Oregon Coast

Nora the Schnauzer cried when I left her alone in the truck at Newport’s Oregon State Aquarium a few days ago.
I had dropped my wife Darlene off near the entrance, with my grandson Danny Herman, and parked several hundred yards away beneath some shaded trees.
I had cracked the windows about three inches each and left a cup of water surrounded by a towel on the floor, so that it wouldn’t tip over easily.
And, as I walked away, Nora’s soft whimpers sliced me to the core.
Yet, I told myself, “She’s spoiled rotten, and there will be times when she has to be left alone.”
It didn’t help much, however, and I looked back to see her standing on the seat and staring after me with her nose and front paws pressed against the window.
I sighed and trudged on toward Darlene and Danny.
Danny had driven a couple of hours from Eugene and met us for lunch at the original Mo’s along Newport’s old waterfront.
He had arrived early and discovered a pod of sea lions lounging at one of the docks. When we went to see, he held Nora on her leash as we stood at a rail 15 feet from the lounging animals and I took photos.
After lunch, we drove across the bridge to take in the Oregon Coast Aquarium before he headed back to Eugene.
So, I left Nora in the truck. And, inside the aquarium facility, we had to wait only 12 minutes before feeding time for the sea otters.
Since we were there on a weekday, we stood with a small group of people within touching distance of the acrylic wall at the otters’ pool that holds 65,000 gallons of seawater.
That’s close enough to hear them smacking their lips and chewing as they ripped into their meal.
A guide who stood among us noted that the two feeders never turned their backs on the otters, which may become “quite aggressive.”
It takes about $16,000 a year to feed each one of the otters, he said, and each one has an individual diet, ranging from rockfish to lobster.
And the guide pointed out that otters, which have no layer of insulating blubber, have about a million hairs per square inch on their bodies (more one square inch than on the whole human head) for insulation.
The reason they roll and occasionally blow on their fur — and spend hours grooming it — is to keep in good shape.
As I watched the otters dine and roll happily in the water, my mind wandered to an image of Nora alone in the truck.
But I shook it off.
From the otter tank we trolled a few yards to watch the sea lions (six) and harbor seals (five) in their 90,000-gallon main pool. You can stand before below water level viewing windows and the animals will often touch your hand against the acrylic. They’re amazing to watch as they swim past within inches.
Then, we visited the aviary, a favorite of mine because the birds are so close and so photogenic.
I especially enjoy the tufted puffins, with their golden beaks, vivid red cheeks and red-rimmed, blue-green eyes.
The aviary also has rhinoceros auklets, pigeon guillomots, common murres and black oyster catchers. It just seems like the puffin photos always turn out the best.
The aviary has two pools, where birds to swim and dive, and a rocky cliff with ledges and walkways for grooming and nesting.
Visitors stand within a few yards of these activities.
Once again, the image of Nora whimpering with her feet on the window jabbed at me. It wasn’t like leaving Sadie the Dalmatian alone.
If a person came near the truck, Sadie discouraged him with an impressive growl.
Nora, on the other hand, would lick his face and go away with him.
So, by the time we reached the acrylic fish tank (after passing the octopus exhibit with live octopi), I had built up a significant level of worry.
Yet, this is no ordinary fish tank, and it distracted me for awhile. It’s called Passages of the Deep.
Aquarium officials describe it this way:
In an underwater adventure, visitors are immersed in Keiko’s former home through acrylic tunnels surrounded by several feet of sea water. Passages of the Deep has proven to be an unique attraction. As though they were taking a walk into the open ocean, visitors are able to come face to face with large sharks, rockfish and bat rays swimming above and below. Waves surging against the tunnel gives visitors the impression they are beneath the ocean. And the Oregon shipwreck resting on the bottom increases the feeling of being early undersea explorers.
Well, we strolled along the tunnel with fish roaming the water around and above us.
A ghostly white eastern shovelnose ray swam overhead, with what appeared to be a strange human face fit for a horror movie on its underside.
After a brief time watching the rockfish, some of which resembled people, I felt compelled to hurry back and check on Nora.
When I did, I found her lying on the driver’s seat, on her back, feet in the air, neck stretched out and sawing logs like a lumberjack.
I sneaked the door open, touched her under the chin and said “Boo!”.
She bounced straight up and morphed into one big wiggle of welcome.
So, I snapped her leash onto her collar, and she pulled me back to the entrance to wait for Darlene and Danny.
And when Nora saw them, she strained against the leash to reach them so she wiggle all over them.

If you go
You find the Oregon Coast Aquarium on the southside of Yaquina Bay.
The facility has all kinds of family friendly wildlife exhibits that may be viewed up close. It also has three lookout spots over Yaquina Bay. It features a cafe, an outdoor dining area, three restroom and two gift shops.