Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Photo credit: Joshua Jones by JJones Design Co.
A couple months ago, Jeffry and I decided it was time to take our first real vacation in almost three years; needing to recharge ourselves and get inspired. We realized that we had never been to the northern Oregon and southern Washington coast before. After doing a bit of research, we decided to stay in Astoria, Oregon since it is a great central location in which to head out to other coastal towns like Cannon Beach, Seaside, and Long Beach, WA. We’re also kind of more urban people anyway, so Astoria was the perfect choice and we booked an Airbnb property right in downtown Astoria, which I talk about in more detail in my other blog post here.
View of Astosia, Oregon from Astoria Column. Photo credit; Joshua Jones by JJones Design Co.
We arrived in Astoria, Oregon and we decided to check out the Astoria Column. After a 164 step spiraling staircase climb to the top, you get a gorgeous view of Astoria and where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. The bridge there is called the Astoria-Megler bridge and connects Oregon to Washington. It’s the longest continual truss bridge in the US!
Captain George Flavel House Museum in Astoria, Oregon. Photo credit: Joshua Jones by JJones Design Co.
We heard about this neat historic Queen Anne style mansion called the Flavel House and wanted to tour this mansion. We were very impressed by the fact that the house is very well maintained and the historical society that owns and maintains the property was able to save 87% of the original woodwork, furniture, and finishes from 1885 when it was built. I have to say that the woodwork in this place was gorgeous and was in it’s original finish. The mansion was almost demolished in the 1950’s to make way for the parking lot for the courthouse across the street. It was saved by the local historic presentation organization and turn it into museum. I was impressed because saving a historic property in the 50’s was pretty unheard of! That’s pretty rare and unfortunately we’ve lost a lot of amazing architecture. I’m glad this gem has survived.
Downtown Astoria. Photo credit: Joshua Jones by JJones Design Co.
We love that we found a place to stay right in the heart of downtown Astoria. The downtown area is really charming with some fantastic examples of early 20th century architecture housing some lovely shops, really great restaurants, and museums. Blue Scorcher bakery for the win!
Pier Ruin in Astoria, Oregon. Photo credit: Joshua Jones by JJones Design Co.
For some odd reason, I have a thing about pier ruins. When I noticed that Astoria has a lot them…a lot…I got really excited! With a long history of being a fishing and port town, the area was dotted with a lot of great examples of these old pier posts. They were particularly beautiful because many were etched with gorgeous green PNW moss.
The Garden of Surging Waves in Astoria, Oregon. Photo credit: Joshua Jones by JJones Design Co.
We were walking around downtown Astoria and we came across this urban park; The Garden of Surging Waves, a Chinese garden located across from Astoria City Hall. The city and area has a history of Chinese immigrants that worked the canneries, build railroads, and construct the town. Unfortunately, there is little evidence of their culture or the hardships and sacrifices they endured. This park is a small way of memorializing the contributions Chinese made to the area. There is this amazing sculpture that had various immigrant short stories told in the voice of their family or friends. It was really heartwarming and gave us a better appreciation of the Chinese experience in the area.
Cannon Beach, Oregon. Photo credit: Joshua Jones by JJones Design Co.
We went to three different beaches on our trip; Seaside, Cannon Beach, and Long Beach in Washington. We had been hearing about these beach towns for many years and always want to check them out. Seaside has a nice beach and we certainly enjoyed enjoy walking around. It’s a family friendly place with a lot of vacation properties and small resorts right along the beach; providing easy access. There were some arcades in town that took me back to my childhood and a really cute indoor carousel that was in fantastic condition. We went to Cannon Beach afterward and definitely were in love for it’s gorgeous beaches and charming little downtown area that had a decidedly New England vibe to it with all the buildings in a matching gray washed wood. We noshed a bit on crab cocktail at Ecola Seafood Restaurant and Market - delish!
Though very visible from downtown Cannon Beach, we drove a little south and parked along the road to make our way down to the beach directly in front of Haystack Rock. It’s a refuge for birds and a protected breeding ground for puffins. It was a beautiful moment to watch the sunset as the waves were crashing up against it and it’s smaller rocky cousins. An end to a perfect day.
The next day saw us heading north across that Astoria-Megler bridge to Long Beach in Washington. It was a really huge beach but beautiful; in a very different way than the Oregon beaches just an hour south. Long Beach had a wide stretch of wild grass covered sand dunes separating the beach from the town and any development. It lent the beach a more quite and isolated feeling that was very peaceful. Being the off season and a bit freezing, there were very few people around, lucky for us, as you can drive on that beach and we zoomed along the edge of the surf with the windows down in our car and enjoyed the ocean breeze and fresh air.
North Head Lighthouse in Cape Disappointment, Washington. Photo credit: Joshua Jones by JJones Design Co.
On our way back to Astoria after Long Beach, we drove to Cape Disappointment, which was NOT a disappointment, to explore and see two lighthouses; one of which is still active and in really great condition. The old original 2-story caretaker homes; which are not shown on this picture, are actually available as vacation rentals!
We had a wonderful vacation, which is what we desperately needed since the Covid-19 pandemic has been hard on us, as it has for so many. Now we are recharged and ready to do some more inspired design work for all my wonderful clients!
