Watching Daddy Play Guitar

Any time that Scott plays guitar Chance watches and listens. He is so interested in what Scott is doing. He watches one hand and listens then watches the other hand and listens some more. It really looks like he is taking it all in, like he is storing it in his brain for later use. Maybe he is! After we left the lighthouse we drove through the little downtown of Newportwhere there is a music shop where we stopped to look around and kill some time. While there Scott picked up a guitar and started playing. Of course Chance started watching and so I got a couple pictures.

Funny Face

Hello In There

Feet in the Pacific Ocean

While at the Lighthouse we left the stroller

up on the boardwalk and took a treck down the stairs to the beach. The sign said to watch for "sneaker waves" which just sounds funny. It was a black beach made up of thousands of little pebbles. We looked in the tidal pools and watched the waves come up and then fade back into the Ocean. Chance liked to watch the sun shimmer off the Ocean. He stared at the water and listened to all the sounds. Went we got to a place where the waves weren't too bad because they were blocked by the rocks I sat Chance down and let him stand in the water. The water had to be 50 degrees but Chance didn't mind, he tried to bend down to touch the water with his hands and watched the water come up and cover his feet. We only left his feet in for a minute because even though he doesn't care his feet were freezing just after a minute. We then strolled back up the beach picking up a few little pieces of drift wood to take home to mark the occation. He looks so cute in that litle sun hat no matter what he is doing. This last picture is looking back down at the beach we were just on after climbing all the way back up the stairs.

The Lighthouse

Just up the road from the beach house was the Lighthouse. They had an interpretive center there which we went through and then walked on up tot he lighthouse. We weren't allowed to go up in it because you can't carry a baby up the stairs but we looked inside and walked around outside. The lighthouse wasn't as big as I thought it would be once we got up close. It was cool to see it though. I can't remember the dates but it has been working for a long time and this particular lighthouse is still using it's original fernel lens. It is sad that these wonderful pieces of history are now automated like so many things in the world these days. We had a nice view from where the lighthouse was but it was kind of stinky because there are so many different kinds of birds that next right along the rocks all around the lighthouse. Chance loves outside so he had a good time just hanging out and looking around.

The Beach House

Staying at the beach house was wonderful. It was right on the Pacific Ocean. These pictures were taken from the balcony. The view was beautiful and the smell and sound of the ocean instantly made you relax. Somehow it put a smile on your face. The house had three bedrooms and two bathrooms which was perfect for us. Chance even had his own room which makes sleeping at night a lot easier. There was so much light in the house you never needed to turn an electric light on during the day. It was well furnished including the bean bag chairs that Chance loved. We brought Chance's walker and he had fun learning all about his new surroundings. Just one house away there was a path down to the ocean that Scott and I took a couple times and then walked down the beach looking at the tidal pools that were full of starfish and sea anemones then we walked to the historic Old Newport Beach area and then back up the road because it was very hard to get back up the original path. It was too steep to take Chance down to the beach from the house but we took him to the water at the lighthouse. In the other direction from the old town is the lighthouse. If you look really close you can see the lighthouse in the second picture. You could see the lighthouse from the balcony it was cool to watch it light up at night. The weather was wonderful all three days we were there. Warm in the day time and cool at night. Maybe a little cooler than a girl from Florida would like but I have to admit over all the weather was very nice.

Later That Day

It was a 2 hour drive to the beach house and soon after we arrived Scott and I left Chance with Grandma and took off to find us some food for dinner. The beach house had a couple bean bag chairs sitting around and Chance really liked them. After the car ride and a bottle from Grandma he just fell alseep on the bean bag. He just sank right down in the bean bag chair, the room was warm because we had just opened the place up, the cool ocean air was blowing in off the balcony and with Olie Bear by his side, it was the perfect combination for a nap.

Getting Packed

While in Portland we all went to the coast and spent a few days in a beach house in Newport, OR. We had to pack somethings to take since we ere going to be there for a while and so I saw the perfect opportunity to take a cute picture. Chance fit right insidee Scott's suitcase. He didn't mind at all and sat there while I snapped a few photos. He is such a good sport. He just sat in the suitcase and talked to us and played with the edges. The suitcase was just another toy to him. We packed him up too, but not in the suitcase and had lots of fun at the beach.

Mount Hood

When you live in the mountains you have a habit of calling all the mountains "hills" and then singling out the tallest hill to call your "mountain." Mount Hood is the local mountain for Portland. We took these pictures at a scenic overlook while getting a geocache for the local geocache contest. In this contest we had to find 7 of 10 caches placed around the county. This one had the prettiest view and we got to tour the town of Sandy. Two thumbs up.

While at the park having our picnic we walked up the trail to the Clackmas Fish Hatchery. The salmon swim up the stream and right into the Hatchery where they are held and bread. There was one tank with adult salmon in it and then another tank with the little baby salmon waiting to be released out into the wild. By the time we got to the hatchery Chance had fallen asleep in the stroller so he didn't get to see any of the fish but he had already had a big day hanging out at the picnic. I had never been to a fish hatchery before so it was interesting to see all the fish in the tanks. The tanks have a lot of fish in them. Salmon are easy to scare and they would all move to the other end of the tank when our shadows were cast on the water. The baby fish were jumping out of the water, they were actually in a bigger tank. After we walked around the tanks and looked at the fish we went off to find a geocache and get started on a contest they were having in Clackamas county.

The sign to the Salmon tanks with the tanks in the background.

This is a photo of the Salmon in the tank

Picnic in Portland

While in Portland we all went out to McIver Park, a pretty park not far from Where Scott's Mom lives. It is large with lots of trees and shady spots right on the river. Von goes there to fly fish sometimes so he knew the area well and could take us to a good place to set up our picnic. There were lots of people taking their rafts out into the river while we were there and it was fun to watch them float down stream. We talked about doing it ourselves next time we go up to visit. We all enjoyed our picnic lunch including Chance who hung out in his walker and on a blanket spread out on the grass he had some mac and cheese which he got all over himself, you can see some of it on the front of his overalls in the last picture. I put sunscreen on him and his little sun hat and we were off. He loves being outside so he had fun listening to the birds and the sound of the river as well as the grass between his toes. Scott, Chance and I went on some trails through the woods to a little stream that runs into the river with a little bridge. I didn't take any pictures of that but it was a fun little walk and Chance loved it so much it put him to sleep. They also have a fish hatchery in the park that we went to but I am going to make a whole seperate entry for that.