"There are grammatical errors even in his silence." - Stanislaw J. Lec

Yesterday (Sunday) was, as I expected, too busy for a post. B'fast with dad, off to church, out to lunch with the folks afterward and then the drive south to Fort Stevens Sate Park just outside Astoria, OR. We got to our campsite in time to set it up, run into town for supper and back for a campfire and bed.

Today we hit the spots. First was a visit to the Peter Iredale, a shipwreck from 1906. When we'd come here with the boys 30 years ago there was a LOT more of the wreckage but time and the sea demand their toll. 

From there to the fort parts of Fort Stevens. They built batteries here prior to WWI that saw use again in WWII, guarding the mouth of the mighty Columbia River. I have more pics still on the camera. Interesting to climb through the various batteries of the fort and see how it all laid out. Good beach views too, with soaring eagles overhead.

After lunch and a nap we drove into Astoria and climbed the Astoria Tower. It was built in 1926 and sits on the highest spot in the (small) city. A spiral staircase with 164 narrow steps goes up the inside to a viewing deck at the top. Cool views even on an overcast day.

As you can see, the outside is decorated with secenes depicting significant events of the area's history from the early 1800's. Those images were faded beyond recognition when we were last here with the boys but have been restored since then. 

We'll do some more stuff here in Astoria before dinner and back to the campsite. I may shower this evening, but it's vacation so I may wait another three or four days.

I'm reading "Long Knife" on my Kindle. Good book! It follows the life of one of the brothers to the Clark of Lewis and Clark fame. This one was a famous colonel in the revolutionary army. 

Being away from Pathway feels like leaving your kids at home. But they're good kids and I'm pretty sure they'll behave. Mostly. And it's important for me to get out of the forest. It always happens; after a few days I wind down. Then I start winding up, thinking of what lies ahead and getting eager to be back at it. This time around my head is also occupied with my camp gig screaming up on me. I need to spend significant time while we're gone finishing up the sessions and making the slide presentations. I'm home for 8 days before I leave for that fearsome responsibility. 

My mind doesn't do "shut down" mode very well.