Long Beach Peninsula

There sure is a lot of history in Astoria where the Columbia empties into the Pacific Ocean....and there sure are a lot of breweries here. If only we loved beer. 😂😂😂

We decided to take a tour up to Longbeach and check out the peninsula. The weather was overcast but not raining yet. Good day for a drive.

Turns out this bridge is over 4 miles long

At Ilwaco there’s a loop that takes you to this state park. Cape Disappointment...such a positive place!

Then we carried on to Longbeach and went for a stroll

I love these boardwalks they go on for forever 

It’s almost like a freeway on the beach...so many vehicles!

Oysterville is this quaint little town with a seafood market. I read online that there are like 14 permanent residents and a number of non-residents. As you drive through there are mountains of oyster shells!

So back to Astoria and of course another fabric store...then we headed here for lunch

The infamous column. You can buy a model plane and fly it from the top ...kids had a blast picking them up off the grass below.

...and then there’s the view

 

Drive to Astoria

Hit the road right after breakfast and headed North. A two and a half hr drive took us five! With a two hr lunch break in Nehalem Bay at a crab fishing spot. We discovered this spot four yrs ago and loved it. You cannot imagine our excitement when we found it again.

People were also crabbing from this dock

Our crab and oysters cooking in this pot

We tried some oysters on the fire too...these were the best..until they spit at me 😂😂😂

Huge and oh so sweet...

Prepping the crab

....and we ate it all...like caveman...just over three lbs of crab and ten oysters..OMG! We probably should have walked to Astoria 😂

View from side of our hotel

Bridge from Astoria to Washington

We got our bearings and stopped at Safeway to pick up snacks ... no room for much more plus we have a jacuzzi tub in our room 😍

Three Capes Loop

Researched another scenic loop last night for our next adventure and the scenery did not disappoint! This took us North of Lincoln City to Pacific City and we exited at Tillamook. Weather was perfect😁

But first I had to stop at another fabric store....Boxing day sales and all....and there were no lineups or the craziness that we get at home. They must get it all on Black Friday....ok by me lol...

First stop

Parking was $5 here so we just did a driveby and continued on!

There were several little communities like this that we drove through

Three Arch Rocks

Top of the lighthouse 

Stopped for lunch here....oysters...yummmm

In front of the restaurant 

...meanwhile back at the hotel...view from our balcony 😉