Warrenton

I really do love living in Portland, but I love even more the opportunity to leave it. Laurie and Henry had to stay behind once again to take care of the chickens and the garden starts, so I rented a car downtown and hit Hwy 26 at full speed--fast enough to get a speeding ticket. Maybe it was the fact that my rental had Washington plates, or maybe it was just because I was going 72 in a 55. I like to believe it's because I subconciously wanted to have something in common with Vice President Al Gore, who in 2004 got a speeding ticket in the same place, driving a rented white Toyota Camry just like mine. Al Gore is the Mayor of awesome, so I'll pay the ticket.
I'll be the first to admit that I really haven't spent a lot of time in Warrenton due to the fact that Astoria is just over the Youngs Bay Bridge. I figure most people don't know that there's more to that town than just Ft. Stevens State Park and the wreck of the Peter Iredale. So I made a point of NOT visiting either of those two places and instead opted to hike the Skipanon River Peninsula Trail. Turns out Warrneton has a huge network of trails (and water trails!) that traverse the whole area.
I had called the Warrenton City Hall the week previous to ask for Mayor Gilbert Gramson's autograph on our big map of Oregon, and the City Manager told me that the Mayor has an open meeting every Monday morning at 9:30am. Perfect for skipping out on a Sunday night and just going to work late on Monday afternoon, I thought.
After strolling into City Hall on Monday morning and finding the right room, I was immediately offered coffee and donuts by some folks that looked like they may attend every one of these weekly meetings: Good civic-minded folks, I'm sure. By 9:37 the room was almost at capacity, which is relatively out of the ordinary according to the look on Mayor Gramson's face when he walked in and sat down. The first order of business was the vandalism to the park bathrooms. I never did figure out which park they were talking about, but apparently it's quite the problem as of late. The ideal solution, I learned, was to build new bathroom facilities in the style of the State Parks that are more easily maintained, but of course that's ridiculously expensive. Mayor Gramson brought up a plan to have park hosts that basically live there in their RV for the tourist season, which I thought was pretty brilliant. It seems like there is no shortage of retirees with RVs so I felt the idea was pretty Solomonesque.
After that business was over the Mayor asked who was next. When no one immediately spoke I stood up and volunteered: "I'm sorry to waste everyone's time, and I know you all have important matters to discuss, but I was wondering if I could get your autograph?" I explained to all present that we were visiting each town in Oregon to meet the Mayor, and everyone in the room seemed to think that was a cute idea. Mayor Gramson seemed especially intrigued and was happy that he got to sign before the Mayor of Astoria did. I love the fake rivalries these Mayors have with each other. I would totally be the same way.
34 down, 208 to go.