Anyone a fan of the movie "Goonies"? It was filmed in Astoria, and the 30th anniversary of the film was celebrated the weekend of June 4-7. Many of the visitors in Astoria over the weekend were drawn to the Goonies celebrations. I have never seen the movie (no surprise there), but Tom did so he recognized some things that were otherwise lost on me. Apparently, people came from all over for the fun!
We went to Astoria to visit the Columbia River Maritime Museum and the Flavel House. The museum was fascinating to us. We learned a lot about "Bar Pilots" and the Columbia River itself.
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| Goonies celebration all weekend....all over town |
The mouth of the Columbia River is known as the Graveyard of the Pacific, because so many shipwrecks and lives have been lost there. At the point where the Columbia River and the Wilamette River flow together and into the Pacific Ocean, the water is treacherous. To make matters worse, there are many sandbars, which change over time, so you really have to know the river to travel safely. The Columbia is a major trade route-very important even today.
To get ships into the river, there are "bar pilots"-experts that board the incoming vessel by climbing up a rope ladder on the side of the ship from the pilot boat. The waters are usually very very choppy, and well, treacherous. It is the most dangerous part of the bar pilots job. (Frankly, the whole job is dangerous)!
Bar pilots are an elite group of about 20 experts, that can safely navigate ships through the sand bar area of the river. Sounds so simple as I'm writing this, but you should see the videos! WOW! The bar pilots have memorized the river, and they need to stay on top of things because the sand bar changes with time. Tough job! And only for the brave!
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| map of shipwrecks at the Columbia River head (all those little boats are shipwrecks) |
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| learning about the Bar |
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| fishing boats |
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| another type of fishing boat from back in the day |
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| Tom - navigating a tug boat! |
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| a picture of the ladder the bar pilot has to climb up on the side of a ship |
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| actual ladder in the museum |
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| this boat washed up on the Washington Coast not far from here. It was from the Tsunami in Japan in 2011 |
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| loved this display....how many ways can you say "barf" |
There were many interesting displays that explained about life on the River and in Astoria. Would be interesting to learn more about life back in the day. The Chinese immigrants that came to work in the cannery business did not find wealth and a better life, as they thought they would. The immigrants also had to deal with a lot of wicked discrimination. I'm sure they had a very hard life in Astoria. There is a park in the town dedicated to these Asian immigrants. Other displays showed some to the items that were shipped up and down the Columbia River.
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| a scene from the cannery back in the day |
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| of course I spotted this right away....its made of whale bone |
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| some of the items on the trade ships...china and beads from Asia and Russia....fur pelts from the U.S. |
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| the displays were interesting...most also had a video |
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| my supply of salmon? |
While we were there,we also watched the 3-D version of Galapagos, which was really informative and fun to watch in 3-D. Another area of the museum was dedicated to Coast Guard rescuers. The videos were chilling to watch. What brave souls....all of them! The bar pilots, the Coast Guard, and even the fishermen! Some of the videos showed ocean conditions like in the movie "The Perfect Storm". Talk about the power of water and mother nature!
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| pretty good in 3-D!! |
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| can you imagine? The videos here were really interesting-on training for rescues |
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| another view |
Outside the museum, which is right on the Columbia, is a light house ship, which is part of the tour. This special vessel had a "light" on it, and would be parked in the ocean about 5 miles out to see at the head of the Columbia River, where there was no lighthouse. It was decommissioned with the onset of electronic navigational tools. We had fun going through the ship.
We had lunch on a park bench watching the huge shipping vessels waiting to be tugged out. There was actually a line of them waiting, sort of like planes waiting to take off on the runway. We also admired the paddlewheeler docked near the museum.
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| ships on the Columbia River...docked and waiting for a river pilot? |
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| don't know what the deal is with the Paddlewheeler...but it looked really nice |
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| there's my salmon fisherman now! |
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| the pilot boat..that pulls up next to one of those huge cargo ships to guide them down the river |
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| the Coast Guard is also here at this dock...and that's the Astoria Bridge behind Tom |
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| not sure where this boat goes... |
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| this is a "lightship".... acts as a lighthouse in areas where there is no land |
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| we could tour the boat...so we did! |
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| the captain's quarters |
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| more quarters for the captain or other's in charge |
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| the captain's bathrooms |
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| hmmm...where does this lead? |
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| coffee anyone? |
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| the kitchen |
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| a radio room (Tom thinks its still in use) |
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| okay...this is where the non-officers lived |
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| more bunks....looks awful |
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| oh, and anther room of bunks |
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| our on deck |
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| wow...looks like it would be hard to steer this ship in choppy water! |
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| that barge is coming in with a tug |
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| there's the lightship Columbia...see the light at the top of the mast? |
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| relaxin' |
The Flavel House was just a few blocks away...a nice stroll along the riverfront and up a few blocks. It was the home of Captain Flavel, a very successful and esteemed bar pilot who navigated ships up the Columbia River. Due to his success as a bar pilot and later, a businessman and real estate investor, he was one of the most well-off people in the area and had a huge influence in the success of Astoria. He had his mansion built for retirement, but only lived there 6 years before his death. Very interesting story, and kept with the maritime theme of our day...ahha.
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| Flavel House |
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| beautiful gardens too |
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| this was a fancy mansion back in the day |
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| really great gardens...Mrs. Flavel was into flowers |
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| back of the house and the carriage house |
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| this was a beautiful needlepoint in the Carriage House (aka Visitor Center)-Of course I asked about it. It took 4 women 4 years to complete it...but it is really beautiful |
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| scenes from the Flavel garden |
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| there's beautiful flowers around that bench seat as well |
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| gorgeous stained glass at the top of the front door |
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| a sitting room |
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| huge dining room |
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| the kitchen |
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| one of the bedrooms |
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| of course I love the quilts |
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| close up |
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| not a fan of the stuffed bird decoration |
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| all the rooms were pretty fancy for the time period |
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| indoor plumbing and a bathtub!! |
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| a kid's closet |
We spotted some Goonie things right across the street from the Flavel mansion. The Goonie house was right up the street, and hoards of people were going there. This anniversary weekend really drew in crowds from all over! The town was packed!
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| Goonies car |
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| the jail was in the movie |
Heading back to the Maritime Museum parking lot, we passed the Garden of Surging Waves, dedicated to all those Chinese immigrants who worked so hard at the canneries in Astoria. And lo and behold...a street fair! We were able to walk through a couple of streets of tents before they started closing up shop. It was getting late in the afternoon, and Tom was certainly thankful about that...hahahha!
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| this garden was dedicated to the Asian immigrants that helped shape Astoria |
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| oohhh...a craft fair!!! a couple of streets worth!! |
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| can you see how thrilled Tom is? |
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| the Goonies sailboat |
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| this Coast Guard ship was heading down the river |
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| It was a big Goonies weekend here in Astoria and neighboring communities |
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