We left Aberdeen about noon for a fairly short trip to Astoria. On the way we stopped at Long Beach which is apparently very popular with people from Portland and surrounds. It was a lovely, rather long beach, (clue is in the name again!) and quite busy, even though the weather wasn’t great and it was a bit chilly and windy, though maybe I’m just a wimp! We drove into Astoria over the Astoria-Megler Bridge which is 4.1 miles long and the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. The drive between Aberdeen and Astoria is quite scenic though nothing particularly spectacular. We were staying in the Columbia Inn and the motel was ok again though it smelled rather nasty until I found the room deodoriser thingamy and unplugged it!
Stupidly and despite reading about Astoria being quite a historic town we didn’t go walking or driving into the town until the next day. Driving into Astoria it didn’t look like there was much to see or do so we basically stayed in the area our motel was in; the bistro I had booked for dinner was in the same area as well. I think after the disappointment of Aberdeen our expectations were so low that we didn’t really expect anything better! Dinner was booked for 17:30 at the Bridgewater Bistro so we went out an hour or so before and had a couple of drinks at some local bars, with some very local customers; but that’s how we roll! We went to Mary Todd’s Workers Tavern first, and then to the Triangle Tavern.
Strangely, and despite low expectations after seeing the local bars, the Bridgewater Bistro turned out to be very, very good. I had a crab cheesecake for starter and bacon jam burger for mains, while Brian had cod & chips. We shared a chocolaty dessert and all the dishes were very good, with the cod probably being the star of the show; coated in corn and rice flour and not oily at all but just perfectly crispy and moreish. We had another early night – with very full stomachs!
Interesting observation of the day: Tsunami Evacuation signs everywhere as apparently this area is at high danger of tsunamis!
Biltong and Burger 