My #4 place to visit recommendation

#4- Columbia River Maritime Museum:

The Maritime Museum is easy to find as it is situated on the riverfront in downtown Astoria. The Coast Guard usually has one of its large ships docked along side the museum, and the Lightship Columbia, which was a floating lighthouse in the Columbia River in the past, is part of the museum and can be boarded and explored with your museum ticket. The museum gives a fantastic presentation of the Columbia River both past and present. Inside the museum you will find artifacts going back to when Astoria was populated by native tribes all the way up to modern boating and fishing equipment. There are thousands of pictures of shipwrecks, wildlife, and industry which have been or currently are on the river. There are several interactive displays, such as the inside of the bridge of a cargo ship, and the bridge of a naval destroyer. There is a full-sized Coast Guard rescue boat (you can see it through the windows in the picture) showing what rescuing people in the surf is really about. There is so much inside the museum that I could write pages and pages about it, so I simply recommend that you must see it for yourself when you visit. It is worth your time and the small donation at the door to enter. You will not be disappointed and will leave knowing the area a lot better than when you entered.

Jeremy's Insider Tips-

Bring a camera and be prepared to spend a couple of hours in this amazing museum. There is something here for everybody so don't worry about children being bored in a "stuffy old museum."