June 18, 2006 - Tillamook to Whidbey Island, Washington
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| It was a little breezy leaving Tillamook, but then it usually is around coastal airports. I headed for the Pacific Ocean. It struck me as kind of amazing to be flying the Citabria along the Pacific coast instead of the Atlantic. |
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My plan was to fly the coast, then angle inland towards Seattle.
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| Some offshore rocks, something you don't see in the Atlantic. There you see sandbars. It's a big no-no to buzz these rocks and scare the wildlife. Wouldn't want to upset the yellow-belly sap-suckers ... |
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You could really tell that these coastal mountains were logged. They were criss-crossed with logging roads and had patches missing.
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| The clouds started building inland over the mountains but the coast was clear -- no pun intended. |
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| For a short while, it looked pretty nasty right off my wing. |
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| But then it started clearing up. Up ahead is the town of Astoria and the mouth of the Columbia River. |
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Approaching the southern point of the Columbia River entrance. The official end of the Lewis & Clark Trail monument is somewhere right off my nose, but I couldn't find it.
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| The oceanfront was kind of unusual: a beach followed by a wide grassy area, then houses. |
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Looking east down the Columbia River, Astoria airport, and the town of Astoria on the other side of the bridge.
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| I crossed the Columbia River into the state of Washington and flew north along the coast some more until I came to the town of Ocean Park, then I turned east northeast and angled for Seattle. The coastal mountains were a lot lower than those to the south. Soon I came to all the inlets and bays that are southwest of Seattle. That's a big logging operation in the lower left hand corner. |
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| Looking straight down. That's a lot of logs. |
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| I turned north and flew by Bremerton Naval Base where three aircraft carriers were tied up. I bet I could land the Citabria on one of those behemoths without tailhook, no problem. |
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My first glimpse of Seattle, looking east across Puget Sound.
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| A little closer. |
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Passing over a cruise ship headed out to sea.
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| Seattle from the northwest. |
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| Whidbey Island dead ahead. |
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| I was here seven years ago for my friend Dave's wedding. I remember having a barbeque at that beach below. |
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Overhead Whidbey Island airport, where I would keep the Citabria for the next two days.
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The Citabria tied down for the night. Not a lot of transient traffic at this neat little airport. Dave only lived five minutes away.
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