Henry and I decided to visit the two attractions housed under the same roof; Ripley's Believe It Or Not! and Louis Tussaud's Wax Works, in downtown Newport, Oregon.

We began with Ripley's. 

Ripley's is a totally unique exhibition filled with an arty, bizarre, macabre and downright weird collection of oddities and curiosities. The Ripley museums were founded by Robert Ripley who traveled the world seeking out artifacts to add to his weird and wonderful collection. His passion for the mysteries of the world eventually lead to the creation of a newspaper feature in New York at the turn of the twentieth century called "Believe It Or Not!" Due to the extent of Ripley's collection and the public's growing desire to see it, Ripley's Believe It Or Not! museums sprang up all over the country.

I would buy Henry the annual book of "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!" every Christmas as he had been hooked ever since visiting the Ripley's museum in San Francisco when he was 8 or 9 years old. He loved the shocking pictures, questioned the reality of some of the artifacts and poured over the narratives trying to weed out fact from fiction. He was fascinated.

Henry and I are both drawn to the strange and the imaginative, so Ripley's travels, explorations and mysteries delighted us at every turn. Though it was little creepy in places.

We enjoyed some wonderful artwork made of burnt toast, buttons, bottle caps, and trash. We measured ourselves against the world's tallest man and the world's largest boot. At 6' 4" tall, Henry and his Nike dunks were dwarfed by them. We saw a display of shrunken heads, animals with two heads, a footballer with three legs, twisted costumed creatures with violet eyes, historical artifacts, and an array of other unbelievably strange things.

A highlight was The Star Room where we immersed ourselves in the sensations of floating in space surrounded by twinkling stars. We even had the opportunity to complete a space walk. It was all out of this world.

We then moved on to Louis Tussaud's Waxworks that leaned towards superheroes, science fiction, scary movie characters and fantastical beasts. 

I enjoyed Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter duelling in an exhibition of Priori Incantatem from the movie 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.' Voldemort was screaming the green killing curse, 'Avada Kedavra,'  and at the same time Harry was screaming the red disarming spell, 'Expelliarmus.' The two spells collided, the twin cores of the wands became intertwined and the rare effect of Priori Incantatem occurred. It was magical to see it happen! My favorite exhibit of the day!

Henry enjoyed sitting next to Sheldon Cooper, placing himself on the set of Stranger Things (apt!) and kicking his legs up on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office in the White House.

We also enjoyed all the movie references and marveled at the artistic waxwork recreations. Everything looked very real!

An astonishing day out in every way!

At the Newport Cafe just off Highway 101 in Newport, Oregon, we opted to try the Super Ultimate Monster Burger. Guy Fieri would have loved it!

The Monster was a homemade burger made with 8 pounds of ground beef seasoned with spices, topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles, ham and 8 fried eggs in a huge homemade 10 inch burger bun topped with sesame seeds and spread with a special thousand island dressing. 

At $55 dollars it could feed us all!

We sat outside the cafe on a bright yellow picnic bench, traffic whizzing by on the highway, and tucked into our Monster Burger. Giggling at the absurdity, we sliced it like a giant cake and ate and ate and ate. Then we ate some more. Then we realized we weren't even half way through the burger. We gave it a good shot, but we knew we would have to leave some behind.

This whole adventure had us roaring with laughter. Henry thought it was Instagram worthy so we took loads of photos.

My poor tummy will take a long time to recover!!!

It was another grey and rainy day, so Henry and I decided to head off into town to spend the morning at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. We love aquariums, and take every opportunity to visit one together. It's tradition.

Located in the shadow of the Yaquina Bay Bridge, we parked at the Aquarium and jogged with hoods up to the entrance to avoid the drizzle.

The aquarium was beautiful and well laid out, both inside and outside. We hadn't really anticipated a large portion of the exhibits being outside in the rain! 

We learned that the aquarium had been the original home of Keiko, the orca and star of the Disney movie Free Willie. He lived there for two years until 1998 when he was shipped back to Iceland where he was later released into the ocean.

​We did not see any whales in the aquarium and for that we were thankful.  The exhibits looked clean and the marine mammals appeared happy and well cared for. We enjoyed the outdoor exhibits, especially watching the otters swimming together, rolling around in the water and watching us right back.  

In the walk-through aviary we heard the puffins, with their expressive macaroni eyebrows, singing to each other, pottering about with their comical gait, and stretching their wings. Puffins are just born to stand out. We also saw a variety of oystercatchers, guillemots and murres flying freely inside the netted tent.

Entering the indoor galleries we found ourselves in a deep, dark underwater world filled with exhibitions of ethereal jellies, leggy stars, pink crabs, horses with curly tails and both local and brightly colored, exotic fish. We progressed in the semi darkness to an huge acrylic underwater tunnel titled Passages of the Deep where we enjoyed a 360 degree view of sharks, eels, rays, skates and a rather nosy grouper.

We smiled at the Pacific Banana Slug that had been elevated to the title of ambassador at the aquarium.

There was a lot of information and many exhibits on the conservation and I read as much as Henry would allow.

At the end we visited the aquarium shop and bought a souvenir T-Shirt for Kim that had a picture of a fish on the front with the word 'Salty.'

Nice. 

Definitely worth a visit.

We spent the day heading south, ambling down the coast, stopping at Seal Rock and Waldport, checking out all the mom and pop shops and galleries along the way. 

We managed to pick up some beautiful photographic prints, a small, light blue glass buoy likely washed ashore from a Japanese fishing trawler and some postcards to send home to my Dad.

The truck was all steamed up as it was cold and little drizzly. We stopped in a small car park surrounded by pine and spruce trees and headed down some steep and slippery steps to reach the beach at Seal Rock, a State Recreation Site. We could taste the salt in the air.

The site was made up of a basalt ledge with an array of sea stacks, reefs and knobbly rocks formed 15 million years ago as a result of lava flowing from volcanoes across the Pacific Northwest.  The basalt was eroded over time by waves, wind and rain creating the most peculiarly shaped rocks.

The centerpiece was Seal Rock, a dramatic basalt behemoth shaped a little like a seal, sitting offshore, where we could see pelicans, cormorants and gulls sheltering from the pitter patter of the rain. 

The beach was strewn with wet logs, hauled in by the tide. A few sandpipers lazily pecked  at the shoreline. To the south we could see the tide pools built on the basalt sill. Due to the weather, we were the only ones on the beach. Once we concluded there were no seals or sea lions lying around or any blue jellies, we let Ollie off her leash and she had a good run, sniffing out exciting tidbits to nibble on. Once she found a worthy stick, she was in heaven as she and Henry played games together.

We walked down the beach to the tide pools and I could spot urchins and stars, but as the tide had already turned and was coming in at quite a pace, we didn't step on to the ledge to explore any further. We ambled back to the truck and moved on to Waldport.

The Alsea tribe were the first known inhabitants of Waldport and gave their name, or vice versa, to the river and the bay located in the heart of the town.  Early European settlers came from Germany in the late 19th century, officially naming the town Waldport after 'Wald" meaning trees in German, and "Port" due to its proximity to the ocean.

The day was a little dreary and grey and Waldport seemed to be the same. It was certainly brightened by some beautiful murals on the sides of the building on the main strip. We parked by the bridge next to the visitor's center. From our vantage point we could see the cliffs overlooking the bay and watched some pelicans land in perfect formation.

We didn't stay long in Waldport as we were getting hungry. We returned to the truck and headed back to the trailer for an early dinner and to escape the rain.

Morning cuddles.

We managed to get out to the Devil's Punch Bowl State Natural Park twice while we were in the area. We stopped off very briefly on our way back from Depoe Bay, but we immediately knew we had to go back and explore the huge and cavernous Punch Bowl.

We arrived on a warm, Spring day and Kim and Ollie headed to the overlook, so they could look out and into the Punch Bowl. There were signs saying there was some kind of dangerous algae in the tide pools that could possibly poison pets who made it down to the beach. We didn't want to risk it. 

Naturally carved out of rock creating a huge craggy bowl that fills through a series of caves and tunnels at high tide with violently churning ocean water, swirling, foaming and frothing, a Devil's brew, the Punch Bowl is a powerful and raging expression of nature. When full, it's scary to see. When empty, the rock pools in the basin appear deceptively calm and forgiving. 

Henry and I set off to the beach to find a way across the tide pools at low tide as we wanted to make it all the way in to the Punch Bowl. The rocks were slippery with bright green, almost moss-like, seaweed and tiny barnacles that had been battered and smoothed over time, but we managed to chart our way forwards. Henry was checking for those pesky sneaker waves the whole time. He always has my back.

Once we made it into the bowl, we could see the beautiful colors inside; the deep reds, browns and greens. It was dark and echoey and the sound of the waves lapping at the entrances was amplified. It would be easy to outstay our welcome and get caught in the incoming tide, to be mercilessly tossed around like playthings in a baby's bath.  

We waved up at Kim and Ollie who were up at the rim of the Bowl, then took our time to explore the geology of the huge cave. We clambered from one rock to another, taking our sweet time to explore the rock pools. It would have made a terrific concert venue as the acoustics were marvelous.

Still nervous about the time and the tides, Henry prompted me to retreat so that we could join Kim and Ollie at the top of the headland. Once we reached them, we took a short walk heading southeast to get a view over Otter Rock and the beaches that stretched out towards Newport.

​Breathtaking.

Depoe Bay is advertised as the World's Smallest Harbor so I immediately had to quibble with that title as I have personally seen much smaller harbors, both natural and man-made in Cornwall, England; Mousehole, Port Isaac,  Charlestown for starters.

It was certainly a quaint little fishing town. We hoped Depoe Bay's other title, the Whale Watching Capital of Oregon, would live up to its name. As we drove in to town over the arched concrete bridge we immediately saw the whitewashed, one and half story structure that was home to the Whale Watching Center. Located right on the edge of the ocean, perched on the rocky shoreline, almost like the base of a lighthouse, it had huge windows in the large octagonal observation room and an open air observation deck on the roof,  facing out towards the ocean, allowing visitors to comfortably observe the migratory journeys of passing whales directly from the shore. 

We parked facing the ocean and I immediately made my way to the Whale Watching Center to use the toilet. Henry commented once again that I have the bladder of a hamster.

Staffed with knowledgeable volunteers, complimentary binoculars and loads of information about whales and other marine mammals, I took some time staring out to sea, scanning for whales. None had been seen that morning. A white board with local weather, tide times and updates on what had been recently spotted, was most useful. 

I learned that from the observation deck, a wide variety of whales had previously been spotted, about 1200 individual sighting per year;  humpback, gray, minke, even orcas and blue whales had been spotted along with an assortment of dolphins, porpoises and of course the more common sea lions.

Unfortunately, we did not see any marine mammals that day.

We cheerfully walked through the town and Kim bought his now famous grey beanie. It rarely leaves his head and is reminiscent of the headgear worn by Joe Pesci in the movie Home Alone. If ever we are invited to a fancy dress party, Kim and Henry could definitely go as the two bandits, Harry and Marv from that movie. Haha!  "Keep the change ya filthy animal!"

There was a variety of souvenir shops, galleries and many whale watching tour outlets. The sea looked pretty choppy and we watched one boat take a good half an hour slopping about from side to side, lurching this way and that, seeming to make no progress at all at one point,  as it made it's way under the bridge, through the narrow channel and finally out to sea.

We decided that we would not go out in a boat. Henry is afraid of sharks anyway. Cue the Jaws music!

On our way back from Yaquina Head Lighthouse the day before, we spied a wide expanse of sandy beach. We could even spot a few dog walkers. We decided we would return to give Ollie a good run.

We discovered it was called Agate Beach, an Oregon State Recreation Site. On the drive to the beach, dark clouds quickly rolled in from the Pacific turning the sky black and we thought we would have to abandon our plans for a walk. The wind picked up but the rain held off. By the time we had parked, we virtually had the beach to ourselves. We could see a couple of razor clam diggers in the far distance, out towards the lighthouse, and a couple of dog walkers.

As soon as we got onto the beach over a short little wooden bridge, we let Ollie off the leash and she galloped off, enjoying the sand between her paws and the wind whipping her ears making them dance. All bundled up in woolly hats, fleeces and waterproof coats, we set off to catch up with her.

We spent an exhilarating couple of hours on the beach. I was looking for agates, jaspers and carnelians, but it was just miles and miles of sand and we chose not to walk too close to the shoreline as the waves were crashing in. We didn't want to risk Ollie frolicking in to the waves to the point of it becoming a danger. She was relaxed on the sand, enjoying the off-leash run.

It was chilly to begin with but as the dark clouds rolled away the sun came out to say hello, we warmed up . We walked for miles, almost all the way back into Newport.

Memorable fun day.

Bye-bye Sisters, hello Oregon Coast!

The journey from Sisters, over the Cascade Mountains, in Central Oregon, on a gorgeous April morning, turned out to be bright and beautiful. It was a glorious day!

We had not fully anticipated how treacherous the winding curves, steep descents and scary drop-offs that we would have to navigate after we summited the Santiam Pass could have been. We were just so focused on getting over the Pass. Fortunately the roads were very clear and once we descended the mountains, crossed the busy I5 and dropped into Albany then the flats of Corvallis, we were itching to catch our first glimpse of the ocean.

Our next stop was in Newport, Oregon at the Thousand Trails site called Whaler's Rest.

On arrival we requested a full hook up site with the best opportunity for a strong wifi signal, especially for Henry. We were directed up a steep hill and we spent at least 20 minutes trying to back into a very tight site. We ended up shifting over to a neighboring site so we could gain extra leverage to safely manouver the trailer and park her up safely.

As I began setting up the trailer on the inside, Kim began setting everything up the trailer on the outside. He quickly discovered the standing water pipe was leaking, spraying both him and the surrounding area with water. It quickly became waterlogged and exceedingly muddy. We were parked in a bog.

We asked to move sites and found a lovely pull through site on the other side of the road. We quickly settled in. 

The site was within walking distance of the Lost Creek Beach, so I set off after dinner, with Ollie scampering along beside me, to potter through the woods, cross the road and to run wild on the beach. We while enjoy the scorching evening sunset.

Happy 23rd Birthday Henry xxx