Hi, I'm Eric.

I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.

I help implement the Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe.

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A Weekend in Portland and Astoria

23 January 2022 • 780 km / 485 mi (map)

My partner and I took an impromptu trip to Portland and Astoria this weekend. We discovered two great hotels and added three new parks to the 146 Parks project.

Hotel Grand Stark, Portland

Hotel Grand Stark is a cute boutique hotel in Portland’s Eastside neighborhood. We found a fun variety of restaurants nearby and enjoyed its quirky décor.

It’s World Famous!

The next morning we left for Astoria by way of Paradise Point State Park.

Astoria River Views

We arrived in Astoria in time to check out the Columbia River Maritime Museum, which was great fun. (We’ll leave the pictures to them!)

And then were treated to some great sunset views on the river.

A rocky shoreline along the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon, with small waves breaking over dark stones in the foreground and rows of weathered old pilings rising from the water. A red-hulled cargo ship sits in the distance beneath a broad blue sky, with low hills lining the far shore.
A wide view across the choppy Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon, with rows of weathered wooden pilings jutting from the water and several cargo ships anchored along the far shoreline beneath low hills and a clear blue sky. In the foreground on the right, a rocky riprap bank lined with trees and green grass frames the scene in warm late-afternoon light.
Several cargo ships and bulk carriers anchored across a broad, choppy stretch of water at dusk, with low forested hills and a rounded island silhouetted along the horizon under a soft peach-to-blue gradient sky.

Bowline Hotel, Astoria

I’ve long been a fan of the Cannery Pier Hotel when I go to Astoria, but they are currently closed for renovations. The Bowline turned out to be a very fun and cute alternative. Situated on the waterfront right in the heart of downtown Astoria, it was an easy walk from there to a wide variety of restaurants and its own lobby bar, The Knot, offered some creative cocktails.

View from a wooden deck with a cable railing and potted plants overlooking a wide river at dusk, with a white waterfront building marked “39” on the right and cargo ships anchored in the distance under a peach-to-blue gradient sky as a gull flies overhead.
View along a waterfront building’s wooden pier deck at dusk, with a railing and moss-covered pilings in the foreground overlooking choppy river water; the long span of a bridge and distant hills sit under a soft orange and blue sunset sky.
A panoramic view from a waterfront deck at the Bowline Hotel in Astoria, Oregon, looking out over the wide, choppy Columbia River at dusk with a pastel pink and blue sky. A long bridge and low hills line the horizon to the left, a cargo ship sits mid-river, and wooden pilings and railings frame the foreground on both sides.
A large oversized Edison-style pendant light bulb hangs from a black cord routed over a small pulley wheel mounted to an exposed weathered wood-plank ceiling with heavy timber beams and metal conduit pipes. A small neon-green squiggle sign glows on the ceiling in the background, along with white ceiling-mounted devices.
The number 33 in an elegant copper-orange serif font mounted on a dark matte door, with a small peephole below it, dimly lit at the Bowline Hotel in Astoria, Oregon.
Yes, there are sea lions nearby!

On our way out of town, we took a friend’s recommendation and had breakfast at the Street 14 Café.

Interior of the Street 14 Café featuring a large red neon “COFFEE SHOP” sign above a wooden counter, with a masked barista behind the bar, an espresso machine, and a menu board listing coffee prices against a green tiled wall.

We visited two new parks on Sunday, Fort Columbia and Loomis Lake. OK, actually we visited three new parks, but we realized that Cape Disappointment was larger than we had time for this weekend.

One picture for now, and we’ll be back!

A misty, forested headland silhouetted against a hazy Pacific coastline, with silhouetted evergreens crowning a steep bluff that drops to a beach where waves break around an offshore rock, under a pale blue sky streaked with wispy clouds.
Beard’s Hollow View Point, Cape Disappointment State Park, west of Ilwaco, Washington
to Portland and Astoria, Oregon, and back over three days · 780 km / 485 mi
(Mouse over or tap on the markers to see the photos there. Use the button to adjust the map’s position and zoom.)

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