Saturday, I took a random drive out to the Washington shore without a map. I inadvertently followed 101-South once I got to Aberdeen, having seen 101-North in Olympia, and I figured it would bring be back home.
WRONG!
If you look at a map, you'll see that 101 starts in Olympia, runs north to Port Angeles, hooks west over to the Pacific and then runs south all the way to LA.
So, WA 8 crosses 101 North twice, once in Olympia and once in Aberdeen, but they are not really parallel, unless going way north, cruising east and turning back south counts as parallel.
It didn't take too long to realize I was moving south along the coast towards Oregon, but at that point, I felt committed. So I gassed up the car and continued on to points south, with a slight detour for Brooklyn, WA. Unfortunately there wasn't a there there, so no photo op for my car in front of a "Welcome to Brooklyn" sign.
Coastal Washington is pretty sad, and Aberdeen is just plain depressing. Makes me wonder if it was a contributor to Aberdeen native Kurt Cobain's eventuall suicide.
The bridge across the mouth of the Columbia River is this spectacular cantilever and pilings affair that goes on seemingly forever. At the Golden Hour on a balmy summer day, it was lovely, but I don't think I'd want to be on it during a howling winter storm.
The photo to the right is the Astoria Column. It turns out that Astoria was founded by Jacob Astor (although he never visitied) as a port for beaver skins and other woodland products. Unlike other bedraggled coastal mill and port towns, Astoria is a gem, filled with stunning Victorian and Craftsman homes and a charming 1920's downtown.
