ASTORIA

If you want to see more of the Oregon coast, there is a good bus system out of Astoria connecting several coastal towns, but don't ask the locals as they may be aware of the bus system but most do not ride it and will misdirect you. Even the Seaside visitor center was little help. There is current information at the website ridethebus.org.

The Kodiak Perspective took a break from the honky-tonk that is Seaside to visit Astoria Oregon, just up the road. What a difference, Seaside is very tourist oriented and sits on a flat piece of land, Astoria has hills, and is more of a working town. The downtown area is rather dingy with older buildings that look neglected, dirty and in disrepair. Astoria looks like a town that has past it's prime.

The Kodiak Perspective was able to score a copy of the David Foster Wallace magnum opus "Infinite Jest" which was readily available in Astoria. The book was unavailable when this trip started, not at Title Wave nor Barnes & Noble in Anchorage, not in Portland, nor at the bookstores here in Seaside, but was seen at two bookstores in Astoria. Maybe it is just a week later, or they may have been available all along. The Kodiak Perspective was surprised at the heft of the novel which comes in at 981 pages of text or 1077 if you read the endnotes. It is not exactly the ideal travel book to read on an airplane as Alaska Air will charge you extra for the weight.

The bus stop in Seaside is at the cinema, 12th and the highway, 12 blocks over at the end of the "Prom" as it is locally called (promenade), and a half dozen blocks up. Across the way is an outlet mall if the visitor is inclined to shop for name brands without the tourist markup. Here the American consumer can load up on Nike, Eddie Bauer, Black & Decker, Pendleton, Bid Dogs, Harry & David, and other purveyors of goods to be foisted upon our already overwhelmed budgets.

Rather than shop, The Kodiak Perspective spent the afternoon on the beach enjoying the sunshine, catching a few rays and watching people flying kites. The water here is very different from Kodiak which is filled with small islands and rocky shoals seen from coves and bays. Here in Seaside, there is a long sandy beach and nothing on the horizon but an expanse of water, it is very peaceful.