Astoria is a small town located on the Columbia River where it ends into the Pacific Ocean. I have heard of Astoria for my entire life and had built up a picture of it in my mind. Most of my thoughts have been driven by the movie “The Goonies” and “Kindergarten Cop”, both of which were filmed in Astoria and the surrounding area. I can now say the town is very close to what I had envisioned.

We traveled northbound on the 101 (funny how the 101 in LA is ten lanes wide but up here it is a two-lane road) along the coast and through more spectacular scenery. As we went through the town of seaside the traffic was very heavy. We reasoned it must be because this is a “beach town” for the people from Portland and there is a direct road to and from Portland to Seaside. We continued north in search of our new home. A KOA in Hammond OR.

We were told (and kept getting told) we could not check into the “KOA Astoria-Warrenton Seaside Resort” (https://koa.com/campgrounds/astoria) until 3:00PM. When we arrived at 3:30PM there were three lanes of RV’s checking in at the same time. I could not understand why they were so emphatic that we could not check in until 3:00 but now I understand. This place is huge, with RV, Tent, Trailer, Group camping as well as cabins and cottages to rent. The campground is very kid friendly with lots of stuff for the kiddies and a whole daily itinerary of activities. We pulled into the most well-equipped site we have had to date and were surprised at how many families were here. It seems to be a major destination for people from Washington.

Our first day we set of to visit the “Columbia River Maritime Museum” (https://www.crmm.org), if you have been following my blogs you know I am a sucker for a good museum and this one did not disappoint. The exhibits do a great job of telling the history of the Columbia River area, the fishing and development of the fishing industry (back then 85lb Salmon were common) and the history of the shipping industry and the Coast Guard. We spent most of the day at the museum and ended with a tour of the ship “Columbia” which was used to notify ships where the entrance to the Columbia River was.

I had heard about the “Columbia River Bar” which is where the river meets the sea but did not realize how dangerous this area really is. The museum has an exhibit called “Shipwrecked” and it shows you how crossing the bar is no easy task with over 3000 wrecks that they know of with some still visible today and some with amazing rescue stories.

After the museum we learned we were right down the street from the “Goonies home” so away we went. The street is a little different now, but it still looks the same. You park down the street and walk up to the house. They ask you to respect the neighborhood because quite a few people visit it daily. There was a steady stream of people while we were there. I would not want to be a neighbor there. We learned the former owners did not like tourists visiting the house and fought to have the street closed off but they sold the home and the new owners’ welcome quests to take pictures (probably old goonies like us).

We headed south to “Hug Point and Cape Falcon” for a day of exploring the beaches and hiking the trail. We started at Hug Point and what an amazing beach. Rugged cliffs, sea caves, sandy beaches, and waterfalls. Perfect day to visit but it was a little windy.

Next, we headed further south to do a 5-mile hike to “Cape Falcon”. This was a beautiful hike through the woods on the coast to a very dramatic point where you can see north and south for a long way. It is rated as a difficult hike, but it was not too bad. The scenery is amazing, and the point is a great place to get incredible pictures. All in it took us about 3.5 hours with taking some time at the point to soak it in.

Back on the road to the KOA we went through Seaside again but this time we diverted down “Boardwalk Avenue” to see the downtown area. Lots of small shops and restaurants. Plenty of things to do and the street ends at the beach. Only thing is that it was PACKED, it reminded me of Huntington Beach on a holiday weekend and it was a Tuesday. Not for us but we did get to check it out.

The next day we decided to make it a “Fort Stevens Day”. Fort Stevens is a Civil War to WWII fort built on the edge of the Columbia River and was responsible for the mining of the Columbia River opening to keep ships from coming up the river and attacking the towns. It also has the distinction of being the only US base that was ever attacked by the Japanese in WWII.

The fort is directly across the street from the campground, and they have created a “Fort Stevens State Park” that encompasses the entire peninsula with quite a bit to see and do. We drove out to the farthest most point to see the Columbia River Bar, but they are working on extending the Jetty’s so there was quite a bit of closed roads limiting the view. We did get to see the end of the bar and it looks to be quite the wild ride for boats and ships entering the river. Additionally, on the ocean side we saw whales just hanging out and enjoying the sun.

Next, we drove down to the “shipwreck”. This is a wreck of a large steamer that came ashore in a storm in 1925. You can see the remains of the ship right on the beach and people climb on it and take pictures around it. When you sit back on the dune and think about what it must have been like to be on that ship, it makes you get the chills.

We noticed several bike trails in the park, and we wanted to go see the historic section, so we went back to the RV park and unloaded our E-bikes. We then rode into the park and up to the historical section. We started in the small museum to learn the history of the Fort and then went out to visit the many still standing guns, gun placements, bunkers, underground passages, buildings, and trails in the area.

Now here is a bit of tip if you go. At the museum area they have a map and show you a trail that visits several of the main sites. I suggest you walk around the main area but then get on your bike and go exploring like we did. We found all kinds of amazing stuff in the area that was not on the museum map. You can’t do it in a car and walking would take a long time, on bikes you can go pretty much anywhere and there are all kinds of hidden gems on the property.

We spent about three hours exploring the fort and then headed out on the bike trails to cruise around the park. The bike trails are nice and are in the woods, so they protect you from the wind. We rode back down to the shipwreck because it was late in the evening and wanted to see if there were still a lot of people there. There were a few but the clouds and fog were rolling in and the wind was blowing so we headed back to the RV.

This is a beautiful area that I really like. I don’t know how cold it gets in the winter, but it was 68 and sunny today and it was perfect for me. Back home in Henderson NV, they were predicting a high of 118 degrees F, that’s too hot for me.

As I stated earlier, this is a big KAO and we have a row of cabins in front of us. There are four families traveling together and they meet for dinner right in front of us. They have two large BBQ’s and a smoker and cook all evening. It smells so good! Being vegan/vegetarian makes you forget those smells but boy I was ready to go sneak in line and get plate, you know for old times’ sake!

Next stop – We cross over to Washington today.