Friday, July 27, 2001

July 26: The Ship Steadfast and the Maritime Museum

I spent a little time wandering around the Coast Guard dock and the construction project on the Maritime Museum today. As I look back on the photos (I'm posting these after the date on which I took them), I see that already things have changed. There's more fencing here, more concrete (I think. I'll have to look again.) Some things change without our taking much notice of them.

Here's another shot of the Steadfast, a Coast Guard ship that docks for long periods here in Astoria.

There were two ships in the dock that day, numbers 623 and 630. I especially like this view, head on.

Here in Astoria we've become very familiar with the Steadfast's shark-shaped logo.

Yes, that's a marijuana leaf painted in gold on the mast of the Steadfast. It looks quite pretty, but it seemed incongruous. Were a bunch of Oregon hippies sailing this ship? I thought not, so I asked. The Steadfast's main job is drug patrol on the high seas and coastal waters. Where do they go? They won't tell you exactly, but they often head "south."

Big ships' ropes are always intriguing.

The pink thing must be a water drop on the lens. I'm not sure about that. It's a lazy day on the docks, and a nice experience to be able to walk right up to the ships without mega security, fences to keep a person many feet back, etc. I hope we never lose these privileges. There's nothing like seeing a thing close up, whether it's a ship or an elephant.

Standing on the docks near the Coast Guard ships, I can look back at the Maritime Museum, still being remodelled and added-to. It seems it's about finished now.

There's the Maritime from another part of the dock.

Here's looking west from the Maritime docks toward the Astoria-Megler Bridge. I had no clue at this time that the base of the radio tower would someday be part of my life.

Here's a picture back toward land from the small pier shown just above. Just to the right of the high part of the tree-covered hill, you can see the Astoria Column, looking spindly and small from this distance.

The trolley runs along the waterfront and the museum is one of its stops. Here you can see the cyclone fencing still in place while they finish construction on the museum.


A nice day on the water. And no, Toto, I don't think we're in Colorado any more.

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