Oregon Coast! picture overload

Wow, I am SOOO far behind.  Is it really already November?!?  Don't be deceived by the delay in blogging and the dreary pictures that could easily pass for a visit in the fall.  After the Deschutes fishing trip Brett and I drove the additional few hours to spend some time with my parents. 

This picture doesn't do it justice, but I just love driving over the bridges in Portland.  It is still about 20-30 minutes from my house but this is the part of the trip where it really feels like I'm home.   

Brett and I both had a friend in portland during the same weekend we were there so we decided to set them up on a blind date.  Mostly it was just an excuse to see them, but we ended up having lots of fun  playing bocci ball!  Stacey (my friend from high school) and Matt (Brett's friend from Freshman year/high school sports).   

And of course we found our favorite treat, frozen yogurt!  Thanks for playing with us Matt and Stacey!

 Next we had to  take advantage of being in Oregon in the summer and spent 3 days at the coast with my parents. Warning: there are a lot of pictures.  I'll do my best to explain them and give you a quick glimpse at the FUN we had. 

 Can you believe the gorgeous green!  Love LOVE LOVE it!

 We spent our time at Depoe Bay and Lincoln Beach. I hadn't spent much time in these coastal towns prior to this trip so it was great to see new things.  Like the worlds shortest river! 

 And the worlds smallest harbor.  Who knew Oregon was so famous?  

This is us leaving the Harbor on our way to go Whale Watching!  Another Depoe Bay specialty. 

Proof that we made it out on the boat!  And no one got sea sick either.  

This picture doesn't do what we saw any type of justice.  You can slightly see the mammouth of a whale in the picture but what we saw in person was amazing! The tour was supposed to take us to see little gray whales but our captain spotted something in the distance and we went to check it out.  Turned out to be a couple Blue whales.  Blue whales, for those of you who don't know (I didn't!) are the biggest mammals on the planet!  They are super rare to see in so close to the land so it was a great sight and we were very very lucky! 

 This picture shows the relative size of the Blue whale that we saw to the other whale/dolphin species.  

Thanks mom and dad for the special treat!  

We also had to shop in the little shops.  Brett and my dad found some chairs to sit in while the ladies shopped.  

The weather was kind of chilly and cold (it was the coast afterall) so shortly after this picture we went and bought me a sweatshirt so I wouldn't freeze on the whale watching tour. 

Luckily it decided to get nice on the last day.  We took advantage of the sun and ventured down to the beach. 

Brett had fun watching the guys crab fishing.  Those poles were HUGE!

They could only keep males that were a certain size.  This guy is letting them loose to crawl back out to sea. 

Brett also likes skipping rocks anytime there is water.  He is really good at it, and when I try I end up just getting frustrated that mine don't skip as much as his do. 

In my younger days, I would always get in the water anytime we made a trip to the beach.  Despite the freezing cold water temperatures I loved it.  This trip we opted for just getting our feet wet. 

Look at that wave that is about to attack me! 

There is just something so peaceful about being at the beach and watching the waves.  Brett and I look forward to many more trips! 

While driving between the cities we took full advantage to stop and see the sights.  There were lots of cool bridges and beautiful coast lines. 

Water is so powerful! 

And yet can also be so peaceful. 

One of the places we stopped was populated by squirrels.  Brett got them to come right up to him and eat out of his hand.

They clearly weren't scared of people and let Brett go up and touch them. 

This natural formation is called "Devils Punchbowl"  During the winter storms it creates quite the sight as water comes in and then swirls around. 

Another beautiful view in Newport! 

A restored lighthouse that we toured.


And last but definitely not least here are the pictures from our glass blowing experience.  There are a lot (and I only uploaded like 1/5 of the ones we took).  My mom blew a bowl and I made a heart shaped paper weight.

 Heating up the glass and getting read to start the processes.  That oven was HOT! 

 Adding colors to my red hot liquid glass

 Melting the colors in another hot furnace

 Showing up my glasses and holding the tool I was about to use to form my heart. 

 I decided to put a swirl pattern in the heart and so here we are creating that.

Meanwhile my mom was warming up her glass.  You have to be careful to keep the rod it is on moving because the glass is so hot and liquidy it would slowly fall right off.  

My mom starting to shape hers.  

Mom blowing through a straw to hollow out the glass

 Molding the chunk of hot glass into a heart shape.  Yes, I personally shaped the glass into a heart.  How cool?!

To make the bowl they used centripetal force and it bloomed like a flower in the furnace. The lady did this part because it takes great practice and skill.  Very cool to watch though!

 And finally, after a cooling process that lasted all night, our finished products!  My moms bowl,  I love all the swirls in it!

 And my heart!  So proud that I helped make it and what a fun experience! 

Again, thanks mom and dad for the great trip!  We had lots of fun, as I hope you can tell from our pictures!