Astoria, I finally discovered, was named after John Jacob Astor, who had a fur trapping business here. It is a nice little town with a very nice riverfront, and of course this maritime museum.
There are several Coast Guard boats in the museum. This one is outside.
I had to stop and look through the window at this one. What an angle! It is trying to impress upon visitors how rough the sea can be when I lifesaving boat goes out to rescue someone.
This shows all the ships which have wrecked in the Columbia river and the ocean at the opening or the "bar."
And here is the lifesaving boat I saw through the window. All the "people" are tethered with long straps to prevent them from falling overboard.
This shows "the bar" or the sandbar that forms at the opening of the river. At this point, the river water meets the ocean currents and creates huge waves. There are river pilots, but there are also specialized "bar" pilots.
More Coast Guard boats.
And this is a fishing boat.
This sign explains about a small Japanese boat found on the beach.
Admission also includes a tour of the lightship Columbia. Before satellite navigation and radar, this ship acted as a lighthouse 5 miles out to sea beyond the mouth of the river.
There is a very nice bike path along the river and a $1 trolley you can take. I was impressed that the local Safeway store had RV parking, which is where I was when I took this opportunity to take a photo of the bike path and trolley.
And of course, I could not ignore the constantly barking sea lions nearby. Don't these guys ever get tired of making noise? Or do they take turns??
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