On an early morning approach to Astoria, clean, gentle rain greeted guests aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird.  The great Pacific Ocean, Astoria’s western door, releases precipitation eastward. That wet greeting contributes to shades of green, lush ground cover, and surviving giant Sitka spruce trees. Ironically, guests experienced the recorded description of the Corps of Discovery from 1805-1806 (wet, wet, wet). The city, by the way, was named to honor John Jacob Astor who sent two expeditions westward in 1811, five years after Lewis & Clark returned home.