Beach Getaway

After way too much time, I finally got back to the beach this weekend. We set sail late in the morning yesterday despite a the usual windy/rainy forecast, after decided that wet beach was still better than no beach. Despite my reservations about travelling with a ticking time bomb named Mizz, I was really in need of a change in scenery heavy on the nature side. As an added bonus, we were going to see Firefly Mama and her family on the way. Unfortunately, as we arrived in town, we learned that her kids had come down with fevers and decided not to possibly sabotage our holiday weekend with known germ exposure. So after a quick break at a restaurant with not so good pizza but a playground for Mizz, we continued our wet journey into the coastal range. Amazingly, as soon as we arrived in Newport, the skies cleared up. I thanked the heavens and we made a beeline to the beach where Mizz and Dave conducted several experiments with the kelp and sand.

Mizz kept insisted that he wanted to go to the beach, but what he meant was that he wanted to go in the water. We practiced a lot of red light, green light. Mizz is definitely better at the green light part, hopefully he'll develop some brakes at some point.

The rest of the weekend went well too. We were pleased to find out that our mini suite was actually a full fledged real suite, with a separate room for Mizz. We got to eat at the Rogue Ale House where I judiciously sampled the new and delicious Imperial Pale Ale. Sometimes being preggers is a serious hardship... We got to see seals at Yaquina Lighthouse and sea lions lounging around the historic bay harbor. The only low light was the disappointing Underwater Sea Gardens which did not live up to their colorful name or pictures in the brochure. Next time we will head back to the awesome Oregon Coast Aquarium. All the rain made for some seriously awesome waves and a terrific view of some huge blow holes in Depoe Bay. But enough was enough and for the way home, we decided to bag the rest of the scenic 101 for the smoother and easier drive through Salem.