Holiday Inn Express

Taken today; December 29, 2012. In the background of this picture is the street that going toward down town Astoria. The building to the left is the Holiday Inn Express. Toward the foreground of the picture is a nice little park that I like walking by to get to downtown Astoria. A couple minutes before I took this picture, it was raining. I love how the sky looks after it rains. Part of the sky is dark grey and it descends into a nice blue or white.
-Jessie

Visit Jessie's Blog
Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Drive-by Astoria #5: Sleeping under the Bridge

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

Marine Drive

It looks like the bridge is sitting right on top of the Holiday Inn Express. Not exactly, but it's very close! Some of you may remember the series of photos I took from the hotel in 2010. One of the images was my favorite "Astoria Daily" photo of the year. Here is the rest of the series:

. View from the Lobby

. Gull's-eye View of the Cannery Pier Hotel

. Trolley from the Top

. A Point of Land with Benches

. Ship and Bridge: A Classic Astoria Scene

We've come down from the Bond Street hill to the intersection of Bond Street and Marine Drive. Does anyone remember the sign on the marquee from when the hotel was first built? It said, "Where Sleeping  under the Bridge is. . . . " and I can't remember the rest of it! The sign disappeared after awhile. Maybe somebody thought it was politically incorrect?

(Aha! Michael E. McDaniel found it on TripAsvisor. The sign read, "Where sleeping under the bridge is a good thing." Thanks, Michael!)

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Theme Day: "Photo of the year 2010"

Astoria, Oregon ~ July 5, 2010

Taken from the Holiday Inn Express, 3rd Floor

Theme Day (the first of each month) is a big event at City Daily Photo. Although Astoria Daily Photo is a member web site, I don't often remember to participate in theme days. The theme today is, "Photo of the year 2010." Although we've had beautiful contributions from guest photographers this year, I decided to choose among my own for theme day. I think I chose the above photo as the standout for first place because it has a surreal quality unlike any of my other photos this year, a Classical quality with the arched window - and of course, I love the subject of the bridge and the Columbia River.

May you all have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011. And my fondest thanks to all blog-visiting friends and everyone who helped Astoria Daily Photo grow this year!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Trolley from the Top

July 5, 2010

For those who have wondered what the Astoria Riverfront Trolley looks like from the topside, I took this photo from the 4th floor of the Holiday Inn Express. The bay just to the left of the trolley is either the only beach or one of the very few beaches in Astoria where you can get into the river for a cold swim without climbing down the rocky bank. And it was very, very cold this July 5th.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Trolley Tracks and River Walk

July 6, 2010

The Riverfront Trolley and the River Walk share the same trestle along the river's edge, seen here from the 4th floor of the Holiday Inn Express. This view is looking east, upriver toward warehouses and piling fields from former buildings used in the fishing and fish cannery busineses. An anonymous commenter identified the pilings from the post a few days ago facing west. Maybe we'll be fortunate again today. You can reach the main part of town by walking east along the trestle. The two rectangular bays along the tracks are so people can get out of the way of the trolleys. They move slowly, clang their bells, and watch for pedestrians and people on bikes. One of these sunny days, I think I'll take the ride with camera in hand. For $1.00, what a deal. I think you can still get an all-day ticket for $2.00.

Does anyone know what the two poles are that sick up higher than the pilings?

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

View from the Lobby

July 6, 2010

The views actually start before you get in the door of the Holiday Inn Express in Astoria, and many people love this location for watching the sunset. However, I was completely in awe of the view from the lobby. How many hotels have I ever been in where the view from (and amenities near) the lobby are this enticing? The River Walk is just this side of the water, and the Riverfront Trolley tracks are between the River Walk and the hedge. The shipping channel is on the other side of the huge bridge pier. In the foreground is a metal heron made by local sculptor Vern Wilson.

By the way, I found a wonderful site about the form and parts of bridges. Our Astoria-Megler bridge is the longest single-span truss bridge in the world. Or something like that.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Room with a View

July 5, 2010

This has to be one of the best views from any hotel in the U.S. We took a mini vacation without leaving town, and stayed the night at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in Astoria. It was pleasant and comfortable, and if you don't have young kids with you who are likely to fall out, you can open the windows, even on the 4th floor. As you can imagine, this afforded a number of interesting photo ops. Stay tuned! The windows are not open in this photo because, although the next few days are expected to be hot, we hit a record low last night. It was actually cold with the windows open.

That's the Astoria-Megler Bridge, shown many times on this blog already. The river is the Columbia, and the hills four-point-something miles away are in Washington.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.