so Donna got the money out. We had seen the column from the waterfront but couldn't see any details. We rounded the last corner and there it was, totally covered with scafolding and over that a complete sleeve of white plastic. There was a very young man taking the money, about 17 maybe. Don roled dowm the window and said, I'm not paying $6.00 to see a giant condom. The kid agreed with him and they had a conversation about the word TROJAN being printed down the whole tower. The young man thought that would be creative advertising. Anyway he waved us in, we took a few pictures and off we went to Fort Clapsop. We saw a movie about Lewis and Clarl and their last camp. Now we have seen the beggining and end of their journey. We also saw a recreation of their fort.

We were supposed to stop and visit Blackie and Jane, but Blackie isn' feeling well so we are now camping at the ocean. I had to put on my Parka for the first time. The ocean was foggy and I couldn' see the water too well. Maybe tomorrow morning. We will also call Jane and if all is well, we might drive back up to manzanita to visit for awhile. hugs to all. I have to shake off some sand.