My sister's visit and our trip to Newport

My sister, Karen,  came out to visit from North Dakota and we decided that we should spend time at the beach.  Then the weather decided to get unseasonably hot in the valley so we made the right decision.  We stayed in Newport and explored all it had to offer in four days.  Here we are at Yaquina Head on the cobble beach.  It's a really unique place with all the lava rocks being very rounded and black.  When the water recedes over the rocks, it makes an unusual sound - sorta like clapping.   The cobbles look like any ordinary beach rock except they are very black, very round and hard to walk on. As you can see it was a beautiful day to go exploring. 

Karen went up up to the top of the lighthouse.  I had done it once and didn't like the climb down so I just sucked up sun outside.  This is a view of the stairs that go to the top. 

We also went to Seal Rock to explore during a low tide.  It was a great day to see tide pools.  There was a little fog when we arrived but it quickly burned off and then returned later.  This is a picture of pelicans at a nesting rock out in the surf.  Couldn't get any closer but I think you can see how large they are.  There were also nesting Murres and seagulls.  Lots of noise and bird poop. The nesting season in nearly over so didn't see as many as there had been there, but it was still pretty impressive.  A guide at the lighthouse told us that Murre mothers hatch the babies and then kick them off the cliffs to their fathers below who take them to sea for the year.  Sounds like a good plan to me!

The tide was low enough that there were lots and lots of starfish to see and touch.  We really enjoyed looking at all the creatures that are generally underwater.  If you ever get the chance to go to Seal Rock during a low tide, it is a great area for tide pools because of all the rocks there.  Not much beach area usually but during low tide it's an amazing area.

Because it was such a low tide, there were mounds and mounds of mussels and barnacles uncovered.  We saw sand crabs, anemone, little fish that got caught in the pool, snails, and so many different types of seaweed - from the usual frond type to pink lacy and fronds that looked like swiss cheese, right down to the color.  It was a great chance for Karen to see what the ocean is like here.  We had a great morning exploring the tide pools.

After the tide started to come back in, we looked behind us and our rock area was covering up already. We had a good time laughing about a sneaker wave and where we'd run to if one came - funny but serious, too.

We had someone take our picture at Seal Rock.  As you can see, we are wearing jackets in almost all the pictures.  While Portland was suffering in the 90 degree heat, we were enjoying 70's.

The seals and sea lions on the board walks in Newport attract a lot of attention.  They're very big, very many and very loud.  Karen took some pictures and this one is very representative of the whole lot of them.  Newport has some neat shops and eateries on their Historic bay area.  We had wonderful fish tacos, fish and chips, bought glass and Newport candles.

We also spent time in Depoe Bay although it was windy and cool there, so we mostly shopped.  We ate at the Sea Hag.  Great fish and chips!  One thing we did was eat well.  We also found a great little wine shop at Nye Beach and bought some new wines and drank them on the beach.  Liked both bottles - either it was good wine or the beach made them so much better - we're not really sure.