Carnival Splendor and the Cannery Pier Hotel

Astoria is a port of call for big cruise ships as well as smaller paddlewheel boats that come down the Columbia River from Portland. The big cruise liners, of course, come the other way: in from the ocean. This ship dwarfs the four-storey Cannery Pier Hotel, built on the location of the former Union Fisherman's Cooperative Packing Company. The designer and owners went to a lot of work to attempt to preserve the look and flavor of the 1900s buildings. A boutique hotel will never feel like an authentic cannery, but I'm so glad they went to the lengths they did instead of building something without thought to history or location. We have a few of those, too! You can see an old photo of the Union Fish Cannery and a fleet of small fishing boats in a photo on the hotel's web site.

The cruise ship Carnival Splendor was getting ready to leave and go back out to sea. They stay for a day and then they're on their way. We've had quite a few cruise ships in already this year. The visitors come into town by bus or they can take the riverfront trolley or walk along the River Walk. They fill Astoria's streets, put smiles on the faces of local merchants, and generally seem to enjoy their stopover, even the ones who have been re-routed here instead of going to Mexico due to the swine flu outbreak this year. Astoria has many faces, and one of them is tourism. Many people drive to the coast from inland or come down from Seattle, and the ships help boost that bottom line for many merchants struggling with today's economy.

I took this pic at 8:18 p.m. on May 26. I love the way the water reflects light from the sky on most evenings here.

. Watery Wednesday

. ABC Wednesday, "U" is for "Union Fish Cannery"

. Outdoor Wednesday

. . . and can I include

. Window Views? There are more than I can count if you include the staterooms!

While we're at it, I'll make an additional link back to my friends at City Daily Photo, which is what got me started with this blog. It's such a great way to travel the world when I can't be doing that it real life!