A Little Splash of Color

While in Astoria a week ago, I decided to spend an afternoon driving around and taking photographs of some of the colorful homes you can find there. I have always wanted to do this and have never just taken the time. Astoria is a small coastal town that is built on a hill that over looks the Columbia River, Youngs Bay and if you look to the north west, you can see the mouth of the Pacific Ocean. This city was the first port on the west coast...even before Los Angeles. If you drive just a little further towards the ocean, you can visit the spot where Lewis and Clark spent the winter. Most of the homes were built just post World War II. Astoria is rich with history and has a very unique charm to it. I can not think of any other place in the United States that you could paint a house pink and it would work. Many of the early settlers came from Scandinavian countries and brought this colorful pallet of house paint with them. I have often thought that on a dreary, gray day nothing could lift your spirits more than to see a splash of color on the hillside. The picture above is actually periwinkle and just about blows you over when you turn the corner and see this staring at you. Strangely, and without any reason, it works. I actually kind of liked it. Here are some more examples... (Take notice of the GREEN grass and flowers everywhere...ahhh Springtime!)

Okay...this house may not work, but I still could not resist taking a picture of it. My first thought when I saw it was "McDonalds...mustard and ketchup"
I saw a glimpse of the backside of this home from the road way down below and knew I had to somehow find it. It took me about 30 minutes of driving through narrow, winding streets to locate it. Love it!
I love the door beside the garage on this one. That little red trim just gives it that "Astoria Charm". Personally, I would have painted the trim the same way on the garage door too.
My camera did not do the colors on these homes justice...but you can get the idea. The middle one is actually a mauve with purple trim. Notice how narrow the streets are.
This home is actually more purple that it looks. The trim was a bright teal.
This is a store that sells seafood. We were driving with my dad and I spotted this one. He rhetorically asked why anyone would paint a business that color. I thought for a minute and when I noticed that it was a seafood store I said "maybe they were going for a salmon color!" Ha! You can also see a glimpse of the famous Astoria bridge just to the left.