Day Two in Seaside -- Adventure Number. . . I can't remember

We woke up day two in Seaside to a rainy, cloudy, windy mess of a morning. Not a problem for us adventurers! We could take on anything! After eating breakfast at a place called Pig n' Pancake (yummmers in my tummers!) we ventured on over to the Seaside Aquarium. It was right down the the sidewalk from our hotel. Yippee!

The favorite activity at the Aquarium for us was feeding the seals. I read up on them and found out they were all born into captivity. The seals we fed were actually fifth generation, and each one of them had a very different personality. The one pictured below liked to flap its flipper and bark until you threw it a piece of stinky fish. Other seals splashed you, some twirled, and some just sat there and waited for another seal to miss the catch so it could steal it away.

The aquarium wasn't fancy by any means, but it was still a fun way to kill an hour and escape the rain. Tralee's favorite tank contained a small octopus. She kept going back to watch it suck rocks up its tentacles. We also enjoyed touching sea cucumbers, urchins, coral, and starfish in the hands-on exhibits. Hunter mostly splashed the water, and didn't really touch anything.

As luck would have it, the rain didn't stop by the time we were done at the aquarium, so we decided to take a little drive out to Cannon Beach to explore the tide pools by the big rocks. We thought maybe the rain would let up by the time we go there. WRONG!! I think it picked up. And I'm definitely not going to win mother of the year! I totally forgot Tralee's little jacket at the hotel. The only thing we could find in the car for her was one of Jim's t-shirts to wrap her up in while we explored. She survived, but I still felt bad.

Cannon Beach was definitely adventurous! I could hardly see through my glasses as the rain kept speckling them. By the time we got to the big rocks, we were all pretty wet, but not drenched. We got there just in time too! The tide was coming in, so we were only able to explore for a bit. Jim even found a starfish!! Maybe starfish are pretty common there, but I thought it was cool. I worried though when the water was up to my knees as each wave came in. The tide pools were deeper in some areas, and I didn't want to fall in; especially since I was wearing Hunter in the baby sling, and my balance wasn't the greatest, AND I couldn't see well. Sooo. . . we only stayed about fifteen minutes before heading back up to the car.

The rest of the day was spent swimming in our hotel's indoor pool that had ocean views (ooooo and ahhhhh), relaxing in our hotel room while Hunter napped, and walking along the streets of Seaside. One highlight was when we went to the arcade. They had these Deal or No Deal ticket games. I let Tralee play, pick the box, and pick all the numbers. She chose number 11 (my lucky number!). Each time she got an offer from the banker I told Tralee to hit, "NO DEAL!" Well, it was down to the final two boxes. One of them would have the most tickets you could get (200) and the other box had the second to the least amount of tickets you could get (two). We waited with anticipation to see if Tralee chose the right box. Wouldn't you know it, SHE DID! Wahoo!!! 200 tickets poured out of the machine, and other people around us cheered for our lucky little girl. I'm not sure Tralee cared though, she just wanted to go play something else. She WAS pretty stoked when she saw all the treats 200 tickets could get her, and even shared some with the rest of the family!

We ate dinner at a nice steak and seafood joint. Jim ordered ahi tuna -- rare!! It was SOOOO good! I was bound and determined to order razor clams on this vacation. I saw them on a Food Network show once, and always wanted to try them. Unfortunately, I struck out with my meal choice. I could hardly bite into the razor clams they were so chewy (I'm talking leather like!), and they were soaked in grease from being pan fried! EW! I'm not sure if it was the way they were prepared, or if ALL razor clams are like that, but I was bummed out. At least my sweet potato was all right. Any one have experience with razor clams? Did I just get a sucky batch, or are they always yucky? I'm wondering if I should give them another try at a different place if I get the chance, or just steer clear.

Anywho. . . we ended our evening purchasing some fudge at an ice cream parlor for dessert, and walking back to the hotel. Once back at the hotel, the wee ones found their way to dreamland pretty quick. Which meant Jim and I were able to spend the rest of the evening having uninterrupted conversations and snuggling without the kids jumping on us. It was lovely!!

My next blog post will be the LAST one. Well, the last one of our Oregon vacation anyways.