To the Pacific

After a bountiful breakfast at The Original Pancake House in Eugene, Terry and I took Jessica and Mom out to the Pacific Coast. Rick had given me some complimentary tickets for the Oregon Coastal Aquarium in Newport and we were going to take advantage of a lovely day to drive over to the coast and have a look-see.

Route 126 west to US Highway 101 north brought us to a place called Sea Lion Caves (a commercial venture) just north of Florence that provides trail access down to some observation points where you can view seals and sea lions and numerous shorebirds. We chose not to pay the $10-12 fee each and walk down the equivalent of 6 flights of steps. Still, the view from the gift shop and the walk along the road was excellent.

Across the small bay from Seal Caves is this picturesque lighthouse:

Haceta Head Lighthouse

After a brief look around the area of Sea Lion Caves, we continued north on Rt 101 to Newport. We passed lots of little state parks and beaches along the way that looked like great places to explore stream outlets and tidal pools. The tide was out and that exposed plenty of wide beaches and rock outcrops.

The aquarium was easy to find and had ample parking even for a beautiful, warm Saturday. I didn't bother to try to take pictures of the fish, invertebrates and sharks in the tanks. Nor did I try to photograph the seals and sea lions in their tank as it would have meant shooting through some grimy glass. And the sea otters were a wee bit uncooperative, too. That left some birds. Specifically the dapper (or perhaps clownish) Tufted Puffins and the tuxedoed Common Murre.

Tufted Puffin

Tufted Puffin

Tufted Puffin

Common Murre