OREGON COAST AQUARIUM AND TILLAMOOK CHEESE FACTORY

We flew into Portland on Thursday night.  Our pilot flew so close to Mount Hood that we thought we could almost reach out a finger and touch the crags.  Flying into Portland always brings a beautiful view.  We were excited to see Johnny and Britt.  Britt finally looks a little pregnant and is adorable.  We drove to Wild Buffalo Wings to eat.  Never having been there, we were looking forward to trying a new restaurant. The wings are great.  You are able to choose your own wing sauce and they bring the choices to your table to try before you give your order.  All the dishes were delicious.  Poor Brittney was up at 4:30 a.m. to get to work by six that morning.  Then she was with us and after dinner had a Young Women's presidency meeting until 10:00 p.m.   She had a very long day.

Friday morning, we went to visit the gals in Johnny's office before heading to Newport, a tiny tourist town on the Oregon coast.  We ate lunch at a fun retro hamburger joint called Flashbacks.  Handmade malts, burgers, fries and onion rings were all yummy.   They had Beatles, Beach Boys and oldies music playing in the background.

This truck drove several times through the parking lot of the restaurant.  It was covered with scriptures and reminders of Jesus.

First stop was the sea otter exhibit

We drove a few blocks to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  We enjoyed a fun afternoon strolling and viewing the different exhibits.

The sea otters were fed huge clams that they would open with their fins and then suck all the meat out of the shells and send the shells floating to the bottom of their pool.

There are lots of birds in the swamp close to the aquarium.  Jocelyn didn't have the longest wingspan on the poster.

You can see a sea lion between the girls

These are called Auks.  They fly unlike penguins and are found in the northern hemisphere.  

A Puffin

The whole gang.  The girls needed jackets since it was a little cool on the coast.  

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

There was an old fashioned deep dive helmut that was on a ladder contraption.  Johnny and Jocelyn were probably two of the few tall enough to put their heads in the helmut without being lifted up.

Pretty cute deep sea diver

It wouldn't be so fun to be swallowed

Neat pictures of the Jelly Fish

The Moon Jelly Fish

How can Johnny smile with that Python looking right at him?

Of course, Jocelyn had to do a little texting while she waited

This sea turtle carving caught John's attention.

They had these neat driftwood carvings all over the aquarium and also at a town we stopped at for homemade salt water taffy.  Jocelyn likes her new friends.

We drove by rugged coastlines,  and through beautiful forests and small towns.  We decided to drive to Tillamook (yummiest cheese) and stop at the cheese factory.  They have lots of samples of cheese and they also sell the creamiest ice cream.  Of course, we had to have ice cream cones.  

Brittney immediately said, "I am the cow."  Won't be long and she will be the "baby feeding cow."

Huge blocks of cheese

The factory has a viewing area above the packaging floor.  It was interesting to watch the workers.  The packaging was done after exact cheese weight is taken and then the cheese is vacuum sealed in plastic.  One man's job was to place the wrapped packages of cheese in water to check for any leaks.  They were thorough.  

We headed home and stopped at 4 Albertson stores trying to find Grandma Sycamore's bread for the sandwiches we were making for the baby shower the next day.  Johnny, Brittney and I stayed up and put together cute little cellophane bags with cinnamon rolls inside for the ladies to take home with them after the shower.  We had a GREAT day!