Good Morning

Mmmmm.....morning coffee.

Good to the last drop.

Super cute Micah, squealing in delight

I think the wind was blowing in his face, but its such a cute little face.

Where's Joel?

Bulaga! There he is!

Peek a boo???

Devil's Punch Bowl (Depoe Bay)

The Devil's Punch bowl is basically a bit blow hole that happens to spray water during the incoming tide.

Unfortunately, we came at high tide and missed the spectacular blow hole.

Fortunately, we did get to see whales and their blow holes!

It was super windy and cold, but amazing to see real whales.

Depoe Bay and the Devil's Punch bowl were a hit!

 

Overheard Conversation

While we were in Oregon, we overheard this conversation while we were on the promenade.

A forty something year old lady said this: "I don't understand how Canada could be a country while they still have British currency. They don't deserve to be their own country until they get their own money."

Dan and I were flabbergasted. How could they be so ignorant? We wanted to go up to them and set the record straight. But in true Canadian fashion were too polite to do so. It makes us wonder what else they don't know.

Oh well, better get out my igloo and drive my polar bear to work eh?

A Revelation

Do you know what we miss the most about our friends being half way around the world?
No, its not their smiling faces (sorry)
           It's not their cute kids (pictures/email stories make up for this)
                      Or the deep thought provoking conversations we used to have (and still do via skype)

Its the fact that my grand scheme to make everyone in the world fatter than me is being thwarting by their disappearance. I can no longer call them at a moments notice to feed them dinner. I can no longer make an entire chicken and know there won't be any leftovers. I can no longer make them my Guinea pigs and make them try out a new recipe. They are too far away to feed. And that makes me sad.


                                                       ......anyone wanna come for dinner? We're having chicken.

Oregon Aquarium

We went to both the Oregon Aquarium and the Undersea Gardens. The Aquarium was AMAZING! The Undersea Gardens (similar to the one in Victoria) was super disappointing and super expensive.

Joel liked the touch tank at the Undersea Gardens, mostly for the water, not for the fish.

At the Aquarium, there was an underwater walkway where you could walk through and see the fish.

There was even sharks inside the tunnel.

We spent literally an hour in there watching the fish swim around and taking photos.

Can you find the sharks?

Joel LOVED watching the fish swim by. Micah even got in on the action, staring at the fish.

 

AHHHHH!!!! A SHARK!

They had a puffin exhibit as well. We also saw Auks (similar to a penguin) in that exhibit.

Joel did eventually touch an actual starfish....rather than just playing in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

Joel caught his first fish! Yes, it was fake..but at least he practised catch and release!

Giant Sitka Sprucs

Another one of Dan's infamous GIANT roadside attractions.

This was one of the largest trees in Oregon, until a windstorm took it out of the running.

Now, its the biggest stump in Oregon.

Tillamook County Smoker

Home of the Two Foot long pepperoni. We tried three flavours: beef, hunter and teriyaki. By far the best pepperoni we have EVER eaten!

Astoria Column

The Astoria Column was probably the most surprising thing that we found on the trip. We heard there was a large pole somewhere in Astoria. After travelling "up," we eventually found the pole. From a distance, it looked like a rusty pillar. But as we got closer, we could see images on the pillar.

168 steps later, we climbed the pole to the the top. It was windy and a bit cold.

But the view was incredible. Climbing the stairs carrying children, not so much.

At the top, we noticed people throwing balsa wood airplanes and parachute men from the top.

We enjoyed watching them soar through the air, sometimes catching an updraft, and eventually land in the bushes.

At the bottom of the pillar, we found remnants of airplanes. We pieced a few together to create a working airplane for Joel.

He loved every minute of it.

We threw the Balsa wood airplanes from the ground

where they eventually landed in the bushes below.

All in all, a wonderful surprise!

Plus, the journey "down" from the pillar was exciting too. The streets grade was over 20 degrees and it was straight down to the bottom!