Astoria
We began the day with a brief visit to a turbulent Columbia River Bar in a driving rainstorm. Early-risers were drenched before breakfast, as a strong southeast wind blew horizontal rain onto the aft deck where a few brave souls ventured into the open air. Retreating to the relative shelter of an Astoria dock, we breakfasted on a variety of hot and cold cereals, bacon and sausage, eggs and toast, coffee and juice, fresh fruit and pastries; while it continued to rain, a damp start to an eventful day.
As soon as the Maritime Museum opened, most of us visited the nearby venue including the retired light ship Columbia. The hour-and-a-half wasn’t enough time for some of the guests, several of whom stayed on and many of whom returned to the museum after lunch. Most of us rode the buses to Fort Clatsop, where the writer and producers of “The Spirit of Sacajawea” were honored. We also met a Seaman replica named Athos; who did the Newfoundland dog of the expedition proud.
After watching an introductory film depicting the Lewis and Clark expedition from the Clatsop Indians’ point of view, we toured the replica of Fort Clatsop and the museum, walked to the canoe landing and along the Netul (Lewis and Clark) River, botanizing and dodging the rain, which for the most part had dissipated. A quartet of hikers took the long route home, hiking the six-and-a-half-miles from Fort Clatsop to the sea. Their efforts were rewarded with a view of a herd of 25 elk.
After returning to the National Geographic Sea Lion for a quick lunch (seafood soup, veggie and cheese sandwiches, iced Arnold Palmers, and oatmeal cranberry bars) and a brief rest, most of us once again boarded buses for two separate tours of Lewis and Clark sites on the Washington (north) side of the mouth of the Columbia. We saw bald eagles, brown pelicans, banana slugs, and a road-killed Columbian black-tailed deer. On the beach we found deer tracks, jellies, kelp stalks, numerous shells, and assorted flotsam; along the trail we found beaver cuts, a beaver dam, and the remains of an old automobile. Spotty rain kept us guessing but for the most part left us dry. The sun broke through the clouds and graced us with a late-afternoon rainbow.
“Home” to the National Geographic Sea Lion and our dress-up dinner for the final evening on the ship, high lighted by a visit from a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, 238-year-old Joseph Whitehouse, the only private soldier whose journal has survived.
We began the day with a brief visit to a turbulent Columbia River Bar in a driving rainstorm. Early-risers were drenched before breakfast, as a strong southeast wind blew horizontal rain onto the aft deck where a few brave souls ventured into the open air. Retreating to the relative shelter of an Astoria dock, we breakfasted on a variety of hot and cold cereals, bacon and sausage, eggs and toast, coffee and juice, fresh fruit and pastries; while it continued to rain, a damp start to an eventful day.
As soon as the Maritime Museum opened, most of us visited the nearby venue including the retired light ship Columbia. The hour-and-a-half wasn’t enough time for some of the guests, several of whom stayed on and many of whom returned to the museum after lunch. Most of us rode the buses to Fort Clatsop, where the writer and producers of “The Spirit of Sacajawea” were honored. We also met a Seaman replica named Athos; who did the Newfoundland dog of the expedition proud.
After watching an introductory film depicting the Lewis and Clark expedition from the Clatsop Indians’ point of view, we toured the replica of Fort Clatsop and the museum, walked to the canoe landing and along the Netul (Lewis and Clark) River, botanizing and dodging the rain, which for the most part had dissipated. A quartet of hikers took the long route home, hiking the six-and-a-half-miles from Fort Clatsop to the sea. Their efforts were rewarded with a view of a herd of 25 elk.
After returning to the National Geographic Sea Lion for a quick lunch (seafood soup, veggie and cheese sandwiches, iced Arnold Palmers, and oatmeal cranberry bars) and a brief rest, most of us once again boarded buses for two separate tours of Lewis and Clark sites on the Washington (north) side of the mouth of the Columbia. We saw bald eagles, brown pelicans, banana slugs, and a road-killed Columbian black-tailed deer. On the beach we found deer tracks, jellies, kelp stalks, numerous shells, and assorted flotsam; along the trail we found beaver cuts, a beaver dam, and the remains of an old automobile. Spotty rain kept us guessing but for the most part left us dry. The sun broke through the clouds and graced us with a late-afternoon rainbow.
“Home” to the National Geographic Sea Lion and our dress-up dinner for the final evening on the ship, high lighted by a visit from a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, 238-year-old Joseph Whitehouse, the only private soldier whose journal has survived.
