Happy First Birthday, AODP!

I knew that if I kept at it, it had to happen. Today is Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo's first birthday! Yes! I started my posts with this photo of the Astoria welcome sign at the east end of town near Safeway, and today I'm posting the "Welcome to Downtown Astoria" painted sign where you approach the old downtown area at 15th Street. Beneath the sign it says, "National Register Historic District." Marine Drive is on the right, and Commercial Street is on the left. Here you enter Astoria's one-way grid, so all traffic on the right is going west, and all traffic on the left is going east.

Beyond the grass is 15th Street, and the cream-colored building in the center is Area Properties, a business that Lee built with his nephew, Larry. Larry has moved on to other things and Lee has retired. Barbann and her daughter Meagan own it now. You can't see it very well in this pic, but on the right of the photo among the small roofs is my business, Tapir and Friends Animal Store. Lee and I didn't meet this way, but it's a small town and we happened to end up with our businesses facing each other.

Here's the back side of the sign. Just beyond the point of the traffic island, the lanes converge and the one-way grid ends. You're looking at the river on the left, but it's hard to recognize it.

There's still so much to see, I feel as if I've barely touched the surface of this incredible area. Not only are there many, many parts of the town still to photograph, but the nearby outlying areas are a wealth of interest and beauty as well. In yesterday's comments, Costas asked how many such beautiful places I was still hiding. The answer is, "Lots."

In the last few days, Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo has gained its 700th fan on Facebook, and today the blog appears in Elleda Rhiannon Wilson's "In One Ear" column in the The Daily Astorian. It's been fun receiving your comments and letters. I want to thank every one of you for your interest and kind thoughts.

Wandering around town with a camera gives me an excuse to walk that extra distance to check something out, or to put on my shoes when I might stay hunkered down in front of the computer. It gives me a reason to put words to those things I look at in the course of a day, week, year. It fills a creative niche and makes me happy. And last, but clearly not least, I've made a number of very interesting and wonderful friends through this blog who all have something in common: even with different visions, we share a way of looking thoughtfully through a lens and sharing our perceptions of the world. What more can I ask? I'm up for another year of exploring. Want to enjoy it with me? I hope so.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.