Drive to Newport

We took a drive down the coast to Newport today. We stopped at almost all the scenic spots along the way.

I liked the foam in this picture.

Verda being silly!

Pretty!

Another cute picture of Sara. :)

I liked the way the water ran off the rock here.

I like the way the water looks here.

Verda, Ardis and Sara showing off their hoods.

David and I found this cute lil squirrel on the trail around the Devil's Punch Bowl. He was cute and friendly!

We wished we had something we could have fed him.

I like the brown pelicans.

Devil's Punch Bowl.

Verda and Ron.

Busy lil bee. He had the rosemary bush all to himself.

More ocean.

We ended our tour down the coast at the Newport bay front. We did not bring home any fresh tuna.

I liked the seagull picking food from the net.

Sara, me, Judy and Ardis.

Me and David.

Tons of seals. We could hear them barking as we walked up to the dock.

Who new seals were into punk!

We had fun watching these guys defend their resting spots. There was one seal swiming around trying to get up there for a nap, and they keep barking at him. He tipped the dock pretty good and got everyone wet.

They are so silly, it's like he's saying hello!

This guy really liked his butt-pillow. Anytime the guy he was layin on moved, he moved with him so he wouldn't be without his pillow.

Saturday-Getting Started

Whenever we stay at the Inn at Cape Kiwanda, one of our favorite things to do is feed the bunnies. Last time we were here, the area the bunnies had their homes was in a state of chaos. When we arrived this time we discovered the bunny area had been paved over. There was a sad lack of bunnies around the inn. We did find this really cute, almost sad little bunny that really wanted to get into the inn (I can't say that I blame him!). He was looking so intently at the flowers, David had to pick one and offer it to him.
As you can see he did come over and started to nibble at it. Moments after I took this picture two terrible children and their parents came out and stepped right in front of me, and scaring away the cute little bunny. At least I was able to get these two pictures. Sometimes I really dislike people. :(

The plans for today were to start at the Tillamook Cheese Factory, and then explore the area a bit. We were given the wrong time to meet, and so we ended up missing the self guided tour. I did snap a few pictures while we enjoyed the must-have ice cream. Here is one of Sara and Dad.

Verda.

Mom and Ardis.

Dad and Ralph.

Mom and Ron.

Cape Meares

After the Tillamook Cheese Factory we continued North up the coast. I never get tired of the ocean, it is different every time you look at it. I love that is it never the same ocean.

We stopped at Cape Meares. Here, you can stop and see the Octopus Tree (see my next post) or you can visit the Cape Meares Lighthouse (photo coming). I liked these trees. It made me think of one of the many wooded scenes in the movie Twilight.

I like to call this moss/lichen stuff Oregon snow. It is everywhere!

It was fun to come here with Oran and Judy. It was their first visit to Cape Meares.

And here is the Cape Meares Lighthouse, Oregon's shortest Lighthouse. For more fun facts check out the official website.

Another pretty Oregon coast picture.

There were nice information signs along the trail, I had to take a picture of Oran because he took time to read each one along the way. He probably knows more about the area than I do! I like to skim and move on to the next view.

I told David I'd be good and let him take a picture.

Ralph, Mom and Dad waiting for people to catch up.

David let me take a picture of him. :)

More Oregon coast.

Sara, being cute!

The trail around the lighthouse was nicely paved and pretty well maintained. It was a nice walk!

Wood is neat!

Octopus Tree

This is one of those places that can be fun to drive to, and is not a real pain to get to. Parking can be a hassle, but the walk to the tree is pretty quick and easy.

It seems a little out of place. It's in it's own little fenced off area. There is just something about the tree that made me want to climb the fence and go sit by the tree, or climb it.

There had to be a group shot in front of the Octopus Tree. There is one with all of us, I think on Judy's camera. This is all I got.

From left to right: Ralph, Ardis, Judy, Oran, Ron and Verda.

New Sonic=Poor Execution

Sonic has come to Keizer, and they had their grand opening this weekend. While David and I were out and about today, we thought it might be a nice treat to stop in and get one of their ices (because I have never had one).

Our new Sonic has a funky entrance. You have to actually turn into the apartment complex next door to get to the driveway. So we do this, and are stopped before we even set tire in the Sonic parking lot by a young lad with a walkie-talkie. David rolls down his window to see what the hold up is. There are no cars, so we aren't sure why we can't just proceed on our merry way. The lad asks us if we want the patio or a stall. David tells him neither, we want the drive through. The lad makes a face indicating that this might be a problem. He turns slightly away from the window to talk into his walkie-talkie but we can still hear what is said. He says to walkie-talkie dude "Um, they want the drive through." We hear the walkie-talkie dude mumble something incoherent. David turns to give me his "what the heck" face. The lad turns back to the window and tells David to pull forward. Now we are turning into the driveway that leads us up into the actual parking lot. We have maybe the front bumper in the parking lot before we are stopped by a second lad with a walkie-talkie. He asks us the same question, and David gives him the same response. This lad also makes the same face that made it seem like we asked if we could go to the moon to place our order. He turns away from the window to address walkie-talkie dude. Mean while, David and I are getting irritated because now we can see that there are maybe three people on the patio, 3 cars in stalls and no one (NO ONE) in the drive way. We hear him say "They want the drive through." And we hear walkie-talkie dude give that a negative. Did I mention there is no one in the drive way and they aren't super busy? The lad turns to us and you can tell he has seen the look on David's face and does not want to repeat what walkie-talkie dude said. "Um, we're not taking anyone in the drive thru right now..." he sort of stammers. "Seriously?" David says. "There is no one there" he points out. The lad turns and looks, and can't seem to come up with a good defense. Meanwhile, David and I have pretty much decided they have lost our business and are going to just leave. The lad says "just go to the drive thru." David says "you know what, since it seems to be such a problem we'll just go somewhere else" and we leave.

I won't be giving Sonic any of my business. I've heard the food isn't that great, and it's not really stuff I want to be eating. So not only will I not eat their crap, but I also won't be supporting a business that can't seem to figure out how to treat their customers.

~Emily

Pretty Kitty

This is my new favorite picture of Riley. She so rarely behaves and lets me get a good shot. This little fur-depositer makes me happy, and I feel so lucky to have her in our home. /end kitty mushiness.

~Emily