It's funny how every time that I refer to the Oregon Coast as the "Beach", someone has to make the correction this it is not actually the "Beach", it's the "Coast". I don't live in California, or Mexico, or Florida, so I can call it whatever I like. So there.
The other day Andy, Ava, Lily and I headed over to the Beach for the day. It was spur of the moment-something that we don't do often enough because there is always a window to replace, rooms to clean or whatever the home project of the moment is. I decided to put that all on the back burner and suggest a leisurely day in the sand.
We started with a yummy lunch at Rogue, where I dined on Kobe Blue Balls (nice name) and a tasty salad with blue cheese crumbles, craisins and toasted walnuts. Andy had a burger, which I'm sure was good too, but mine just sounds better to write about.
While looking out over the bay, my brilliant daughter recognized the location far, far across the water, where her friends Big Flat and Big Roll live. Big Flat and Big Roll are sea lions that Ava discovered on a recent trip to Newport. She and Big Flat have a camaraderie of sorts, she makes this odd horse-like sound, and he starts the whole crew in with their awful-I mean beautiful-sea lion noises.
Of course after she recognized what town we were in, we could not escape without a trip down to the docks to look for him. Sadly, he, Big Roll and the ladies were out swimming, or sunning on some rocks. Maybe next time.
After miles of driving trying to find a stretch of sand that was neither covered by water (oops-high tide) or covered by people, we found a nice secluded beach. We played, walked in the sand, read books, took a cat nap, and all of the other beachy things there are to partake in. We then decided to walk just down from where we were planted to look for shells. On our way back to our spot, it happened. First it was just a wiff- slight yet disturbing. The smell got stronger and soon the whole family smelled it (I always smell everything first). I began scanning the area trying to find what greusome thing could be wafting that horrid smell toward me. I began to gag- trying to hold down the blue balls was becoming difficult. I scanned the water once more and there it was. A dead, bloated sea lion. Gross (and by gross I mean poor sea lion).
I managed to make it back to the towel with the blue balls still in my belly. We all survived the incident though we promptly decided it was time to leave. The frst half of our drive home consisted of "Why did the sea lion die?" and "It wasn't Big Flat was it?" and "But, WHY did it die?" over and over. Thank heaven for portable DVD players.
The other day Andy, Ava, Lily and I headed over to the Beach for the day. It was spur of the moment-something that we don't do often enough because there is always a window to replace, rooms to clean or whatever the home project of the moment is. I decided to put that all on the back burner and suggest a leisurely day in the sand.
We started with a yummy lunch at Rogue, where I dined on Kobe Blue Balls (nice name) and a tasty salad with blue cheese crumbles, craisins and toasted walnuts. Andy had a burger, which I'm sure was good too, but mine just sounds better to write about.
While looking out over the bay, my brilliant daughter recognized the location far, far across the water, where her friends Big Flat and Big Roll live. Big Flat and Big Roll are sea lions that Ava discovered on a recent trip to Newport. She and Big Flat have a camaraderie of sorts, she makes this odd horse-like sound, and he starts the whole crew in with their awful-I mean beautiful-sea lion noises.
Of course after she recognized what town we were in, we could not escape without a trip down to the docks to look for him. Sadly, he, Big Roll and the ladies were out swimming, or sunning on some rocks. Maybe next time.
After miles of driving trying to find a stretch of sand that was neither covered by water (oops-high tide) or covered by people, we found a nice secluded beach. We played, walked in the sand, read books, took a cat nap, and all of the other beachy things there are to partake in. We then decided to walk just down from where we were planted to look for shells. On our way back to our spot, it happened. First it was just a wiff- slight yet disturbing. The smell got stronger and soon the whole family smelled it (I always smell everything first). I began scanning the area trying to find what greusome thing could be wafting that horrid smell toward me. I began to gag- trying to hold down the blue balls was becoming difficult. I scanned the water once more and there it was. A dead, bloated sea lion. Gross (and by gross I mean poor sea lion).
I managed to make it back to the towel with the blue balls still in my belly. We all survived the incident though we promptly decided it was time to leave. The frst half of our drive home consisted of "Why did the sea lion die?" and "It wasn't Big Flat was it?" and "But, WHY did it die?" over and over. Thank heaven for portable DVD players.