Astoria

Garry and I are making ourselves comfortable in front of a cosy gas fireplace in our hotel room. We've booked ourselves into the Cannery Pier Hotel in Astoria.  It's located on the bank of the Columbia River, the largest river of the west coast of the entire Americas.

The view from our riverside room is spectacular! We look out across the broad reach of the mighty Columbia River. At this point, less than four miles from the Pacific Ocean the river's width exceeds two miles. As a result, massive sea-going ships are able to make their way up river as far as Portland, more than 60 miles inland. we've already seen two sail past our window.

The drive here was also a day of milestones. First, we clocked up 2,000 miles on the road. We're now closing in on 3,500 kms of driving. Second, it rained several times this afternoon as we drove towards Astoria. This is the firat time since arriving in te USA that we've had anything other than blue skies and sunshine (coastal fog not withstanding).