R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 148

Astoria’s Captain George Flavel House Museum

Captain George Flavel House Museum

Astoria was named after famed business mogul John Jacob Astor, but Mr. Astor certainly wasn’t the only millionaire in the early days of Astoria. George Flavel made his fortune here as a Columbia River bar pilot. Captain Flavel left quite a legacy, including the Captain George Flavel House Museum:

Captain George Flavel House Museum

This house is a great example of Queen Anne architecture, but it may be more familiar to fans of the 1985 motion picture The Goon...

Fun Photo Friday — Astoria Favorites Part 1

Fun Composition

Here are some fun shots from our stroll through Astoria:

Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel Tagged: Astoria, Crown Princess, Fun Photo Friday, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, travel photography, vacation

Astoria Riverwalk

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Leaving the cruise ship dock area takes you right by a marina with the Astoria-Megler Bridge as a backdrop:

Columbia River Panorama

The Astoria Riverwalk runs along the water parallel to Marine Drive, which also goes by the name East Columbia River Highway/U.S. Route 30. Stay on the Riverwalk to get the best shots. Here’s a view looking back toward Cannery Pier, with the Crown Princess docked behind:

Crown Princess and Cannery Pier

Astoria’s trolley also runs along the A...

Strolling Toward Astoria

Crown Princess docked in Astoria

Two days after departing San Francisco the Crown Princess docked in Astoria, Oregon. We’ve been to Astoria several times now, and this small town of under 10,000 people never disappoints in presenting lots of photo opportunities. To take full advantage of such chance encounters with color and composition, Ursula and I opted to walk into town from the dock. Almost immediately we stumbled upon a fun excuse to take a portrait. Here’s Ursula posing for me:

Ursula...

Fun Photo Friday — San Francisco 2

Street Color

Today’s Fun Photo Friday I present another batch of San Francisco favorites from this journey. Next week we’ll continue aboard the Crown Princess to Astoria, Oregon, at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River.

Here’s today’s photo gallery and slide show:

Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Crown Princess, Fun Photo Friday, photography, R. Doug Wicker, San Francisco, travel, travel photography, vacation

San Francisco Part 4

San Francisco skyline

Today I’m going to present some more images from around San Francisco. Here is an example of colorful “street art” and some charming streets:

Street Art

The Streets of San Francisco

Chinatown

Here’s a rather interesting building bounded by Kearny Street and Columbus Avenue just blocks away from the Transamerica Pyramid. It’s the Columbus Tower, which hosts Francis Ford Coppola’s and George Lucas’ famous American Zoetrope and the Café Zoetrope:

Columbus Tower (the verdigr...

San Francisco Part 3

Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower

Before continuing with our Hop-On/Hop-Off tour of San Francisco, I’m going to start today’s article with some more views from atop Coit Tower. The 210-foot/64-meter Coit Tower sits atop the 275-foot/84-meter Telegraph Hill. As you can imagine, being some 485 feet/148 meters above San Francisco Bay will grant some spectacular views. Here is the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which connects the financial district of San Francisco to Yerba Bue...

Fun Photo Friday — San Francisco 1

Street Color

Here is today’s gallery of some San Francisco Fun Photo Friday favorites:

Golden Gate in Mist

The Pyramid

The Painted Ladies of Alamo Square

San Francisco Architecture

Coit being Coy

Crown Princess framed by trees

Alcatraz

Church Steeple

Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Crown Princess, Fun Photo Friday, photography, R. Doug Wicker, San Francisco, travel, travel photography, vacation

San Francisco Part 2

Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill

Taking the H-O/H-O in San Francisco doesn’t just limit you to within the city. You can also cross the bay to Lime Point for some magnificent views of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Golden Gate in Mist

Heading back across the bridge and into town, make sure you hike around for some great street views:

Street Colors

San Francisco

Make sure you climb Telegraph Hill. There’s more to see than just Coit Tower and the views from atop it. There’s also Pion...

San Francisco Part 1

San Francisco skyline

On April 30 of this year Ursula and I did a rather enjoyable West Coast cruise that started in Los Angeles with stops in San Francisco; Astoria, Oregon; Victoria, British Columbia; and finishing up in Vancouver, Canada on May 6. Starting today and over the next two weeks I’ll be presenting images of San Francisco, saving of course my favorite images for the next two Fun Photo Fridays. So, set back and enjoy, starting with our arrival into San Francisco:

Crown Princess

Do...