Whales were what we saw from our rental house living room on the morning of the second full day of our ocean stay! We had no binoculars, but we could see a dark body or two come to the surface and then the spout of water followed. What fun! Prior to their appearance, I had been ready to just go home; Daughter had not been feeling well and we had been at odds. But she felt better that day, and the whales cheered us up, so we stayed.
We loaded ourselves and the baby into the car, opting to leave the dog at the house, and headed north along highway 101. Our destination was Newport, where I took this picture of the well-known and oft-photographed Yaquina Bay Bridge. As you can see, the weather was stupendous that day, perfect for beach strolling. It's a good thing we didn't pack up and go home.
I thought this was a clever name for a gift and flower shop. Saw the sign in the Nye Beach district of town.
Daughter correctly remembered Nye Beach was a great place to go for a walk along the sandy shore. It was accessible with the stroller, and the tide was out, so we had plenty of packed sand to walk on. We took turns walking far enough out to get our feet wet.
There's the stroller; you'll have to take my word for it that there's a baby inside.
Paragliding is a popular sport in this area. Part of me would like to try it, but part of me thinks that would not turn out well.
These little shore birds were running all over the sand looking for something to eat. I think they are a kind of sandpiper, but there were larger ones, too. If you look closely at the headland in the distance, you will see a lighthouse. That's where we drove next.
Yaquina Head Lighthouse has been lighting the way for ships since 1873. At 93 feet tall, it is the tallest lighthouse in Oregon.
The view from the lighthouse is spectacular!
On the south side of the headland, near the lighthouse, is an area where harbor seals like to rest on the rocks. We could see some far below. In my photo they look like fish!
Spring wildflowers were blooming in profusion. I don't know the name of this variety. Do you? Please post in the comments if you can identify them.
Later in the afternoon, Daughter drove to the nearby wayside parking area and walked the beach at low tide in search of sand dollars. She found quite a few of them. The sky had begun to cloud over, so this is as close to a pretty sunset as we got during our stay.
