After our breakfast of fruit, orange juice, eggs, hash browns, and French toast, we went for a walk on the beach. We walked a couple of blocks towards the ocean and passed through a small memorial park on the way. We could see the Yaquina Head Lighthouse on a point north of us.
Then we drove to the lighthouse, hoping to take a tour. We got there a bit before the 10 a.m. opening, so we decided to explore the area. We walked down to the Cobble Beach at the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. Walking on the beach was a bit like walking in a playground ball pit--only the balls are made of basalt and sound crunchy underfoot.
A couple of volunteers had a scope set up and pointed at a mother seal and her pup, very cute wriggling about on the rock. We looked around for tidal pools among the larger rocks. We spotted a large dead sea star, some sculpins swimming about, some mostly closed up sea anemones, and lots of mussels.
By now the lighthouse was open, and we were among the first in line to climb up the 93 foot tower. Volunteers in period costume were at the bottom and the top. We learned that one of the reasons this lighthouse isn't taller or on a higher point is that the clouds and fog are often form a low ceiling, so the light needs to be aimed beneath it. Yaquina Head is visible for 20 miles out to sea. It’s a good thing we got in when we did—a long line of small children was waiting to go in soon after we emerged.
After touring the lighthouse, we decided to climb the trail up the nearby Salal Hill, which gets its name from the profusion of salal bushes growing there.
Hiking up Salal Hill
By now we were hungry. We drove south towards the historic Yaquina Bay Bridge towards the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Hatfield Marine Science Center. We decided to eat lunch at Bangkok Thai, a restaurant on Bay Street among a collection of shops and restaurants on the waterfront. The restaurant was well reviewed on Yelp, and the food was delicious--the only difficulty was finding parking in this bustling tourist area.
We decided to visit Hatfield Marine Science Center and save the aquarium until we had more time on Sunday. The Hatfield was quite engaging, with lots of hands on exhibits and a very friendly giant octopus. Researchers from Oregon State University highlight their studies here. Unfortunately, several of the exhibits had out of order signs.
Colorful tidepool denizens
When we got home, Chris and I decided to walk around our little neighborhood and visit some of the shops. A resale shop had caught our attention. We found candles and art and crafts--and a little bakery/coffee shop.
For dinner I fixed some portobello mushroom stroganoff After dinner we walked along the beach again. We noticed some unusual clear marble sized jelly forms lying on the wet sand as the tide receded. They turned out to be small jellies called Sea Gooseberries (confirmed by Chris's FB friends after he posted a photo).
Later we played some Rummikub before heading to bed.
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