Oregon Coast Aquarium

We made the annual trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium with the granddaughters Joanna and Stevie. On the drive to Newport we pasted the hillside painting of the reclining nude. Last year it was the Mona Lisa and because of an accident caused by someone stoping too soon that resulted in a death, the ODOT had block the roadside so you could not stop beside the road. For some reason this weekend the cones were pushed back so we were able to stop and get a picture along with a slug picture. I think the granddaughters were more interested in the slug than the painting. They named Slimy. Anyway I put the painting on Flickr and tagged it Nude so have been getting some hits.
It was overcast, so went to the aquarium first and made the normal tour. This year the changing exhibit is CLAWS so we get to see crabs, lobsters, etc. It was Sunday so the aquarium was crowded and I included in my Flickr pictures some I had taken earlier this year. Also with my new camera in the shop I was using my old camera and don’t think it takes some pictures as well as the new camera. The aquarium does change some with the new exhibits and then births that occur or animals that come in for rehab. One of the interesting ones now is the baby wolf eel. The wolf eel is such and ugly animal to me and it has been interesting to see them grow over the last two weeks. They also have pictures and other information about the eels. I also enjoy watching the birds flying through the water.
After the aquarium we were off to Agate Beach where I cook hamburgers and the girls play on the beach. It was a little windy but still they love the time on the beach more that looking at all those fish at the aquarium. Their attention span is very short at most of the exhibits. The touch tank is one of their favorites and they also enjoy the Passages of the Deep with the tunnel through the three different ocean habitats. The shark habitat is always a big draw for everyone and crowded on a Sunday.

Neal Gladstone

Well it is the end of July so it is time for the Neal Gladstone concert at the Tyee Wine Cellars. As always we was greeted by an enthusiastic groups of his fans. But then it was not just Neal they were there to see. There are his “Friends” and each plays a special part in the group.
More extensive bios are given on the web site and I have trouble picking my favorite. Audrey has such a great voice, Kendall play a wild guitar, and Dave a great harmonica. Dave has been absent for a while off doing his own thing. Did I mention Dave also has a PhD in Mathematics?
The crowd all seemed to have a favorite they wanted them to sing and they covered most of them. They especially love I’m a Liberal, which you can enjoy the video on his web site.
Well so much until another year.

Potluck

On Sunday we attended an old fashioned Potluck at the Cliff and Gay Hall’s place in King’s Valley. They have restored the original King’s family home build in 1846 and purchased 160 acres surrounding the home. They are in the process of making this land into a nature preserve.

The people attending were basically three groups: the neighbors, tennis players, and physicians. Cliff is a retired physician and Gay plays tennis. Of course the tables were loaded with a great variety of food and drinks. Everyone enjoyed a great meal and conversation and then several of us took one of the provided maps to take a tour of the farm. All of the animals were in hiding but we did have a great walk.

Most of the pictures I took were around the farmhouse as most of the land is covered with newly planted trees and tall grass. The Luckiamute River runs by the farm as well as another small creek runs through the property. The returning of the land to a nature area is a continuing process and the local school children have helped in planting some of the trees.

More pictures of the event can be found on the flickr photos.

To the Beach

Most of the time our trip to the beach is a one day trip, but this time we got to spend three days at a friend’s home watching her cat while she was in the valley getting medical treatment. So that means Pearl, the cat, gets a picture right up front. It also meant that I got a chance to do many different things and take a lot of pictures.

Of course there are the walks on the beach and although we did not get into build sand castles we did meet a family that was busy building their sand city. they were even able to keep their dogs from getting into the act of digging into their wonderful city.
When you are there for a few days you can go to some of the tide pools at low tide and enjoy the rocks and starfish exposed by the low tide. You never know just what you will find but it is fun to wonder around and see any interesting plants for animals on the beach. Of course there are the birds that are there all the time, but the starfish and mussels are often hidden under the water, We found one couple prying some mussels off the rocks for there dinner and many colorful starfish.
We also drove south along the coast to visit two enjoyable spots. The first was Strawberry Hill. Here you can always find a number of seals on the rocks or swimming in the water. Since we were there at low tide, we were able to get down on the peach to see the animals up close and personal.
The second place we visited was Heceta Head Lighthouse. We did not actually visit the lighthouse but did go the pullout that looks back at the lighthouse to get some great pictures. This is only about a mile from the sea lion caves so many times you will get to see sea lions on the rocks below. It was a good day for pictures and for sea lions so a good time was had by all.

We also visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium but will be back there next week with the grand daughters so will save the pictures and discussion until then.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” comes to Corvallis. I will admit that I do not watch the show. Well I have seen parts of it a time or two but it is in Corvallis. We didn’t make the trip out until Friday when they were moving in the furniture and other household items. It is just amazing what they can do in one week – teardown a house and build a new one. And not a small house. As stated in the Corvallis Gazette Times -
“What Chapman committed to was building a state-of-the-art, 4,000-square-foot home in a matter of 106 working hours. That means coordinating around 2,000 volunteers, from Legend employees to subcontractors to community members.
“The key to building a quality home in the time we have is to build a quality team,” Chapman said.
The new house will have four bedrooms, three and a half baths and new landscaping, as well as a new water system. From the foundation to the paint to the brand-new living room lamps, the entire project will be complete by the end of the week and will be almost entirely done with local workers and products.”
I have provided links to two of the stories the start and end. Today the family returns and gets to see the new house.
http://www.gtconnect.com/articles/2007/07/08/news/top_story/1aaa01_makeover.txt
http://www.gtconnect.com/articles/2007/07/14/news/top_story/2aaa01_makeover.txt
That was not all that was happening. You stopped at the Nazarene Church and there you caught a school bus to the site about a mile away. This is a big project and the neighbors have everything from construction equipment to tents as the workers gather to create the home in 7 days. You had a very limited area that you could stand and watch the action.
The volunteer spots were quickly filled and for them some of it was stand and wait but while we were there they were cheering as each new truck arrived with household items and then quickly carried it inside. I was able to see and get a picture of Michael. I will admit that I didn’t know who that was but when people were getting pictures taken with him and getting his autograph I new I had to get a picture first and ask questions later. Some people we talked with had been there every day maybe even twice a day. Always hoping to see one of the people from the show and to be amazed and the speed at which the house was done.
Of course there was the toy drive and collecting money for the family in various ways. The Rock School was there with their very young band and the local company that rents air filled bouncing equipment was setup and for a donation kids could play.
It was and interesting experience even if you don’t watch the show.

Berry Heaven

We are now in berry season. One of our friends said when they moved here they thought they were in “Berry Heaven”. The strawberries are about gone but we are into blueberry, raspberry, marionberry, and others. A few days ago I went out picking blueberries. They were plentiful and good. It only took about 20 minutes to fill my bowl and head for the nearby McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum for a walk.
The three-mile hike through the forest was great many spring flowers are still blooming and the weather was just right. It was a little warm on the uphill climbs but with breaks to take pictures made it a very pleasant time.
The next morning it was blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We have also had some ice-cream with the berries. One of our friends also had some marionberries that she shared with us so we have been enjoying some of the wonderful berries of Oregon.
I should also mention that the Washington cherries are coming into the stores and are a great as ever. There is something about fresh fruit and berries that is so much better than the frozen or canned.

IFYE Coast Trip

The last day of the IFYE Conference was to be a trip to the Hatfield Marine Science Center and the Oregon Coast Aquarium for dinner. We could not enter the aquarium until it was closed and the people were gone so we had to come in the back door at 6 PM as the regular visitors were leaving out the front. That meant that we had a day at the coast.
The Hatfiled Center does have a few exhibits but I think the biggest draw for the people planning the conference was we could be there before it closed and we could have the auditorium for our final meeting. During the day there were three other tours we could take until meeting at the Marine Science Center at 3:30.
I chose the lighthouse even though I had just been there. The other two were basically visiting the waterfront tourist area. Great for the people out of town but not so nice if you have been there many times. I was hoping for some good pictures of tide pools or a different view of the lighthouse. And then we did not visit the interpretive center on the last visit so that was a draw.
Well the day started out great. We got on the bus at 10:30 and started to the coast. While the other groups could choose from the many restaurants on the waterfront for lunch we were to eat at Izzy’s. That is fine because the buffet has a great many choices and great salad bar to keep everyone happy. The only problem is we all ate more than we needed.
But that is were the problems started. When the bus driver tried to turn the engine off in the bus it wouldn’t stop and then when it did it wouldn’t start again. Well at least we were at Izzy’s. While we ate, they ordered in another bus from the valley and a mechanic. In addition they called one of the other buses from one of the other tours to take us to the light house after lunch. After all they had nothing to do until about 3:30.
So we were off to the Lighthouse and I started at the interpretive center before walking down to the lighthouse. About half of the group started at the lighthouse. The walk to the lighthouse is about a fourth of a mile and provides some great views. Since it was high tide the tide pools were eliminated but I had hoped to go up in the lighthouse or climb the hill to get a different view of the lighthouse. Well since we didn’t have our own bus the time at the lighthouse was cut short by about 45 minutes. So the climb up the hill was out and with twenty people from out group and the other people visiting the site the line for the lighthouse was long and only a few can go in for each visit. I opted for the beach. There were the usual large number of birds and seals on the rocks and the birds were building nests. A number of the gulls were catching small fish to eat but I could only get a shot of a gull in the water not flying through the air with a fish.