This time there was an added stop. Just before reaching Newport we got to see the Mona Lisa. Well at least a black and white, 60 foot tall copy of the Mona Lisa. A local artist, Samuel Clemens, painted a 40 by 60 foot version of the smiling lady on the hillside. There is only one problem with the painting. It is along the highway and there is not really much of a place to stop. On our return in the evening were delayed about 45 minutes because of an accident on the highway in front of the painting. I could not see what it was but the wrecker seemed to be pulling off a truck you would use to blow the wood chips when removing brush. I assume that some car stopped too fast and was hit. I don’t know that for sure but the accident was at the site of the painting. Another case of a beautiful woman causing an accident as the driver is look at her and not the road. I also noticed that there was “No Parking on the Shoulder of the Highway” along the road as we were returning in the evening that was not there in the morning. I don’t know if they were temporary because of the accident or going to be more permanent. I did get a good picture as we were gong so didn’t have to stop on the way home.
Well the trip to Mo’s was normal for the summer. There was a line out the door waiting to get in. Lucky for us a large family decided to move on and left the line. Of course it is always difficult to get a group of 7 or 8 a table unless they are willing to sit at separate tables. But as luck would have it we even got a table by the window to watch the fishing boat go out for the afternoon charter.
After finishing our bowl of chowder and slice of garlic bread we proceeded to the dock were you can usually find a number of large sea lions fighting over a spot to lie in the sun. The noise of their bark and they push at each other can be heard a block away. We were not disappointed this time as the dock was almost full as was the line of people watching them.
The trip to the Aquarium was normal for a nice summer day, crowded. We had been there earlier this year with the granddaughters but this time we were on our own. This year the special exhibit is CLAWS and exhibit of crab, lobster and other crustaceans. We did see the lobsters on parade and some crabs we had not see before.
On the visit to the bird we got to see a baby Common Murre. This was unusual because they usually collect any eggs laid in the exhibit to keep down the population. Unless another aquarium has out a call for one of the birds they are not allowed to reproduce.
We also got to watch the feeding of the sea lions and the sea otters. That is always fun but in the summer the crowds make in difficult to see and we usually try to let the others up close and enjoy our view of the feeding when the crowds are smaller. As members we do visit the aquarium often and get a chance to see the exhibits without the many people fighting for the best place to watch.
You can see all of the pictures at this link
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