Our Visitor from Afar

Well since we've migrated west it seems that all of our visitors have come from afar.  But this dear visitor has certainly come the farthest- as in from another continent.   We had a wonderful visit with Aunt Di.   We adventured and explored and discovered, we talked and laughed and cried and then talked and laughed some more. 

 We took her to some of our favorite places.   Astoria is a neat little coastal town.  I also posted about Astoria here. 

This is the lightship Columbia WLV604 it was stationed at the mouth of the Columbia River from 1951-1979.  It is now at the Maritime Museum in Astoria.

We crossed the great Columbia River into the state of Washington so Aunt Di could say she'd been there.  We also showed her Dismal Nitch.  (but I didn't take any pictures of that on my camera)

This is the Astoria Column. It overlooks the Columbia River and is covered with historical murals.  Inside is a staircase leading up to a fantastic view.  Aunt Di, Andy, Carson and Kenzie, braved the wind and rain to see the view.   I opted to stay in the car with the littlest man. 

It seems that no adventure is complete without a coffee shop stop.  This is the Three Cups Coffee House in Astoria, also home to the Columbia River Coffee Roaster.   Aunt Di is at the counter ordering...

 

 Three Cups Coffee House is a fun, eclectic place.  They have this cool swing suspended from the ceiling and the kids loved it!

They also had their own coffee tree complete with coffee cherries.  I overheard a conversation with a costumer and one of the baristas about this being the first Oregon grown coffee beans, and that they had already harvested and roasted some of the cherries from their very own tree.   Andy is thinking and dreaming....

Then with hot drinks in hand we drove to Fort Clatsop.  We had about 30 minutes until closing, but the weather was so disagreeable that we finished our exploration in record time.    You may remember from my previous post that this is a replica of the fort built by Lewis and Clark.

Posing with Sacajawea - she sure doesn't have much to say.

 Inside the museum is a dress-up corner.

Aunt Di - Best Dressed in the West!

 

 

It was fun to have her here to attend church with us for two Sundays.  It was really wonderful to have her share her vision, see her heart and hear her passion and get to sing with her again.  I am super proud of her!

 

 

She brought us a Resurrection plant.  It is currently sitting in a dish of fresh water, but sure doesn't seem to be happy or resurrecting.



 

She also brought us Christmas!

Silliness!

We took her to our favorite fish place, The Fish peddler.  They have the best clam chowder.... and I don't even like clam chowder. 

We smiled!

We laughed!

 

 

We had an awesome time!!   More on Aunt Di's visit next time.

 



~Astoria~

Recently, we took a little road trip up the coast to the lovely little town of Astoria.  The purpose of this trip was two-fold;       1. The Columbia River Coffee Roaster is there, and they had  some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Coffee that Andy really wanted to try. (and he had a little birthday money sent specifically for coffee)
2.  We hadn't been to Astoria and really wanted to explore a little. 

After Andy got his bag of coffee beans we crossed the loooooong bridge into Washington-just because we could.

These were some cargo ships we saw while crossing the long bridge over the Columbia River. They kind of remind me of a battle ship game. 

Welcome to Washington.

While in Astoria, we decided to visit Fort Clatsop.  This is where Lewis and Clark spent the winter after their big discovery journey.

But alas, our plans were foiled.  O well, we will have another reason to return to Astoria.  Also, Andy has really enjoyed the coffee beans he purchased, so that would be the other reason to return.

Carson and I did get out and walk a ways down a trail to see if we could spot the fort.  Unfortunately, no signs of the great Fort.

But we did find this amazingly large garbage can. This thing was huge!

On our trip back home, we drove through Cannon Beach.   This is a picture of the famous Haystack Rock.

The evening was really beautiful and the ocean was peaceful.

We enjoyed our adventure, but will return to Astoria to discover more cool things.

The Yellow Dog

Allow me to introduce you to the Yellow Dog. What a fun name for an espresso drive thru!  And for your information it has the BEST coffee I have ever tasted!  Even Andy, who is a serious coffee critic, said this is the best he has ever tasted as well.

 

 

 

 I am a fru-fru coffee drinker.  I am a  true blue Dutch Bro. girl! 

 

 

 

 

But..... the other day I got "a shot in the dark" with a little cream, from the Yellow Dog, and let me tell you something.  It was the B.E.S.T! 

I had know idea what "a shot in the dark" was until my knowledgeable, coffee drinking husband informed me that it is a 'drip coffee with a shot of espresso'.

 

So, if you are ever passing through our neck of the woods.  Stop and get yourself a fabulous cup of coffee.