Scandinavian Festival

It turns out that Astoria has a "midsummer Scandinavian Festival" on the third week of June and Barb and I decided to go.  Barb describes it as the Kennedy Krieger Festival of Trees, but without the trees. We want to give you a little taste of it.  The first thing you see is the Scandinavian clothing.  There is a long tradition of Scandinavian people settling in the Pacific Northwest because it is similar to their climate at home.

The event is held at the Clatsop Fairgrounds, about four miles south of Astoria.  There is a large building, similar to the Timonium Cow Palace, but smaller. You can see some of the inside of the building in the picture at the above left.






There are lots of vendors and music is non-stop. Here is Barb selecting which wine cork she wants to purchase.  One of the craftsmen is a specialist in "turning" various types of wood on his spindle.




This is one of the many food outlets at Festival. It was a direct steal from IKEA!  Meatballs, potatoes, red cabbage, and I had lingenberry jam.  Oh, so good.






A huge part of the festival is the music and these guys are really good.  They play multiple instruments, including the accordion, which was a favorite instrument.



Finally, we have to tell you about this Viking boat.  It actually began its life as a US Navy vessel, but over the years it has added a mast, a custom-built trailer, a sail, and various emblems on it's side to show it's Scandinavian roots.  There are multiple carvings that have been added to add to its authenticity. It is going on tour across the United States to sail on various lakes, but it hopes to dip its toes in the Atlantic Ocean.

We moved!

So much has happened since we last blogged, but I will get to "lede" of the story:  we moved to Gearhart, Oregon on the Pacific coast.

We love it here. We moved about two months ago and we have a quiet street that we are living at 1324 Wild Rose Lane.  It is only one block long.  This is the house we selected.  It has three bedrooms, two baths, and a two car garage.  Just the right size for us now.

After spending many years learning about the East Coast, we decided it was time for us to learn about the West Coast and that is what we are doing.  Also, the fact that both of our sons (and their fiances) have moved to the West Coast is a contributing factor! The house has been fully remodeled.

We have already been to one of Rob's musicals: "Little Shop of Horrors".  He has been a great help shuttling us back and forth between Portland and Gearhart and we are really grateful for his service to us.  Vera Alcorn, Rob's fiance, continues with her studies and her music, which we have been privileged to hear on several occasions.

Matt and Mary Louise are coming at the end of July and we are also looking forward to their visit.

The nearby communities of Cannon Beach,  Seaside, and Gearhart are full of surprises because this is where the Lewis and Clark Expedition came out.  This is a picture of the Seaside "salt works" which was constructed over the winter of 1805-06.  It is a reproduction but you can get the gist of it.  They used five buckets to constantly keep the water boiling. There was a fire underneath. They actually stayed at Fort Clatsop ten miles to the north on the coast.

We already have visited the famous Tillamook Cheese factory which is 44 miles south of us and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour and the lunch that we had.  Grilled cheese sandwiches, of course! Part of the charm of this area is the rugged Pacific coast line, so different from the Atlantic Coast.  While it does have places you can enjoy the beach, a great deal of it is jagged rocks and boulders that stick up out of nowhere.  It was part of the fun to drive those roads.


Finally, we have already visited Ft. Stevens State Park and explored the wreck of the Peter Ireland.  Folks love their RVs up in this part of the country and they drive them everywhere including the state parks.  We aren't ready to make the investment yet...

Bye for now, Ed