It's nice to be back in Astoria, and the day was shiny and just about perfect. It was a little chilly, but so beautiful! This turquoise paint catches my eye every time I pass. I finally got a pic that shows the color well. The clear light today was remarkable. We're used to the rain here, and some of us love it, but we do enjoy the sun when it comes out! I think we get more sun than is rumored. For a place that gets 70 to 90 inches of rain per year, I'd say the sun shines quite a lot. In any event, the atmosphere today is spectacular.
Blue sky. Interesting patterns in the tree branches.
We're walking down Marine Drive from
The Animal Store towards Astoria Coffee House to get . . . yeah, surprise . . . coffee and brunch. The light was right for a photograph of the houses on the hill. You'll have to click on the photo to see much.
Another set of interesting branches and colors, this time from inside Astoria Coffee House.
This is the former fish market just east of the big Pier 11 red building. We almost rented it for The Animal Store two years ago, but it wasn't quite right for us. I love the old board planks on the walk/pier/parking area, or whatever you call it, and hope they'll never disappear. Look how empty the place is. It may not be good for business, but I love that feeling of space, emptiness and quiet today. Astoria has so many moods.
Pier 11 with the new steak house - entrance just beyond the blue truck. Pier 11 has intrigued and/or haunted Astoria for quite a long time. I did not tweak the color. It was that kind of day.
Walking back from Pier 11, I took this in front of the Wet Dog. It's just an absolutely gorgeous day.
Here's where the ferry to Washington used to dock. Now it's a picturesque ruin, but you can walk out on the pier on the left. It's actually a small waterfront "park" (no, not the grassy kind, but a designated historic area).
The pilot boat docks next to the old ferry berth.
Scenic pilings at the old ferry dock.
Colors. There must be a reason the ropes are all blue and turquoise, but I don't know what it is.
Here's looking down the River Walk from the end of 14th Street, which is where the ferry dock is. You can see a piece of the Astoria-Megler bridge in the back ground.
Lee and I had breakfast or brunch at Astoria Coffee House.
This isn't too elegant, but it's a reminder of a breakfast enjoyed - granola, fruit, and creamy yogurt with a decaf extra wet cappuccino.
There are more fishing boats out than I've seen in awhile. This one is so blue. Pretty.
Here they're reeling in the net on the way home to the East Mooring Basin.
We've had a lot of logs this year, but no individual log has come close to matching that monster tree that hung up on the building a year ago January. That was incredible.
It was simply a gorgeously beautiful day on the river.
Toenails. Lee likes to get me a pedicure at A-Nails. It's just across the street, so it's convenient and it's relaxing sitting with my feet in the water and someone working on them. I'd never considered having my nails done, but just before we left for Italy a few years ago, he gave me a certificate. It was fun, but I hadn't especially noticed nails, and I thought the white tips were either a joke or unfinished. Then I thought they looked like animal claws and I began to like them. Forget the fingernails, though, I had them done once and they were all scratched up within an hour (they were the spray-on kind; I didn't realize what was being done; maybe a real manicure would have lasted longer - maybe). I USE my hands! For awhile there, I was having some fun with toenail colors, and now I'm back with the white.
This is just a small tree floating beyond the back deck. The water has settled down. It's so still now, but you know it was stormy in the recent past or the tree would still be standing somewhere in Washington or Oregon, or maybe even Idaho. I love the colors.
