Astoria, Oregon

Friday we had a lab meeting, then a lab BBQ at Rob's house. Wanna know the difference between a southern BBQ and an Oregon coast BBQ? The food we had was grilled tuna, grilled oysters, rice, salad, and veggies. Southern BBQ's are burgers, hot dogs, chips, ribs, baked beans, etc. It's just funny to see the difference. Friday was great. We laughed and talked about everything you can think of. It was a lot of fun, and Rob and his wife are so nice and funny.

I stayed at Cheryl's that night, then drove to Astoria the next morning. I met up with Danielle around lunch time. We went to a Brewery to have lunch. Such good food! Then we went to the Tower, and went to a beach to watch the sunset. We walked around forever, and I think at one point got lost, but it was fun. We then went to the Shipwreck beach to watch the sunset and to take some photos at sunset. The shipwreck has been there for at least 200 years or so. There isn't much left, but it's pretty neat to see it there. Plus, it makes for great photo ops! We sat and ate blueberries, had some much needed girl talk, and watched the sunset. I couldn't have asked for a better Saturday. Just what the doctor ordered. We took some fun photos, not all are available to me right now cause Danielle took them on her SLR camera. Sunday, we had breakfast, then went walking around the town, going in all of the shops, and went to the Farmers market. Here is where I had my first REAL cherry. Maraschino cherries are not good, and not real cherries. Plus I hear they have arsenic in them. I had Rainier cherries. SOOO GOOD! The farmer's markets here are just absolutely AWESOME. Why do I have to leave OR? After a great weekend, I drove home to Bandon. It was about 6.5 hour drive, so it wasn't too enjoyable, but it was worth it. Here are some photos for your enjoyment.

 The Tower...it has 165 steps...it was a little scary. 

 Astoria

 not sure if this is part of Astoria or not. 

 Shipwreck on the beach

 The sun starting to set

 Shipwreck sunset

 After the sun set. 

 Me getting ready to eat Rainier cherries at the Farmers market. 

 I love their color! Down the hatch they went after this photo, and yes I liked them. 

 Danielle buying some fruit.

 Look at these raspberries!!! Yum!

 I bought this owl sticker...why? I had to. I just had to. It's a Snowy owl rocking out on a guitar. The band's name is, The Hoot...get it? lol. Whatever..look at the amp! It's a tree! haha

 Danielle and I had a great laugh at this coffee shop. They nicknamed Danielle, Ms. Two Shots, and me Mrs. One Shot..haha...lots of fun. Plus their sign is really neat. You can't see it well, but they have water pouring into the cup. 

We went into some really cool shops. This one had the oldest Monopoly game I have ever seen. Forgot to look and see how much it was being sold for. 

 I get a kick out of taking pics of Danielle in her picture taking poses. 

 200 years old shipwreck! wow!

 Late July and we wore pants and hoodies, yep! Gotta love the coast! 

 We were joking around with pics, but this one I look like I'm eating the bridge. We laughed so hard at this picture....too funny. 

We took a bunch of these, but this one turned out real nice. When it I get the rest, I will post them. 

Another news article

Another interview with Rob and Cheryl about the disturbances we had 2 weeks ago. This article includes two really good pictures showing an Eagle taking an adult Murre, and another one with the pelicans. Also, there is a very good video of the pelican disturbances. It's a little hard to watch if you are the slightest sensitive to watching predation, then don't watch it. But, I will say this, I am a VERY sensitive person, especially when it comes to animals (natural order or not), and I am able to watch the video. Maybe I've grown immune to it at this point (I hope not). But, its not that bad. Anywho, here is the link to the article if any of you are interested.

http://ecotrope.opb.org/2012/07/at-yaquina-head-pelicans-roughing-up-murres/

Crook Point

Today I went out to Crook Point with Bill. It's private land owned by Fish and Wildlife. It's soo beautiful and secluded. People can get there by beach, but its not often. They have amazing rocks there, and there were so many seals and sea lions there! Also, we found bear, deer, and river otter tracks. Seriously cool. We had every intention for me to wade out to Saddle Rock and climb it with Bill, but the tide was too high even for my waders, so I had to stay on the beach. That's okay, I enjoyed tide pooling, watching vultures eat a sea lion carcass, and the seals and sea lions sleep on the rocks. I took a ton of pics. It was extremely foggy there today, so most of my pictures are foggy scenarios, but I like the fog so it didn't bother me. We had to hike a lot today on steep rocks/cliffs...aka I got a good work out today! Enjoy these pictures...

 Black bear tracks on the beach

 Saddle Rock

 Upside down starfish

 Saddle Rock again

 Vultures doing what vultures do. 

 Seals and Sea lions on the rocks. 

 Bill heading out to the rock. 

 Me and rocks! 

 Bill almost to the rock. He had to wear a wet suit because the waves came up so high. 

 Tried putting the camera on a rock and setting the timer, this was like my 5th attempt...it just wasn't really working out. I need a small tripod or something. 

 More Vultures doing vulture things. 

 Like stretching their wings out! haha

 Bill on top of Saddle Rock

 Tidal pools

 Another view of Saddle Rock...in this pic you can really see how it got its name. 

 More seals and sea lions.

 Me tidal pooling....I found a bunch of fun critters in the water. 

 These were polyps or anemones or something...I wasn't quite sure. 

 Such a pretty starfish

 The arch for Mac Arch rock, I couldn't get a big picture of this due to the fog, so I did the best I could with this one. 

 I love taking up close pictures of these. So cool looking. 

 Bill back down from the rock on his way back. 

 View from the top of the headland

 The fog let up for a little bit so I could get some clear shots. 

 Edge of the headland

 Yay for climbing rocks! 

 Bill's so awesome he hikes in his wet suit...LOL..He just didn't feel like changing before we got back to the truck. 

 Here's a nice view of Saddle Rock

 Almost back to the truck and the fog reappeared.

 These flowers are called Golden field...or something like that. They are apparently rare. They are pretty...although we are already past their peak. 

Last pic before the truck....love the fog and tree shots!