{summer of fun} Astoria

To belatedly celebrate our birthdays, Chris and I fled the city and headed to a small coastal town at the very northern tip of Oregon. It's a town that's had a significant impact on both the nation's past and MY past. The spot? Astoria, Oregon. Have you heard of it? Nationally, it's significant because it's where Lewis and Clark wintered when they were here. It's also the first settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. Personally, it's significant because it's where my parents met and where I was born! :)  My parent's moved up to the Portland area when I was really little, but my mom's entire family still lives there, so it's not like it's been 30 years since I visited (I mean 20. Er, yeah, 20 years ;). Growing up I spent quite a bit of time there, especially in the summers.  But these days I usually go for a day, and usually on National Holidays when everything is closed. Honestly, I've always taken the town for granted and never taken the time to explore.

The last couple times I've driven through town I noticed there are a lot cool hotels, restaurants and shops popping up. So Chris and I played tourists for a weekend. We spent a couple days enjoying the great restaurants, relaxing and poking around in the cute little shops. Its was lovely.

The town sits right at the mouth of where the Columbia River meets the Pacific. Historically, it's a town that grew from the fishing industry. My mom even worked in a cannery during her summers growing up. And yes, that meant I had no sympathy when it came to my summer jobs ;).

The town is charming and people are working hard to restore its historic buildings, instead of tearing them down, which I love. It makes for a town full of beautiful architecture surrounded by amazing land and water. Below are a few snapshots of our adventures I thought you'd enjoy.

We stayed in the Commodore Hotel, outside pictured above. Monday I'll share with a little more about the hotel, because it is one of the coolest hotels I've ever stayed in and the decor is AMAZING. 

And with that, I hope you have an FABULOUS weekend! We're having stay-at-home work weekend. Fingers crossed that I'll have some great *after* photos to share with you next week.