I prefer cod, myself, but they do a pretty good job there. My favorite fish and chips joint on the Oregon coast is in Bandon (Bandon Fish Market), with the close second being a fish shack in Newport (South Beach Fish Market).
And Kindergarten Cop (“…it’s not a tu-muh!”).
Yeah, I looked at the Amtrak Cascades for your trip, and it’s still about 7 hours to Astoria by combination train/bus, but with only one layover in Portland.
Seconded (or thirded now.) We stopped there on our way down the Oregon coast, and thought it fascinating. Might be hard to get to without a car, though.
I’ve done the Cascades before, but I’ve never been down 101, which is part of why I decided to do it that way.
Sounds great. I’ll actually be going northbound through Bandon, then later southbound through Roseburg.
An ultra-mini Dopefest would be great. I’ll send a PM in a few minutes.
Maritime Museum was great. Thanks for the heads up on that one.
Bowpicker - I’d rather have halibut, but the tuna nuggets fresh out of the fryer aren’t bad, the batter is perfect, and the steak fries are delicious. (If only I hadn’t started Ozempic a few weeks ago - even the half order was too much for me to finish.) I noticed they were going through Natural Ice beer by the case to make the batter.
Had a pretty good breakfast at the Pig & Pancake, and I especially liked their sourdough pancakes.
I’m gonna do the underground tour later today before Sam Miller’s show, then tomorrow will be the Film Museum and (if it’s not raining) the Column.
Light rain may come in Sunday afternoon but not enough rain to ruin a day. Heavier rain on Monday. Glad you are having fun so far.
Born here, probably die here, never wanted to live anywhere else.
The main street downtown (Commercial?) reminds me a lot of Newport ave in Ocean Beach, San Diego, where I grew up - same eclectic mix of antique shops, hobby stores, boutiques, and restaurants in old buildings. The people feel a lot similar too and I got quite a few compliments from passers-by on my Dropkick Murphys shirt and Luigi hat.
I was thinking this might be a nice place to retire to in 20 years or so. Despite my hotel being just one of those rinky-dink roadside motor courts off the main drag (albeit a newly renovated and modern one with a retro 50s decor) it was very quiet last night and I slept like a baby.
Let the record show that famous and popular comedian Sam Miller, who I once kicked out of a Jack in the Box for being drunk and rowdy, has forgiven me and likes my hat. 
The Underground tour was great. The two old men who run it pepper lots of dad jokes into the information and share some great stories about the time Astoria burned to the ground, the time Astoria burned to the ground again (that time was the Klan’s fault), an African-American boxer who lived down there for 9 years running a shoeshine business and never seeing the sun, a teenage gang that got busted using the tunnels to break into basements and rob stores in the '60s, and how one of their dads was part of a crew of clowns who toured the northwest in a 1948 Chrysler (which is now in the Underground) to boost for the construction of the bridge that connects Astoria to WA. It’s worth doing and it’s definitely less touristified than Seattle’s underground - they give you flashlights on the way in because it’s mostly VERY dark down there.
For dinner I popped into a Nicaraguan restaurant that caught my eye - never had Nicaraguan before, never even seen a Nicaraguan restaurant, figured I’d try it. I got a fritanga plate, which is sort of a mixed grill with your choice of meat (I went with shrimp), gallo pinto (rice and black beans dressed with pico de gallo, crema, and cotija), fried bananas, a wedge of fried queso blanco, and a chunky hot pepper relish made with serrano, habanero, and onions in vinegar. Delicious stuff, spicy but not overpoweringly so.
I also spent a little while playing Black Knight in a retro arcade, and popped into a tavern so I could blow $10 in about 30 seconds on one of those slot machines the Oregon Lottery runs.
I’m really enjoying my stay here, although I spent so much on food today that I’m probably eating at McDonald’s tomorrow.
It is indeed a very nice theater. It reminds me a lot of the Paramount in Seattle or the Capitol Theatre in Olympia (where Sam filmed his first special), which were both built around the same time. It seems like every town in the Pacific Northwest has its own vintage 1920s movie palace turned live venue that they’re extremely proud of.
Sorry to hear that. I just saw this thread and remembered the yummy breakfast I had here:
We were in Astoria in in September 2022 during the forest fire season, so the air wasn’t the best. We stayed there because it was on our way, and I wish we had stayed 2 nights because it’s a fun little town.
I kid, I kid. Being on vacation is all about eating foods you can’t get at home.
Popped into Mo’s for lunch today and had the chowder while I watched orcas frolick in the water. Hands-down best chowder I’ve ever had, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat it again because it is INSANELY rich. The amount of butter and heavy cream in there is off the charts and I couldn’t even finish the side of garlic bread that came with it.
Film Museum was small and a little underwhelming, but for $6 it was an alright way to spend 20 minutes.
It isn’t raining THAT bad, but it’s pretty breezy today, and after the second time my umbrella turned inside out I decided there was no way I was hiking up to the Column in this weather - that’ll have to wait for a future visit when the weather is nicer. I’ll venture out one more time for dinner before I head home in the morning.
Nice little town. I like it here.