By Brittany Davidson

Our day in Astoria began at our radio affiliate, KCRX-FM 102.3, when Dick Vardanega chauffeured Harry Glickman, Dale Schlueter and Antonio Harvey stopped in to meet with staff and go on air to talk Trail Blazers. Meeting us back at the hotel, we had breakfast and were on our way caravanning the steep hills of Astoria in our Borregos for the third clinic of the Make It Better Summer Tour presented by Kia Motors.

As kids trickled into the gym at Astoria Middle School, we got word that a special young man named Tucker was celebrating a birthday and after we were a few minutes into camp, Antonio Harvey led everyone in the birthday song. We were also reunited with another set of girl campers we met previously this summer at our Trail Blazers Summer Hoops camp that was held at the YMCA Hoop in Beaverton, luckily they didn’t have to make that far of a drive this time. Camp rolled along like days previous but just seemed to happen so much quicker today, before we knew it, it was time to hand out prizes and say our goodbyes.

The weather was beautiful in Astoria so we decided to have one last meal back at the Bistro on the water before heading over to say hello to one of our sponsors before hitting the road again. Our stop at the local Burger King in Astoria became more of a job interview and training for Antonio Harvey. He quickly got behind the counter with the assistant manager and began taking people’s orders. Dale pitched in by delivering the food to people’s tables and eventually Jerome got in on the action too. After presenting the owner with some goodie bags from the Trail Blazers and some quick photos, all in our Burger King crowns of course, we were back in our Kias and traveling south along the Oregon Coast.

We had another stop in Cannon Beach at the Beautiful Ocean Lodge that is owned by one of our season ticket holders. We were greeted by the most gracious host, Wendy, who was able to find us one empty room so we could get a tour. Then it was up to a reception they had for us with some of their guests, employees and VIPs. The catered spread of food was a big hit but it was Wendy’s homemade dip that was a hit. After pictures, autographs and time spent mingling, Harry got up and addressed the crowd as a whole and opened the discussion up to questions. Still having another two hour plus drive ahead of us, it was time to say our goodbyes. Wendy sent us away with reading materials and wood in hopes that we would be able to make our bonfire.

Back in the Kias, we wound down the highway passing through coast town after coast town. As we went through Tillamook and Glendale Beach, we took a moment to remember our dear and beloved friend Kevin Duckworth. It was during Summer Tour last year that we lost our dear “Duck” and we miss him very much.

We eventually arrived to a fogged over Newport late in the evening and headed to dinner. After another long day and late dinner we arrived back at the hotel and called it a night; a night with no bonfire. We are going to rest up and save energy for our last day of Summer Tour 09 on Thursday in Newport.

Astoria Photo Gallery

Tour Stops: Longview || Fort Lewis || Astoria || Newport

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