Something's fishy in South Beach....

On Tuesday we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium where Colleen used to work.

It is a fun aquarium with lots of fun exhibits, including this tank that allows you to crawl inside of it. Sequoia thought it was pretty cool.

It was quite funny watching her looking at the fish in the tank and the people outside of the tank.

I was understandably relieved that they did not allow Sequoia inside the king crab tank ... they acted like they thought she looked pretty tasty.

Sequoia enjoyed traveling around the aviary on my shoulders. She also got a private showing of the birds getting fed by our friends Todd and Lissy. It is amazing watching the birds flying underwater after their food.

Here is our friend Lissy who along with her husband Kevin have a 6 month old son named Lydon. Lydon is also named after a tree ... an African tree that is a symbol of hope...I think.

Our favorite part of the aquarium are the Passages of the Deep tunnels where Colleen used to work, taking care of her 7-gill sharks.

Here is daddy and Sequoia at the entrance to the Open Sea tunnel that was Colleen's office for 5 years.

Sequoia enjoyed sitting in the tunnel watching the fish, rays and sharks swimming by. The little dots that look like stars are small anchovies.

Here are a pair of Colleen's sweet hearts - her 7-gills.

She wanted to go diving in mommy's tank so we went in search of some appropriate dive gear for her. This particular helmet was one or two sizes too big.

Hopefully this is an image that will never come true ... although Colleen thinks it would be pretty neat to see. She is a little warped sometimes.

After our visit to the aquarium we went out to a late lunch at the Rogue Brewery with our good friends Todd and Stacy. It was great catching up with them. We also really enjoyed getting to go to the brewery again.
After lunch we drove up to Portland so that we could catch our flight home the next day.

Newport Jazzy festival..

Sequoia got to make a new friend while we were in Newport - Jasmine "Jazzy" Lytwyn - the daughter of our friends Ken and Anita. It was the day before Jasmine's 2nd birthday so it was nice to be there for that.

Sequoia absolutely loves big kids and Jasmine absolutely loves to hug little kids - so the dynamic worked out really well between them.

It's hard to see what is going on, but Jasmine is in full hug mode while Sequoia is explaining how nice it is to have a big kid who appreciates her.

Here are the proud moms .... does anyone else think that it is scary that they each have a mini-me these days?

Cape Perpetua...

On Monday we were joined by Larry and his two dogs Jula and Kirby for a hike out at Cape Perpetua.

There are several reasons why Cape Perpetua is one of our favorite places on the coast - it is a dramatic headland with breathtaking views, it is a hopping off point for many trails that wander off into primeval valleys of the temperate rain forest of the Coast Range, it was only about 15 minutes from our house ....

But without a doubt the main reason we love Cape Perpetua is that it is where Colleen and I first met. Well technically we met on the 4th of July in Newport, Oregon ... but that was in a group setting and we only sort of met. Two days later we went on a hike together with our mutual friend Keni and Colleen's dog Chessie at Cape Perpetua and the rest is history.

Sequoia enjoyed the lush vegetation and rugged climb to the overlook - although it was probably easier on her than Colleen since she is still traveling in the back pack. She had a big time playing with her pine cones while we ate lunch.

Once again teh weather was insanely perfect - as nice as any summer day on the coast. It was actually hot on the hike up.

While we were living in Oregon we did countless hikes and walks accompanied by our dog Chessie. She was Colleen's dog before I met her, but I can honestly say that she quickly became our dog and a part of our family as we explored the world together. Chessie worked every day at my cabinet shop with me and we were all completely inseparable. We lost her to cancer a little while back and thought it would be only fitting to bring her ashes out to Oregon so she would always be able to sit and watch the sunsets she liked so much.

The walk was very refreshing and offered any number of spectacular overlooks and vantage points where you could easily just become totally mesmerized by the beauty of the day.

It was getting late by the time we made it back to our room to enjoy the sunset. We took Sequoia on a nice walk along the beach in front of our hotel before sitting on our balcony eating some fresh canned tuna that Becky had given us, and just enjoying the scenery.

Sequoia opted to sit back and enjoy some goldfish instead of the tuna. She really enjoyed having that ocean front balcony and is wondering why I don't add one to our house...

Bayshore beach walks....

Of course the main reason to live on the Oregon Coast is to take long walks along the beaches. It was something that Colleen and I loved doing when we were Becky and Larry's neighbors in Bayshore while we lived out there.

Of course this time instead of watching Chessie fly effortlessly over the dunes, I had to drag Sequoia in her all-terrain stroller up and over a 50 foot tall dune to get to the beach. She absolutely loved the crazy ride...probably more than I did. I was exhausted by the effort.

But as always, it was worth the effort. The Bayshore beach is a typically beautiful stretch of the Oregon coast. One of the significant things in this case is that it also marks where the Alsea River (Sequoia's namesake) enters the Pacific Ocean.

The stroller did much better once it got to the flatter portions of the beach. Sequoia also got to join what must be a small group of people who got to touch both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the first time within a 3 week period. Seems like a neat thing to me....

Sequoia enjoyed the warm ocean breezes and the sound and sights of the crashing surf. Anyone who has been along the Oregon Coast knows that the crashing surf is a constant loud chorus of noise as opposed to the rhythmical surf you hear along the Atlantic coast.

In a grand piece of living art, I undertook the daunting task of spelling Sequoia's name in the beach, in cursive, with her stroller. I am certain that it was a spectacular sight from up on high....

We enjoyed a nice sunset walk Sunday evening with Becky, Larry and their friend Kim.

Who can resist the beauty of a sunset over the ocean?

I for one love the soft tones captured and reflected between the sky and the surf.

I hope that Sequoia breathed in enough of the coast air to get a signal imprinted in her soul so that, like the salmon, she will know where to return.

Sequoia joins the dive club...

During the annual dive club meeting, held at the end of the brunch on Saturday, Sequoia was officially accepted as the newest member.

It does not really matter that Sequoia does not know how to dive since this dive club rarely actually gets the chance to dive. Although they all dive, and met through diving at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, the club is more of a concept than a reality. Any time we get together it is a meeting ... one day we may actually plan another dive trip. The last one was almost two years ago up in Port Townsend.

Here is the original founder of the club with the newest member. We are always planning for the future in this dive club....

Having a ball at the Beach Club...

Sunday morning after Becky's surprise Pool Party in Yachats, Larry put on a great brunch for 50 people at the Bayshore Beach Club. Colleen and I particularly liked the setting since it is where we held our wedding reception.

It was another perfect day on the coast - 60 degrees and sunny - absolutely unheard of in January.

Sequoia had a great time playing with the multitude of beach balls that somehow survived the all out beach ball war in the pool the night before. She really gets excited when she has some real estate available to her to stretch out her crawling legs.

Here she shakes Vern's hand to thank him for flying us out for the party. In one of the nicest gestures I have ever been privileged to be a part of, Vern flew Colleen, Sequoia and I out to Becky's party as a surprise for Becky. I have never been someone's present before ... its a pretty groovy gig.

We spent the morning playing and visiting with our friends.

I have to admit that I wish I had Sequoia's ability to take over a room with her personality. She always draws a crowd (as do most babies) and she really enjoys all of the attention.

It is fun to watch her adapt to all of the new surroundings and situations that we drop her in the middle of. With the exception of Santa Clause, she has embraced each and every new experience...she still is not too sure about big men with beards.

As it was obviously overwhelming Becky, Sequoia decided to help open up Becky's birthday presents. Here she is opening a birthday card...

In addition to opening the gifts Sequoia was more than willing to try some of them out. Here Larry teaches her how to play the very nice tambourine that Becky received.

Hanging out in the room..

We had a wonderful room in Yachats, right on the ocean. Sequoia enjoyed hanging out in the room, playing with the venetian blinds and looking out at the ocean.

She thought that the balcony was a spectacular playground and found it easy to entertain herself watching the waves and the steady parade of dogs walking along the beach.

She definitely thought that she could get use to this life style. One morning Sequoia and I took a nice walk along the beach while we let Colleen get her shower. She had a lot of fun exploring the shore and waving at the passing dogs.

She thought it was really funny when Colleen came out on the balcony and called out her name as we were heading back up from the beach.