Just another day at the beach...

For Valentine's Day and our 10th Anniversary, Ed and I decided that we would take a family trip to a place that we love - Newport, Oregon.  Now, I'm sure there are some that would have taken the opportunity for a weekend getaway without the kids.  Well, we waited so long for Samantha, we don't want to miss a minute, so she came with us! 

We had a blast!  It took most of the day on Valentine's Day to get there because of a couple of stops along the way and we hit some rush hour traffic in Portland, but we got into Newport that Thursday evening.  Our hotel room had a stunning view of the ocean!  We went out and got a pizza (heart-shaped, of course) for dinner that evening and just laid low for the rest of the night.  Samantha had her own queen-sized bed and was loving it!!  By morning, she was laying sideways in the bed, sprawled out and surrounded by plush pillows.

The view from our room

That next day, our anniversary, we decided to go to the Oregon Coast Aquarium there in Newport.  The Seattle Aquarium is embarrassing compared to this aquarium!  Now, "Finding Nemo" being among Samantha's favorite movies, she was wide-eyed and loving every bit of the aquarium.

We saw tide pools, and though it was permitted, she didn't want to touch any of the animals there.  We saw starfish, anemones, crabs, so many colorful and beautiful sea animals.


Samantha at the controls!

Looking at different types of crabs with Daddy.

Exploring the tide pool

 Next we went to the shark tunnel. It's a tunnel pathway where you're surrounded on all sides by glass so you can see the sharks and other fish swimming by. We even saw a couple of divers in there cleaning. 

Watching the tiger shark swim.

Watching the divers.

 We saw sea otters, turkey vultures, sea birds and there was even a fun kids area where there were sandboxes.

With the sea otters

In the aviary with Daddy

Samantha on the rope bridge in the kids area.

Playing in the sandboxes, she was allowed to take home
a trinket so she opted for a sand dollar and a shell.

Outside the aquarium by the pond. 
(I love this picture!)

After a quick stop at the gift shop where Samantha "adopted" a sea otter stuffed animal later named, Otto, we headed back to the hotel for lunch and then to play at the beach.

After lunch, we went to the beach to build sandcastles in the 64-degree, perfect weather and then went back to our room for a late nap for Samantha.  We watched a beautiful sunset from our balcony and then settled in for the night.

Playing in the sand

Walking on the beach with Daddy

Building a sandcastle with Mommy.  She was adamant
that it have a tunnel under it!  :)

The finished product!

The Yaquina Head lighthouse as seen from Agate Beach

The start of sunset...

 

And the finish to a wonderful day!