Nye Beach, Newport, OR 30 Jul 2013

 We had lunch today at Nye Beach.  It is a beautiful beach with cute shops and restaurants. Nana's Irish Pub has a 4 star rating.  Ted's potato and cabbage soup with soda bread was good.  The patio was a little too cold, so we ate inside.  May have to go back for the individual pot pie the lady next to us was eating.

A short walk down this street takes you to the beach.

 The beach is long and flat.  In the distance is Yaquina Head Lighthouse; Penny's favorite lighthouse on the West Coast.

 These are the posts at the end of the road at Nye Beach.  The beach is to the left and down about 8 feet.  This photo was an artistic attempt. 

This may be the closest we come to photographing the Yaquina Bay Bridge with the least amount of traffic, while we are on it.  We have to cross it every time we go to town.  The views from it are awesome.

Dinner in Historic Newport, OR 29 Jul 2013

 Marsha and Joe, friends from Portland, who have a condo north of Newport, came to share dinner with us.  They recommended this place and they were right to do so.  It is located on a pier in Historic Newport, OR.

 The entrance is unassuming.

 There are only nine tables.  We had reservations, but decided to wait for a more desirable table than they one that was available.  The food was delicious and the company wonderful!

 We took these photos through the windows of the restaurant.  This long line fishing boat was headed to sea.

 We are fascinated by the NOAA ships.  That little boat in the lower left seems way too small to fish in the ocean, especially as the sun sets.  Maybe they will fish the jetty.

 A fishing boat returning to port.

 This trawler pulled into a building near the restaurant to off-load his catch.  Sea gulls fought for the scraps still in the nets.

This is another view of the Yaquina Bay Bridge from the deck outside the restaurant.  

The Hatfield Marine Science Center 26 Jul 2013

We go for a bicycle ride every morning.  Fortunately, there is a lot to see in the area, so it is always more than just exercise.  This tidal flat is a part of a lovely estuary connected to Yaquina Bay.

Nearby is the Oregon State University Mark O. Hatfield Marine Science Center.  It is a beautiful facility across the road from the NOAA facility shown in a previous blog.  According to Ted, Senator Hatfield was one of the last senators who deserved to have anything other than a trash dump named after him.

Oregon State University has an excellent marine science program.   Their Marine Engineering program has several different experimental devices in an offshore area designed to generate power from wave action.  We saw these bouys come in on a semi as we pulled into the RV park and wondered if they were a part of that program.

We wondered what these devices were.  Their rusty patina seemed to indicate that they had some kind of story to tell.

 There were people out clamming on the flats near the Hatfield center.  We thought, however, that they may have been researchers because they appeared to be measuring and documenting what they were seeing.

Jetty, Newport, OR 24 Jul 2013

 We rode our bikes down the jetty road to the ocean.  There were two coast guard boats doing maneuvers before the bar.  The fog was thick in and out all day. 

There are bike/walking/horse trails in the dunes at the end of the road.  The temperature high was about 62º.  The riders are dressed appropriately.

Aquarium Village, Newport, OR 23 Jul 2013

 This kitschy, touristy place is Aquarium Village, next to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  Penny needed knitting needles and this was the address for the yarn shop in town.  Not exactly the facade we expected.

 But, sure enough, here was the shop.  It did have sculptures of dogs with dead birds in their mouths on the roof; an attempt to fit in to the neighborhood?  The interior is full of an amazingly large inventory of unique and expensive yarns.  

The marine layer rolled in about 2:30 pm as we headed back to the RV.  Long pants and long sleeves were necessary.

Newport Marina, Newport, OR 20 Jul 2013

NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations - Pacific has been built since we were here last.  Newport won the bid over Seattle.  We can see the ship on the left from our windshield.   This center conducts oceanographic research and assessments throughout the eastern Pacific.  There are several ships assigned here.  Three are in port now.  There are others at sea.

The MacArthur II measures chemical, meteorological and biological samples.

The Thomas G. Thompson is the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility and thus, not assigned to this center.  We couldn't see the middle ship well enough to identify it.

We are enjoying riding our bikes each day.  This is Historic Bayfront across Newport Bay.

When there is a lower trailer parked next to us, we can see the beautiful art deco Yaquina Bay Bridge from our coach.  Our park is behind us in the photo.

This is one of eleven bridges on the Oregon Coastal Highway designed by Conde McCullough.  It opened in 1936.  The weather and time of day makes it look different daily.  Boats go under the main span and then through the jetty to get to the Pacific Ocean.

Turning south, the bridge is on the right and the Newport Belle Bed and Breakfast is on the left in the sternwheeler.

Seagulls and turkey vultures are thick, to put it mildly.  Several were resting on top of a berm.  Ted had to nearly step on them before they would take flight.

Once the birds cleared, we could see the canning company in Historic Bayfront.

And, the US Coast Guard station at South Beach, established in 1896.  It is said that the bar at the mouth of the river, is considered the second worst for vessels in the USA, after that at the mouth of the Columbia River.

The little store at the marina will steam crab for fisherman for about $.15 each.  They rent crab pots for $6/day.  No boat?  Crab from the near-by pier.  

Woodland to Newport, OR 18 Jul 2013

 We drove south through Portland to Hwy 18.  I wasn't prepared for how lush the vegetable farms and nursery stock would be, so missed some photo opportunities along the way.  This is a medium security federal prison for men at Sheridan, OR.  There is an adjacent minimum security prison, too.   

 Ahead is the Pacific Coast Range that we will cross to get to the coast.

 This casino belongs to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. 

 Our goal - the Pacific.  To be here, where it is almost always cool when it is hot inland, is a wonderful prospect.

 The Yaquina Head Lighthouse greets us from the north side of Newport, OR.

 The jetty at Newport as seen from the top of the Yaquina Bay Bridge, looking north.  

 The Newport Marina as seen from the top of the bridge, looking south.  Our RV park is just out view on the left and the Oregon Coast Aquarium is to the right.  We were here in 2008.  At that time Ted helped the camp host and his wife pick up a new RV in Salem.  We ran into them a couple of years ago at a park along I-5 as they were making their way here to work.  When we checked in today, there was Clay.  This is their seventh year here.

 This road runs along the south jetty to the dunes and beach.  We can bike it from our coach.  They have built more bike paths in the area since we were last here.  Should be fun to explore.  

Woodland, WA 17 Jul 2013

Across the road from the RV park in Woodland, this perennial ryegrass field was being harvested for seed.  Several decades ago, sheep producers who sold feeder lambs in the spring allowed a portion of the fields to go to seed which they harvested and sold.  Seed production became much more lucrative than lambs, so there is far less grazing today and most of the grass is grown to optimize seed production.  

 This field was cut and swathed a couple of weeks earlier and allowed to dry.

The swath rows are gently pulled into the combine using a pickup reel, a very expensive piece of equipment. 

 The seed is then combined out and the straw laid back onto the ground.

After the seed is removed, the straw is baled. Perennial ryegrass straw makes superior animal bedding. It is tough but not as stiff and brittle as wheat straw.  A lot is exported to Japan where it is used in the production of kobe beef.

Lan Su Chinese Garden & Voodoo Donuts, Portland, OR 16 Jul 2013

We had planned to enjoy two days relaxing by the river, but our TV was not working correctly, so we returned to the RV remodeler so that their technician could fix it.  With no coach, we decided to return to being tourists in Portland.  We visited the Lan Su (Garden of Awakening Orchids) Chinese Gardens, 239 NE Everett St., in China Town. Admission is $8.50 and is good for the whole day.

This sculpture greets visitors outside the entrance.

 The entrance is a courtyard with these gates separating it from the rest of the world.  The program was built by Chinese artisans and is the most authentic Chinese garden outside of China.

 Gingko trees and wood are featured throughout.

The garden is an example of the home and garden of a wealthy 16th century Chinese family.  The Hall of Brocade Clouds would be the place of entertainment. At the ends of the roof are two dragons. They are there to attack evil spirits that attempt to enter.

 Doors and windows throughout the garden form views within views according to the guidebook.

 This The Hall of Brocade Clouds from inside the sanctuary.

 The sights, sounds, and smells of this place created a very soothing sensation.  Amazing to realize that a busy Portland is outside this one block area.

                                   

These Lake Tai rocks are formed underwater.  They are placed here to represent mountains.

The terrace sits in the middle the pond. It provides 360º views of the garden.

The tea house was a busy place.

The view just outside the tea house.

Flowers Bathing in Spring Rain houses six panels made from gingko wood. 

The panels illustrate actual ancient gardens in Portland's sister city of Suzhou.

These small cement tiles on one path.  There is visual interest everywhere.

 These drip tiles is adorned with five bats, representing the five blessings - long life, good fortune, good health, a love of virtue, and a painless passing. 

Looking from the Scholar's Courtyard at a Penjing.

The path through the garden circles the pond.  

The lily pads are gorgeous because they are controlled, not allowed to take over the pond.

The Koi seemed to recognize when people were on the bridges and they swam toward them.  It was good to see that no one tried to feed them.

 The final architectural picture took us back to the entrance.  We have always appreciated landscaping, but today we learned the power of smell and architectural elements.  We need Brent (our son) to see this place, so he can design the yard of our next house with some of these elements. 

 We have never been to Voodoo Doughnuts, so we decided to go there next because it was only three blocks away.  Quite the contrast to the tranquil garden.  The line was a half block long at lunch time on a week day.  We had nice conversation with mother and daughter in line with us.  It took us about 15 minutes to get inside.

The carousel displays all the choices.  They are known for their obscene shapes and their bacon-maple bars.  We ordered a dozen of mixed for $11.50 and added a bacon-maple bar.  We got the maple bar without the bacon.  Oh, well.  It was not greasy and tasted decadent.

There are signs in the store that say, "I got VD in Portland."  VD equals Voodoo Doughnuts. Being Vegan is VERY Portland.

 Come to Portland and you will see people carrying these boxes.  We saw two tough looking guys on motorcycles with these!

Here is our dozen.  We took all but two to our RV remodeler.  Does it count that we had that much discipline?