Colorful Flowers at the Co-op

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 25, 2012

Outside The Astoria Co-op on Exchange Street

I thought I'd post this cool box with colorful flowers in a brief break from my "Drive-by Astoria" series. 

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Drive-by Astoria #11: Houses on Young's Bay

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

Still on Young's Bay Bridge almost to the Astoria side, we get a good view of Astoria's cool wooden houses along Marine Drive at the base the Astoria hill. The pilings with lintels (?) are left over from a dock. There was also a beautiful red boathouse (which I never saw) and net shed where people could be seen mending nets. Gill net boats were often tied up there as well. The building was blown down in a storm in about the 1970s. If anyone can describe more about Astoria's lost features at this location, please comment or send e-mail. That's Florence Avenue starting its trip up the lower part of the hill. The tall hill with the Astoria Column on top is out of sight on the right. 

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Drive-by Astoria #10: Two Bridges

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

Highway 101

For any non-locals who wonder what the relationship is between Astoria's two largest bridges, this photo shows it pretty well. Coming from Warrenton, we're approaching the part of Young's Bay Bridge that lifts on the rare occasion that a taller boat needs to go underneath. After you hit the traffic circle at the end of the bridge, a couple of blocks takes you to a traffic light. Go straight and you're headed for downtown Astoria. Turn left onto the bridge and you're on your way to Washington. (See map.)

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Drive-by Astoria #9: Saddle Mountain

Astoria-Warrenton, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

On Young's Bay Bridge

Crossing Young's Bay back to Astoria, the passenger gets an unobstructed view of Saddle Mountain. I've hiked to the top, but not recently. Here are other views of Saddle Mountain from earlier posts. Scroll a bit and you'll see the mountain's top.

The white patch in the water is a flock of birds - maybe seagulls? It looks like Canada Geese in the foreground. 

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Drive-by Astoria #8: A Sign with Boats

Warrenton, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

Highway 101 

Here we've crossed the Young's Bay Bridge and have stopped at Rite-Aid. I took the opportunity to snap this photo in the other direction. I don't know if the sign is brand new or if I've just missed it until now, but it looks pretty shiny. It shows the harbor at Hammond, just down the road along the Columbia River. The museum, near the harbor, has been posted at other times, although I've never been there when it was open.

Thanks to those who were concerned for my safety and asked if I'd been taking the pictures while driving. No, I wasn't. Lee was driving, and I was the passenger with the camera. I still have a few fun shots to show you of the trip back.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Drive-by Astoria #7: Crossing Young's Bay

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

Young's Bay Bridge

Sorry about the discoloration through the windshield, but this is what it looks like crossing from Astoria to Warrenton. We're coming down off of the drawbridge hump and the longest part of the bridge is still ahead. It gets pretty bright out there between the two reflecting expanses of water. The Columbia River is on the right beyond the mouth of Young's Bay (see yesterday's post) and on the left the bay will soon narrow into Young's River. 

This bridge has appeared on the blog in more romantic guises here, here, and here. This is actually Highway 101. It enters Astoria (behind us) and quickly takes you across the much larger Astoria-Megler Bridge to Washington.

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Drive-by Astoria #6: Small Boat, Big Sky

Astoria,Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

Young's Bay Bridge

As we rounded the traffic circle onto Young's Bay Bridge, I spotted this boat. It's a bit sleek-looking for around here. I had just been commenting on Livorno Daily Photo's blog that boats looking a certain way were rarely seen here, and then I saw this similar shape. The yacht on Livorno Daily is way more elaborate, though. Take a look.

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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!)

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Drive-by Astoria #4: "Oasis on Bond Street"

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

Bond Street Hill / Columbia View Apartments

Here we are at the top of the Bond Street hill. When I first came to Astoria from Colorado in the summer of 2001, there were about 6 or 7 apartments available in the entire city. Only the one in this building seemed remotely livable, and when I walked in I thought I'd found Heaven. It was affordable, it was clean, it was spacious, the building was secure, it had an incredible view of the river AND a back deck! 

The building actually has five floors. It has three on the street side, but since it's on a steep slope, there are two more floors down once you get inside. My apartment was the only one on the bottom floor, which was strange, because it didn't feel like a basement. One side of the apartment was dug into the hillside, which kept it from getting hot in summer, and the other side perched high above Marine drive and the shipping channel. It's one of the coolest places I've ever lived. The title of this post is what Erby called the place. She was the very efficient and friendly caretaker when I lived here.

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Drive-by Astoria #3: A Finnish House

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

Bond Street Hill

This recently-painted house on Bond Street is in the Finnish style, lacking the Victorian elements seen in yesterday's post. Pat asked if Astoria was originally a Finnish town. Not entirely, but there were a lot of Scandinavians here working in the fishing industry - catching fish making boats, repairing nets and other equipment, and working in the canneries. Fishing was a huge enterprise here in earlier decades, and much of the tuna you ate as a kid probably came from Astoria.

We're getting higher up on Bond Street now, and the hills in the background are across the Columbia river in Washington. Those wires that are a photographer's nemesis around here are also prominent.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.