Jacqueline’s Jaunts

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

03-13-22 Sunday - Depoe Bay, Oregon (Oregon Aquarium Day Trip)

03-13-22 Sunday

Depoe Bay, Oregon

Sea & Sand RV Park Good Sam

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 4

Drive Time: 0

Miles: 0

Arrived:0

Daylight savings time. Crazy weather day. Gusting winds. It hasn’t stopped raining for two days. Checked in with Ryan and Amanda. No breakfast. We decided to meet the crew at Rogue’s Brewery in Newport for lunch then to the Oregon Aquarium.

The Crew

We met everyone upstairs at the brewery. Ordered beer and food. I tried the only cider they had, and it was OK. Nothing to get excited about, which was disappointing. After lunch we went downstairs, and Barry purchased a few shirts and a flask.

Tucker showing off

Off to the aquarium before Tucker jumped out of his skin. What a great place. There is a section with jellyfish and was everyone’s favorite except Tucker. His was the sharks.

The jellyfish were in all different types of tanks, but we loved the huge round one. They are so mesmerizing as they float up and down the tube. From here we went into the tide pool area and the kids were amazed at the sea animals in the smaller tanks. The colors were so vivid. The area with the touch pool was closed for renovation. I think Tucker was disappointed.

Jelly Fish in the Giant Tube

Outside was the large bird aviary with local birds. Two volunteers answered our questions and provided lots of facts about ages, nesting, laying eggs, etc. Some of the birds were 30+ years old. We learned that puffins can live up to 50 years and come back to the same place and mate with the same partner every year.... amazing. How do they find each other? Around the corner from the aviary was a niche that contained an octopus. The tank was dark, and you had to look for him. A volunteer was able to help us find him.

The otters were so entertaining. One otter liked to dribble a ball at the bottom of the tank. Look out Steph Curry! It’s amazing. There was also another otter showing off right in front of us, doing summersaults, and banging against the glass. He was too adorable. See video below.

SHARK TIME... you walk into a tube and the fish swim under and above you. Very cool. This tank only had smaller sharks like leopard sharks. The tank also had schools of anchovies and tuna. The cool thing was when the anchovies open their mouths it looked like a light was shining out of it. The floor had rectangular cut outs with plexiglass over them so you could see the fish swim under you. Tucker had to show us each time one of the larger sharks swam under us. The amazement in his eyes was awesome to see. This kid loves the outdoors and learning about anything related to the outdoors. Seeing things through his eyes is so much fun.

The gift shop was our last stop. Ryan and Amanda left ahead of us to pick up fresh fish at a local fish market for fish tacos tonight. We kept the kids, they picked out crystal rocks for their rock collection we helped them start years ago and the joke was don’t tell their parents. The last thing Ryan said before he and Amanda left was, “Don’t let them talk you into buying them something,” as if I’m going to listen to him. Of course Aunt J is going to buy them something!!!

We loaded the kids into the jeep and headed to the condo. The kids were chatting on the way back which I loved. Such cool kids and so much fun to be with. Amanda had started prepping dinner and would not let us help. She made a mango salsa to go with the tacos that was delish. We hung around the kitchen island and never stopped talking. Seems to be the norm!

Ryan cooked the ling cod on the George Foreman grill provided by the condo owners. Turned out tender and very tasty. I can’t believe Amanda got Barry to eat fish tacos. I have never been able to get him to do so. Tacos tasted amazing.

Then...GAME TIME!!!! There was a Giant Sequence game in the closet, so we taught everyone how to play. Barry and I have played this game numerous times with the Reynolds and Irwins on our houseboats. This is actually a game Barry likes. We divided into three teams and played a practice round. We let everyone show their cards to help, especially Tucker, and ask a lot of “what if” questions. He wasn’t too thrilled with this game but was a great sport. It is a bit difficult for his age. We teamed him up with his mom and gave him a lot of flexibility. It was so funny; at one point you could see the light bulb go on in Amanda’s head and it was game on! Barry and I saw a competitive side of Amanda we have never seen. She was ruthless! Everyone loved this game and can’t wait to play it with their friends at home.

Earlier in the week Barry collected flat rocks from the beach and invented an intense game. He called it Rock Jenga. The idea was everyone stacked a rock on the pile and the person who made the pile tumble got a point, five points and your out. We decided 5 points was too long and to make it three points. It was so much fun. All you need is a pile of flat rocks.

After Rock Jenga, I was finishing laundry, Ryan almost asleep on the floor and Tucker went to bed. Addison zoning out and Amanda getting things together for tomorrow. We were all leaving the area tomorrow. We had such a wonderful visit. Hopefully we can do this again.

For My Genealogy Friends

Family Trees

Additional Photos

Monday, March 14, 2022

03-12-22 Saturday Depoe Bay, Oregon – McMenamins Brewery, Home Made Pizzas

03-12-22 Friday

Depoe Bay, Oregon

Sea & Sand RV Park Good Sam

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 4

Drive Time: 0

Miles: 0

Arrived: 0

Barry and I each had a zoom call today at 10:00 AM. His was his weekly Saturday call with his Canadian cousins and my monthly CGS board meeting. Mine went until almost 11:30, a little longer than expected. After our calls, Barry packed up his BBQ and pizza oven into the jeep. I got together all the fixings and we headed to Ryan and Amanda’s in Lincoln City. Unloaded everything and Ryan and Addison helped us carry everything upstairs. We loaded the kids in the jeep and met Ryan and Amanda at McMenamins for lunch. Chowder, Scooby Dogs (mini corn dogs), salads and brews. Headed back to the condo after lunch.

I had photos to take of just me. I wanted some professional looking ones to submit for my CGS Board member headshot on the website. Had to change into different clothes for that. We did inside shots because it was pouring and windy outside. Once again everyone had opinions of where to take the photos. I can’t wait to see how they turned out.

Addison, Amanda, Tucker, Goofy Hair to Keep it Out of His Eyes

Tucker wanted to go swimming in the pool so bad he begged his mom and sister. Amanda broke down and said yes after about fifteen minutes of negotiations and then Addison decided to swim too. It was so funny to see how it evolved. So off to the pool we went. Amanda, Addison, and Tucker went in but the rest of us stayed out. The pool was slightly warm. Barry coached Addison on a few things and Amanda played with Tucker. We stayed at the pool until Tucker’s lips turned purple. That kid would live in the water if he could.

Back upstairs to the condo and the three swimmers took showers and dried their hair. We had the pizza doughs sitting on the counter to proof and they looked good. Once everyone was ready to eat again, we started the process. Barry heated up the pizza oven on the balcony. He wasn’t sure how it was going to heat up with all the wind and rain. It was hard to keep the temperature up. I lined all the fixings up on the island. I promised each of the kids they could roll out their own dough and top their own pizzas. It was so much fun! We made a total of 6 pizzas. Barry did a great job of cooking them for the first time in his new oven. Clean up by everyone then it was GAME TIME!!!

Tucker Explaining How to Play Left, Right, Center

We started out with Left, Right, Center. New game for Barry and me but everyone made sure we knew all the rules. Turned out to be a fun game. I have no idea how many times we played it. Then we moved onto Yahtzee. I have not played this game for years and Barry has never played it. If anyone knows my husband, he is not a game player, but Tucker and Addison convinced him to play. He got the hang of it, and we played another game. Fun was had by everyone. It was close to 10:30 pm and Tucker was getting tired and so were we. We had a busy day planned for tomorrow and we all needed our beauty sleep. Once again, such a fun day.

Tucker Convincing His Uncle to Play Yahtzee

03-11-22 Friday Depoe Bay, Oregon - Lincoln City - Kyllo's Restaurant

03-11-22 Friday

Depoe Bay, Oregon

Sea & Sand RV Park Good Sam

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 3

Drive Time: 0

Miles: 0

Arrived: 0

A lazy Friday morning. Tea, coffee, banana, and email. Ryan, Amanda, Addison, and Tucker are arriving today. They rented a condo in Lincoln City, about fifteen minutes north of us. They should arrive around 3:00 – 3:30 and we will either meet at their place or ours for photos. We have never had decent photos taken of us so I asked her if she would. She was a professional photographer for a while.

We headed out to lunch around 1:00 and decided to try Rusty Truck Brewing. Great little joint. I had a Caesar salad and Barry had a large pretzel with spicy hot cheese sauce. What I loved about this place was all the décor. Signs everywhere. But the best thing was a digital jukebox on the wall. I could kick myself because I didn’t take a photo of it. I’ve never seen one and was fascinated by it. Barry thought our server looked like Renée Zellweger.

Amanda called and said they arrived. They checked in and took a ride to the area of the beach by them to see if it was a good place for photos, but it was muddy. We decided to go back to our place instead. They have not seen our RV, and this was a good opportunity. They arrived and BIG HUGS all the way around. All of us were so happy to actually see each other and physical hugs instead of virtual ones. Addison is almost as tall as me now. Tour of the RV and we walked down to the beach and choose a few places for photos. There is a path from the campground that leads to the beach, so we decided to walk down and choose a few places on the path. Everyone got involved with choosing places for the photos. The kids and Ryan have been on so many photoshoots with Amanda they knew what to look for. It was truly a family affair and can't wait to see how they turned out. They left to go change and freshen up and we drove to Kyllo’s to get a table.

The reason for going to freshen up before meeting at Kyllo's

The wait for a table was forty-five minutes. We went out to the deck and ordered drinks. It was chilly but what a great view. The restaurant sits on the beach. The crew arrived just as our table was ready. Great food, great drinks, and AWESOME company. Chatter never stopped. A wonderful evening. If you are ever in Lincoln City you have to stop and eat here. Perfect Day!

Barry, Amanda, Jacqueline (me), Ryan, Addison, Tucker

Kids playing with the slinkys we gave them

Barry's Dinner

My Dinner

Sunday, March 13, 2022

03-10-22 Thursday Depoe Bay, Oregon (In Camp Day)

03-10-22 Thursday

Depoe Bay, Oregon

Sea & Sand RV Park Good Sam

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 3

Drive Time: 0

Miles: 0

Arrived: 0

New Site for the Next Five Days

DEPOE BAY IN CAMP DAY

Cold this morning but our bed is nice and toasty. Barry made me hot chocolate with the new frother we bought at Walmart, so I moved to the sofa with my soft alpaca blanket I bought last September when we visited an alpaca farm in Nevada. I watched the waves and then noticed a bob (yes this is correct, per google) of a dozen seals playing in the waves. They would move in and out of the waves. As a wave would peak you could see the seals inside the wave. I watched through our binoculars as one did a flip inside a wave, such an awesome sight. They slowly moved north of us and played in that area for quite a while. After a while I noticed four separate bobs, floating on their backs with their tails and fins pointed toward the sky, amazing. We would observe them throughout the day.

Today was the day we had to move from our beach location, #107 to the hillside, # 81. We hoped there would be a cancellation and we could stay but no such luck. We had to secure a few things inside and off we went. Our new site is a 50 amp hookup which enables us to run both heaters at the same time.... big plus in this weather. The site is large, and we still have a limited view of the ocean.

Utility morning for us. Barry called Leale’s RV to set up an appointment for the slide work we need, paid bills, called a guy interested in our houseboat. We’ve had four people interested so far. I answered emails.

We made lunch and sat outside in the sun since it turned out to be a nice day. For dinner we decided to make a pizza and try the new pizza oven. Barry set up the Camp Chef stove and prepared everything for later, including getting the pizza dough out to rise.

I attended my Amigos call at 3:30pm and was happy to see Linda was able to attend. It’s been a few weeks since she has been able to. The three of us talked for hour and a half, some genealogy related subjects and some not. We could talk longer but Barry made a pizza, and I was excited to try it. He was already sitting outside munching on a few pieces. I joined him outside and the pizza was delicious. After we devoured the pizza Barry put the camp stove away because rain was on the horizon, and we didn’t want it sitting out in the rain.

After cleanup we took a long walk on the beach and enjoyed the sunset again. We talked about how excited we are to hook up with Ryan, Amanda, Addison, and Tucker tomorrow. Hope all is well in your world. Sleep tight.

Thursday, March 10, 2022

03-09-22 Wednesday Depoe Bay and Newport, Oregon (Day Trip)

03-09-22 Wednesday

Depoe Bay and Newport, Oregon

Sea & Sand RV Park Good Sam

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 3

Drive Time: 0

Miles: 0

Arrived: 0

NEWPORT

Beautiful rainbow above the ocean this morning and what a great thing to wake up too. Observed a couple of seals out in the surf this morning. They didn’t stay long. Watched two fishing boats troll back and forth. The beach in front of us is probably a mile long and I’m still amazed how clean it is. Barry wants to check out a gas station in Depoe Bay. The woman at Sea & Sand office told us it has propane. Nope....no such luck. We headed to Walmart for a few groceries and a new coffee pot, Ace Hardware for two more vent caps. On the way we found a few gas stations we can get the RV into for gas and propane. Planning for when we leave on Monday.

Lunch time and we found a brewery via Tripadvisor, Newport Brewery. Fell in love with this place. Beautiful murals on the walls. One of the servers informed us they were all painted by the art teacher at the local high school. My favorite, the octopus. Great looking bar and the longest bar I’ve seen. Local fav is the fried calamari, it was so tender and delicious, a little spicy but doable. I had a small Caesar salad and Barry had a hot dog wrapped in bacon with two slices of BBQ pineapple on top. He said it was fabulous. Renee Toomey you would loved this hot dog!!! They had Ace Mango cider on tap.....YES!!! Some of the workers were canning in the parking lot and Barry walked out to observe. One of the cans came off the canning line a little mangled so he gave it to Barry, score for him! As we were eating it started pouring. We bought a flannel shirt for me and a long sleeve tee shirt for Barry. We headed out and stopped at the liquor store for some cider and a flask. Our current one was leaking, and we can’t have that!!!

YAQUINA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE

On the way back we stopped at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse and Preserve. I was able to get stamps and stickers for my National Parks Passport Book....happy camper. We saw a pair of Peregrine Falcons perched on the side of the cliffs by the visitor center. They were talking to each other and so cool to hear. This preserve had great trails and views of the coastline. We hiked to the lighthouse and unfortunately all tours are cancelled for now. We took the 6 flights of stairs down to a tide pool area. The beach is called Cobblestone Beach and the entire area is covered in dark grey smooth rounded stones. Talk about hard to walk on. You had to be sure of your footing. The most amazing thing about this little beach is when the surf moves back into the ocean, the grey rocks are tumbled and as they do so, they sing. It’s the noise from the rocks tumbling over each other, fascinating and a beautiful sound Mother Nature shares with us. From here we could view the large rocks off the shore better with all the birds roosting and noisy, noisy, noisy. We would have loved to stay longer but it was close to 5:00pm and the park closes so we headed up the challenging 6 flights of stairs. From there we had to hike back to our car. Wonderful trip and would recommend

this to anyone visiting this area.

Back at the RV, Barry heated up the remaining calamari. We talked about the awesome day we had, poured a glass of wine and walked out to the beach to watch the sunset. Amazing colors and peaceful. Good night all and thank you for following us.

NEWPORT BREWERY

You get an idea of how big this is by the computer screens

YAQUINA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE & PRESERVE

03-08-22 Depoe Bay, Oregon @ Sea & Sand RV Park (Day Trip)

03-09-22 Wednesday

Depoe Bay, Oregon

Sea & Sand RV Park Good Sam

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 2

Drive Time: 0

Miles: 0

Arrived: 0

DEPOE BAY, OREGON DAY TRIP

Barry was up at 5:30am, he couldn’t sleep. He decided to make coffee and the coffee maker broke. Darn it! He tried to fix it but no luck. That darn thing isn’t even a year old. He had to make his coffee manually which was a pain in the you know what. Cereal for breakfast after I came stumbling out of the bedroom half a sleep.

We needed to buy a vent cap that blew off one of our vents on the roof, so I found a few Ace hardware stores and he called to see if the cap was available. The Ace Hardware in Lincoln City had one. After breakfast we headed to Lincoln City. What a great hardware store. I love roaming around a hardware store like this one.... days with my dad come to mind. Our Ace hardware stores are nothing like these, they sell RV supplies, guns, and ammo.

We then headed to the outlet center. We wanted to check out the Levi store. Barry couldn’t find his size of 501’s. They didn’t have them in stock. I looked for 501s but no luck. I did, however, find two pairs of other jeans and a few tops that were on clearance. We headed to Under Armour and we both found a few things.

From the outlets we headed to McMenamins Lighthouse Brewery per a recommendation from a salesperson at the Levi store. Great place. They have a restaurant upstairs and the bar is downstairs. Of course, we ate in the bar. I had a new cider called Ace Guava, my favorite so far. The chowder was delicious.

On our way back we stopped a couple of places to few the coastline. We took a long walk on the beach and looked at all the houses. Back to the RV for quite time, watch MSNBC and relax.