Tuesday

We had bagels for breakfast today. We then went to the Astoria Tower. The tower, perched on top of a hill above the city, is a long concrete cylinder stood on end with an observation deck on top and a spiral staircase inside. It has a fantastic view of the coast and the city of Astoria. A lot of people were throwing paper airplanes off the tower and due to the structure's height the flew truly impressive distances. Unfortunately we didn't know about the tradition and neglected to bring paper for airplanes. It seemed like too much work to go up and down the tower just to throw some paper off.

For lunch we split up to to find our own food among the varied stores, bakeries and eateries of Astoria. I was paired with my younger brother and we went to Safeway and bought fresh bagels, a third pound of roast beef and a 2-liter bottle of Squirt. At less than five dollars for the two of us we won the Penny Pincher Award for our choice.

Most of the family spent the afternoon browsing the small shops of Astoria. Since I'm not a shopper, I went for a long walk and then read in the car. Finally we went to the beach for a little while. I found an enormous sand castle and than claimed I built it. Since I was only out of sight for a few minutes I don't think Dad really believed me but it was still funny.

I did dishes tonight and while my hands were wet and busy Mosquitoes attacked with a vengeance. They've been bad all along but tonight they're disgusting! The bug repellent is working great for the rest of the family but it doesn't seem to be doing a thing for me. It'll be a long itchy night.