Yesterday was all about airplanes. Today was all about animals, and both Malia and I were hyped with anticipation. When I was a senior in high school, the choir went on tour to Oregon and one of our stops was the sea lion caves. I was super cool and when Kev and I decided to trek our way up the coast, visiting again was on my must do list. Malia loves animals, so we added the Oregon State Aquarium to our agenda and with location being the determining factor for which activities to do each day, today became a day focused on wildlife.
Our first stop was the sea lion caves. Not only is this cave the biggest natural sea cave in the U.S., but it is also one of the only places in the world where sea lions make their home on the coast rather than out at sea somewhere. They live there year-round, spending most of their time in the cave during the winter and out on the adjoining rocks in the summer. Today most of the sea lions were out on the rocks, but there were a handful hanging out in the cave. You might think looking at a colony of sea lions would be dull, but it was actually fascinating. Often animals act differently in the wild than they might in captivity, and we found this to be the case today. The dynamic of the colony was very interesting. At this time of year there are lots of baby sea lions and they were rollicking on the rocks, exploring the water’s edge, and generally being adorable. The females were scattered throughout, watching over the little ones, and basking in the sun. The largest male, who was easy to spot due to his enormous size, actually had a shoving match with a smaller sealion, I assume another male due to the size being bigger than the females but smaller than the head of the colony. The larger animal rolled the smaller one completely over in the direction of the water in what was clearly an “I’m the boss, don’t mess with me” kind of a maneuver. It’s these kinds of things that you just don’t see in a zoo.
After gawking at the sea lions for a while, we headed a bit further down the coast to Newport. In the past several weeks we’ve had multiple Oregon natives tell us that we had to eat clam chowder at Mo’s, so we made our way to the original harbor front location to sample the offerings. We ordered a variety of items and while they were good, the chowder was the winner of the day. It was delightful. My salmon was a bit on the bland side, Kevin’s cioppino was good, but not quite the flavor he was hoping for, and the shrimp and other bits we tasted were good but did not stand out as being fantastic. Other than the chowder, Nathan’s halibut sandwich was the only dish that earned rave reviews. But the chowder itself was worth the stop. If I should have an opportunity to eat there again, I would just go for a big bowl of chowder and be perfectly content.
There was a candy store a couple of doors down from Mo’s, and after smelling the fudge on our way to lunch, we decided to stop in for a little treat. All six of us were able to find something that looked delicious and was safe for consumption. We tucked it away for sampling later though, as we were full from lunch.
Once our tummies were full, we headed to the aquarium, another location that was recommended to us before we ever left home. I must say that we were very impressed. The aquarium in Seattle was good and we have a perfectly acceptable aquarium for a land locked desert state, but in my opinion, the Oregon State Aquarium was by the best we’ve seen. Like our zoo, some parts were indoor, and some were out. The aquarium is right on the coast so the way the tides shift was a part of the experience. We saw sea otters, river otters’ giant older brothers (and Matthew’s favorite animal), a giant sea spider (also known as a crab), and sharks larger than any I’ve seen in person before. The shark tunnel was the same design as the one in our aquarium at home, but I think it is far superior because the tank is populated by a variety of fish, not just sharks. In fact, there were several big schools of fish in the tank, and I was mesmerized by the way they navigated through the water and around the other inhabitants. I stood there much longer than I would have expected because it was so interesting. The only exhibit that we really felt was dull were the sea lions, but that was to be expected. Seeing just a few in their aquarium enclosure seemed decidedly anticlimactic after observing hundreds of their relations in the wild just a few hours before. And as I mentioned earlier, there is often a difference in how animals behave in their natural environment and in the case of social animals, their natural groups.
Today was a good day. And for me, a much better day than yesterday because any day when I don’t have a raging migraine is better than a day when I do. 😉 And when we were done gallivanting around, we returned to our rental home and relaxed for the remainder of the evening. We go the vacation rental route so that we can cook for Matthew and Malia, but it is nice for all of us to have a whole house to spread out in, even on vacation. After a day spent packed in the car, we all appreciate having a little time, and space, to ourselves. It helps us all still like each other by the time we get done with our vacation. 😂
