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Picture of the pool area at the Hilton Garden Inn in Portland.
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A panoramic photo of the pool. Rick's children can be seen in this shot as well - April and Alyssa. For them, the best thing about traveling is swimming in the pools, no matter how cold they are.
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A pretty valley on the road from Portland to Astoria.
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Another shot of the same valley and a bridge going across the river.
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Shot of the Astoria Bridge and a burned out dock over the Columbia River. This shot was taken from the 11th Street Docks were some of the ARIES Team Members were having lunch at a small cafe that sits over the water. If you can't tell by the photo, it was very cold that day.
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This is one of the most beautiful shots taken on the trip. A boat is sailing across the Columbia River as the sun sets behind the Astoria Bridge. This picture was taken from the 12th Street Docks where the team had dinner at Great Alaska. The food wasn't that great, and neither was the price, but the views were wonderful.
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The team decides to take a trip to the Astoria Column, which is a 125 foot column located on the tallest point in Astoria. This picture is looking upward at the 169 steps to the top of the column.
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This is a picture of the Astoria Bridge crossing the Columbia River, taken atop the Astoria Column. The Washington coastline can be seen on the other side.
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Photo of greater Astoria from the column.
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Okay, I slipped this in - a family Photo of Rick, Rita, Alyssa and April posing like she is some super model (which is what she does quite often).
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Totally breath taking - a picture of Young's Bay, again from the view of the Astoria Column. The valley looks like it would be a wonderful place to live.
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Another amazing shot of Young's Bay and the coastal mountains of Oregon disappearing into the horizon.
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A totally panoramic shot - a full 180 from the Column, starting from Young's Bay to the left, crossing over greater Astoria and ending up on the Columbia River where a larger tanker heads for the bridge.
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A wide panoramic of the Columbia River taken from Rick's hotel room. Okay, Lessons Learned: when visiting Astoria, you don't stay in a bed and breakfast, but rather you stay at the Comfort Inn. Also in the shot you can see the Trolley tracks that run right past the hotel.
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Great (but blurry) shot of a tanker on the Columbia River.
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The Astoria Trolley. It doesn't go far - just a couple of miles up and down the Columbia River through historic Astoria, but the team decides to take a ride.
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This shot was taken from the Trolley as it passed under the Astoria Bridge. The angle shows the enormity of the bridge itself. At the bottom of the photo are two cement pillars sticking out of the river - this is actually a memorial of those lost on the river and at sea.
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This is like the strangest sight found in Astoria - condos built on top of pillars over the Columbia River. It looks like they are about to fall right into the water. I can't imagine how they sleep at night; and hey, doesn't the river ever flood?
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This was totally amazing. The 11th Street Docks, which includes a cafe and extended deck with a great observation point and where many people were fishing off the docks (which you can't actually see in this photo). The team did have lunch in the cafe shown here.
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This picture was taken from the high observation deck on the 11th Street Docks. Just past the docks is the trolley tracks and then the community of Astoria.
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This photo, also taken from the trolley ride, is a closed warehouse over the Columbia River. This building was used in one scene in the movie Free Willy.
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Ahhh - finally members of the team. This was taken inside the trolley, and as can be seen, the backs of Michael's and Ron's heads are in clear view. Can you tell who is who?
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Okay, we are now off the trolley and driving across the Astoria Bridge. Another closeup view of the amazing construction.
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Now going down the high point of the bridge towards Washington.
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Across the bridge on the other side of the Columbia River is Washington. This picture is a panoramic of Long Beach. Rick's daughter Alyssa is making a bee line straight for the water.
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Another pose from Rick's daughter April as she tries to look bored while playing in the water. As the picture implies, the water was freezing.
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Driving from Long Beach back to the Astoria Bridge, the view of Astoria across the Columbia is spectacular. A rock wall keeps Rick from driving into the Columbia River.
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This is again on the Astoria bridge and a Seagull is racing Rick to the other side. Actually, as you drive across the bridge, the Seagulls will often glide right next to the passing cars.
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The last shot of the Astoria Bridge crossing, now back on the Oregon side.
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