Astoria.

Astoria is a lovely little town west of Portland at the mouth of the Columbia River. It's claim to fame is that Goonies was filmed there. I like it for the dive bar in town that plays new wave music and serves micro brews and a damn fine Reuben sandwich.

And photographs on film. Medium format. I figure if you get 2 photos out of 15 you like you're doing pretty good.

I like these.

The first time I drove into Astoria it was on the day of the Superbowl when Seattle lost to New England. Seattle is as close to a local team as you can get in Astoria. I came in from the north and there wasn't a car on the road until the game ended and then slowly cars appeared. Not many, but a few. I found myself driving along the coast which turned inland at the Columbia and then hung a right onto the causeway and that bridge. It was dark and foggy and as I drove across the causeway I could seen the red tail lights in the fog ahead of me and then they just floated up into the dark, foggy sky and disappeared. I didn't know the bridge was there. I didn't know they were rising up the incline and then disappearing over the hump. It looked like aliens were sucking cars up into the sky and they were disappearing.

I'm going to Astoria again in a couple of weeks. There will be Reuben sandwiches, pinball, a cheap hotel on the river, and some medium format photographs, if dreams come true.