Sometimes I feel that I moved to Mr. Rogers’  neighborhood.

My improved status as a local (anointed after I’d been seen walking along the river every day for a week or two) is rewarded with a nod or smile as I pass other locals on the path. The trolley, full of tourists, ambles along its tracks and the driver gives a jolly wave as it passes. As the sun sparkles off the river, colors fill the foggy, grey landscape and heads poke out from under raincoats to catch a few rays. There’s the man who literally lives in a rolling doghouse with his cat. Artists get out their paints. Photographers risk taking out their cameras. Of course, there’s the seedier side of life on the river. I’m reminded of it when I pass the group of trees and bushes that hide the drug deals or the homeless camped along the embankment.

A friend of mine said I moved to the Northwest corner of Oregon because I want to live in England. Considering this area’s reputation for being the rainiest place in the U.S., I suppose she might have a point. The weather here was one of the deciding factors for me. Many people consider weather when choosing a new place, but I’m in that minority who prefer cold, rainy climates. Yesterday, the temperature reached 72 degrees. I heard one of my co-workers exclaim “it is so freakin’ hot out there!”

Astoria’s economy is dependent on tourism as people come through on their way to the beaches, to visit the Goonies house, or to follow Lewis and Clark’s great adventure. But there’s more to Astoria than tourists. It is a port city, apparent every day with a walk down the riverfront. The Columbia River Bar (where the river meets the Pacific Ocean) has been known as “the graveyard of the Pacific”. Wikipedia reports 2000 ships have sunk since 1792. It only takes one visit to the maritime museum to understand how dangerous it is for shipping at the mouth of the Columbia and the need for river pilots who take the ships through the jetties. The Coast Guard is here with its Cape Disappointment station on the Washington side. Fort Rilea, the Oregon National Guard Military Training Center, is just down Highway 101 in Warrenton.

My favorite beach is a mere 25 miles away. My summer is planned. Explore Fort Stevens. Visit Fort Clatsop and learn about Lewis and Clark. Climb the Astoria Column. Visit the Oregon Film Museum. Watch the Goonies movie before the big 30 year anniversary gala. Drive the coast of Oregon. Drive over the iconic bridge and visit Washington (viewed daily across the Columbia). Attend one of the many festivals, including the Astoria Music Festival.

California sea lions arrived in large numbers about five years ago. The port is struggling to find a solution to the thousands of sea lions feeding here and costing the port around $100,000 in damages to the docks every year. They swim up and down the river, popping their heads out along the way and making it difficult to separate their cuteness from their obvious bully mentality manifested as they compete for space on the docks.

The season’s first cruise ship will arrive this week. And while we’re on the subject of tourists and cruise ships, may I ask a favor of you? When you are in line to get your coffee, please be kind to your barista. She may be a newbie and might ask several times to clarify your drink. She is learning a new register. She is learning the preferred way to mark your cup. And, possibly, she might have served around a gazillion customers in the last three hours without a break. And very possibly, the previous customer yelled at her because the new barista did not intuit that the customer did not want what he ordered. She is doing her very best. It’s just coffee. Be patient. If your drink is wrong, she’ll fix it.

She’ll get the hang of it pretty soon. (Or as someone wise once said, “One can only hope.J”

Watch for my new website, coming in the next few months, which will provide more informative and traditional travel descriptions and tips.