By the time we arrived in Astoria, Oregon, it was evening. We had wanted to squeeze in a visit to the Maritime Museum and the Lewis and Clark National Monuments, but we didn’t have time that evening. So instead we settled down in our yurt at Fort Stevens campground.
We loved our yurt! It had bunk beds for the girls and a fold-out futon for Abe and me (although we secretly moved Mary from the bottom bunk to the futon before going to bed–the bunkbeds were more comfy than the futon.) There was a heater inside so we felt cozy when the night became chilly, and best of all, there was a skylight at the top of the yurt so we could fall asleep watching the night sky.
After checking out our yurt, we met up with the Martineaus at the campground beach. There have been over two thousand shipwrecks in the past one hundred years at the mouth of the Columbia River, and one of the shipwrecks landed on the camp beach. It was the wreck of the Peter Iredale.
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After we played on the beach, we headed to a restaurant in Astoria. We were the last people they served, and we felt so lucky! Restaurants close early in Oregon in May. Also, it is very tricky finding restaurants that feel child-friendly enough for six small children. I can’t remember the name of the restaurant where we ate, but it was great.
And then we headed back to our yurt. The Martineaus were staying in a hotel in Astoria, but they joined us for after-dinner s’mores. Candace and I had the luxury of talking by the fire while our husbands kept the kids in tow. (After s’mores, the kids wanted to all play on the bunk beds.)
Then it was time for bed…and Ammon shocked and delighted us by not only going straight to bed, but by sleeping through the night!! What a star.