Long Beach

Headed west to the coast today. Stopped for petrol just before crossing over to Washington and apparently in Oregon you can't self serve at petrol stations - not quite sure if that is true but nonetheless we had someone fill the car for us. Keeps the unemployment rate down I guess.

We crossed over the estuary at Astoria briefly stopping to see the sights at Astoria. Nothing really obvious from the map so went to tourist info where we were told that they had 'a tower - that's always popular'.
With expectations thus set to the point where a house with 3 stories would probably have met the bill we were pleasantly surprised when we got there. A wraparound frieze tells the story of the Northwest territories.
Some good views from the top too


From there it was back into Washington state and a stop at Lewis and Clarke state park.
The weather got a little overcast as we hit the beach



But that never stops the kids from wanting to play in the waves of the Pacific
with the inevitable consequences. And let me tell you, it was not warm

But then the clouds thinned out, the sun shone through, the kids dried off (a bit) and more fun was to be had, despite a cold, cold wind, which Dan at least seemed impervious to.


Then onto Long Beach, WA, in time for an evening stroll
The beach is huge and had gorgeous sand


Then out for dinner where we found Dan has a taste for clams