At Forsythea

John Snyder used to introduce his teaching unit on Australia by asking his second grade class if any of them had ever been there. On one occasion, a little boy’s hand shot up and before John could call on him he said excitedly, “Oh yes! I’ve been to Australia. I got my school shoes there!” And all of the other kids nodded sagely. I don’t know if John pointed out that the little traveler had probably been shoe shopping in Astoria.

I often think about that story when we cross the bridge – especially when we go more as tourists than on errands. Yesterday was that sort of day – we met friends for lunch, visited a few of our favorite shops (and shopkeepers), schmoozed with bookstore owners about my upcoming book, went to Forsythea’s ribbon-cutting, and topped off the day by going out to dinner!

We also took time to visit a few downtown Astoria shops we had never been in and strolled through the River People’s Farmer Market (known more familiarly as “The Thursday Market”) on 13^th Street. We admired the produce and varieties of goat cheese, enjoyed the music and the sunshine and went on a quest for lemonade. We finally found it and took a break at Street 14 Coffee where we sat and people-watched and decided on our next stop – to look in at their shoe sale.

Fort Clatsop Entrance

All-in-all, it was like a vacation day on the road and, like most travel adventures, it had high points and low points. The most enjoyable parts were those that involved visiting with people – the new-to-us folks as well as the old friends and acquaintances from both sides of the river. Unfortunately, the day ended on a not-so-great note – a really dreadful dinner at the new sushi restaurant in town. But again, it was one of those ‘travel experiences’ – and now we can stop wondering and put it in the ‘been there done that’ category.

By the time we returned home last evening, I definitely felt like I had been traveling! We had even used my Golden Age Passport out at Fort Clatsop! I have to interject here that said “passport” which gets us (and our vehicle) in free-of-charge to any National Park in the United States is one of the best bargains I’ve ever made. I purchased it in Williamsburg back in 2002 and we’ve used it on visits to dozens of parks since. I understand that it is now a ‘collector’s item’ but then, as our friend Gordon used to say, “Aren’t we all?”

So it is that this morning I woke up feeling a little tired but with my mind full of yesterday – just like anyone would traveling across the bridge “to Australia!”