Memorial Day, 09

My sweet husband decided that I need to relax and forget the world for a few days so we packed a bag, filled the car with gas and headed out. No reservations, no plans, we just knew we wanted to go to the ocean. So, we drove over the mountain, down Hwy 18, crawling through the tiny town of Dundee, population 3010 (salute!) and came to a complete halt at one of Oregon's busiest tourist attractions- Spirit Mountain Casino. I chose this picture of those we took because it advertises the best day of the year...my birthday! We didn't stay very long as the beach was calling. We went through Depoe Bay, home of the world's smallest harbor and the best whale watching spots on the Oregon Coast. We drove through Lincoln City (yeah, it has a Walmart!) and found a little motel in Newport. The next morning, we discovered the secret Tayler has been longing to discover. When we went to Newport in January, (niece) Tayler and her friend wondered where the bridge led but they were afraid to go over it.Guess what girl, we know where your bridge goes! If you follow the yellow brick road, it leads you to the other side of Newport and right into the parking lot of the Oregon Coast Aquarium. That was our destination for the day. Like every other time, Ben chooses a "safe spot" to park the car. Often, I tease him that he purposefully picks the one furthest from the entrance. This time, I got proof! He chose the last of three parking lots and... well, you can see for yourself. I had to make this picture larger so it was plenty big (but you still might have to double click on it to be able to see the car!)

That's okay though. Those parking spots get me closer to the 10,000 steps we're supposed to take each day. (Ben always far exceeds that daily number.)

While I got in the admission line, Ben found a beautiful stream to photograph. It was the first of many cool pictures we took that day. We won't be able to show you all of them but here are some of our favorites.

Once the clouds burned off, the weather was beautiful and this otter was taking full advantage of the sun. Watching it was fun and it was oh so cute just floating around the pool.

There were some great exhibits- Oddities, Sharks and really cool "rays" that you could touch. My favorites though are always the "jellies". They are so fascinating to me. Ben graciously took this video for me to watch over and over.