Last day of vacation

Drove back to Portland but first stopped in downtown Lincoln City and admired their sidewalk art:


We took the kids to a restaurant they recommended -- Montage. Quite an experience. We walked the mile or so, across the river, and found ourselves in the midst of the Hood to Coast Relay Race, an almost 200 mile race that raised over a half million dollars for the American Cancer Society:


Some other sights along our walk to dinner:


I was wondering about the place we were heading to when we passed by this fence:


Ahhhh..... here's the restaurant:


Appetizers--- alligator bites and frog legs:


I don't think the kids liked them:


If you have leftovers (and youngest daughter told us we HAD to have leftovers), they don't give you traditional doggy bags:


On the walk home we arranged all of them along a wall so we could admire the art (since Portland is such an artsy city, it was hard to resist):


This where a man leaned out of his car and said, "Looks like a Montage kind of evening."

Seems everyone knows about the leftovers at Montage!

We sat along the river front and had coffee and ice cream, watching the lights sparkling along the bridges and river:



Then we said goodbye to the kids and walked back to our hotel:


Flew back to Denver on this plane:

The Ralphie plane!!

And when we got home, I opened my suitcase and little Quinny couldn't resist snuggling up to the ocean smell on my clothes!


Great trip! I LOVE Portland and the coast!

Oregon Coast: Day Three

Our last full day at the beach, and it was beautiful. We headed back to Depoe Bay and I couldn't resist taking a photo of this restaurant: Gracie's Sea Hag!

We saw lots of interesting things on the beach---
barnacles:


a sun starfish:


a beautiful little flower growing in the sand:


a sand shrimp:


lots of wood:


fossils?


a beached harbor seal- hopefully his mama would come back to get him:


a dead, extremely stinky, sea lion that the vultures and sea gulls were dining on:


a funny rock:


When we got back to our house we spotted a little deer:


We walked down to the beach for our last evening there--

another picture of the huge set of stairs:


the fog rolling in:


Bye bye beach:


Back to Portland in the morning.

Oregon Coast: Day Two

We headed out for Depoe Bay to see what we could find. We had hopes of perhaps spotting a whale or two.











My sister-in-law (and former college roommate) was our personal guide for the trip! Thanks Nan!





Nice whale museum. Those whales are HUGE!








But it looked like we would be looking in vain:












It was quite foggy and chilly but we continued on. The water was so rough but some folks actually went out in boats!









Still looking for whales:









Ate lunch downtown. Clam chowder and lots of fish! The fog lifted and the day was cool but clear.











Youngest Daughter had her fortune told by a pirate.







I wonder if he was related to this one walking around town:




Riding a bike rack:












We sat outside with our coffee, listening to sea lions:










I was dismayed to see all these sea lions in a big cage-- until I saw that the far side was open. Wide open. These guys just love to lay all smooshed in together! Except when one starts moving and his neighbors start bellowing at him to lay still. Others then begin to holler for those guys to be quiet. And then when one of those still swimming wants to join the snoozers, the ones near the opening tell him, "No room at the inn." We spent so much time just watching the interactions.

Sea lions get tangled in all kinds of garbage (plastic six-pack rings in particular) and it cuts into their skin. The cage was built, allowing the sea lions to get inside where they could be examined to see if they needed medical attention. If one is found in need, the vets can easily isolate him in the cage and render aid. Otherwise, they all just lay cozied up together! Very few were sleeping on the open docks!







We finally decided to leave for the house, passing by Cape Foulweather, aptly named by Captain James Cook. The fog was rolling in again.




Looking down the embankment, 500 feet above the ocean. Scary.





When we got home, we spotted whales off our balcony! Exciting, for sure.

Oregon Coast: Day One

We arrived at our beach house in Lincoln City in the late afternoon and after unpacking and getting settled, we wanted to get out to the beach. First up, though, was a power failure! What better place to go to when you have no power than the beach. We had to walk down these 100+ steps to get there!









We discovered we weren't the only ones without power. There was this message in the sand:










I was so excited to find these colorful starfish and anemones clinging to the rocks:









Sunset was beautiful!









Back at the house, brother-in-law decided that the yard lights would work inside so we had some light even without the power. I was kind of sad when the power came back on. This was such a cool idea!