Cannon Beach and Astoria

Today we drove down to Cannon Beach.  It's an amazingly cute beach town.  They must have a really strong local government, Chamber of Commerce and Enforcer of Cuteness Office.  There is a lot of shingle siding and tasteful buildings.  No tacky tee shirt shops here! 
Oregon roses are just the best.

This is Haystack Rock.  It would look so much better if the sun was out.

The moody Oregon coast, complete with mist.

This is a lovely tunnel down to the beach.  It was actively raining at this point, so we got back in the truck and motored home for lunch. 

Eventually the sun came out a little, so we went to the post office in Astoria to get the mail.   It had been awhile since we had it forwarded, there was a lot. Afterwards, we walked around for a bit.

Here we have the Peacock, she's a pilot boat.  As I've previously mentioned, the bar at the mouth of the Columbia is considered to be the most dangerous on the planet.  This boat was used to take bar pilots out to the ships coming in.  The smaller boat on the back is called a daughter boat, it was launched off the back.  The pilots were ferried out to the incoming ship in the little boat.  Then the pilot would climb up a rope ladder on the cargo ship and guide them in until they were under the Astoria bridge.  There is a really good article on the Columbia River Bar Pilots.  They're amazing professionals, they all hold an Unlimited Master's license which allows them to pilot any boat any where in the world.  Currently, bar pilots are carried to and from vessels via helicopter, except in cases of severe inclement weather. It the weather is severe, they're taken out via a water jet powered pilot boat, and they climb up the rope ladder in heaving seas.

This is a light ship.  This type of boat was used as a portable lighthouse.  They would anchor various places and turn on the lights as an aid to navigation.  They've been replaced with better technology. This one sat at the mouth of the Columbia.

The Flavel House Museum is an outstanding example of Queen Anne architecture.  Captain George Flavel built it in the early 1900's.  He was a bar pilot and very successful business man.  It's an amazing structure.

The other plant Oregon excels at are poppies.  Are these not lovely?

The weather continues to thwart our desires for longer hikes in the area.  There may be time spent in museums.