“Bobbing Along in the Beautiful, Briny Sea”

Welcome to beautiful Newport, OR!

Come! See little Magnus Cousteau as he shows us the world of the sea:

(Make submarine sounds now)

Here at the Oregon Coast Aquarium we had lots of fun. My friend Brian came with us and shared in our adventure. Magnus really likes to look at our fish at home, so it seemed like a good place to go. He really enjoyed the touch pool, filled with abalone, anemones, urchins, cucumber and more. He would giggle at the squishiness of many of the creatures.

Here he is with some giant Japanese spider crabs that are as big as he is:

Looking at all the wonderful fish:

Here is Brian hanging out with some puffins (one of Ruth’s favorites):

We like this jellyfish that looks like a fancy lamp:

Some random creatures for your enjoyment. Can you find the two fish?

One of the big attractions at this aquarium is the giant shark tank that has a tunnel going through it. It is really cool to see the sharks and other fish swim above, below, and next to you.

Magnus Cousteau even let us go swimming for awhile, though he went and got himself eaten by a giant seahorse:

 

We all loved seeing the strange and interesting underwater animals…

but there were also lots of sea mammals like seals, sea lions, and otters to enjoy. And that is where we will leave you.

Try not to giggle.

Whidbey it be nice?

In celebration of Valentine’s Day we took a trip to Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. It was a beautiful day heading out, so we decided to take the ferry over. Magnus thought the boat was a little bit rocky and windy.

Our first stop on the island was at Fort Casey that has some WWII barracks. Here is the beach below the barracks.

Here is Dana climbing out of the battery. There was also a lighthouse (Admiralty Head Lighthouse) that looked pretty nice.

 

We took a walk down a rocky beach and Dana found some treasures.

Can you name all the sea creatures?*

The next morning we took the bridge over Deception Pass. We walked across first and then went back over with the car. The view was beautiful despite the bit of drizzle in the air.

We even saw some seals from the bridge!

This little beach (Rosario Beach)  apparently has some really nice tide pools when the tide is out. We had no idea. The rocks and pieces of driftwood were still pretty.

We drove back home through Seattle and couldn’t help but stop at Larson’s Bakery. We got lots of yummy treats and brought some back for Else.

And finally, the view from Queen Anne Hill where Magnus showed us how to balance on the Space Needle. Go Seattle!

* Top row, left to right: Sea sponge, barnacle, sea sponge.                                                               

Bottom row, left to right: Starfish, chitons amidst barnacles, sea traveling ducks.