The Windmill Posts

That means do nothing but laundry day. Got up late. Well, late for the tip, eight.

First, I went for coffee.

On the way to the Maritime Museum I saw a boat and decided to chase it down to the bridge, so I could send a picture to my boat nerd sister. (I’m a bigger boat nerd, but she rates.)

And then I doubled back and went to the Maritime Museum. It was incredibly awesome.

Where the Columbia river meets the ocean, there are sandbars which are moving on the regular. This is a map of shipwrecks. It’s hard going from one environment to the other, even before you add in near constant rain, perpetual fog banks here and there, and unpredictable high winds.

The Coast Guard is amazing here. It’s one of the most challenging missions for them, and they rescue over 600 people per year. Crazy. Check out that particular crazy:

I was going to point out that those images weren’t tilted, but that last one is. In the favor of the boat. It’s actually a steeper angle.

Finally, among the multitude of excellent exhibits, they had the required “little model ship room.” When I was little and my Dad and I went to the Maritime Museum in Duluth – every single time we were in Duluth – I stared at the models there for so long. Imagining the real vessel and what that much be like, who the crew was, and what it would be like to work and live on a boat like that. I also wondered at the detail and craftsmanship, liking to build models I was in awe at their scale model builds. And of course I imagined having little action figures and playing with them on the boats.

I did not have the requisite magnet of Oregon, so I went up to the Astoria Column on top of the hill. It’s a column. You can climb up it and get. an amazing view if it’s not raining and/or foggy. So I passed on that. But I did hit the gift shop and get my magnet. I found out they sell balsa glider airplanes in the gift shop, and you’re allowed to throw them from the top and see how far they go. They’re biodegradable, and some have made it as far as the water, which is nowhere near the Column.

And that’s it. I went back to the hotel, made a bunch of reservations for hotels for the coming week, and did a load of laundry. Back to the coast tomorrow for some proper Ocean time. Although I will stop at Starbucks on the way out of town, as I won’t be seeing any chain food for the next many days. Or phone signal. Yay!