5-19 08 -- Depoe Bay, Oregon -- You know what, if you want to see some truly breathtaking coastal scenery, you can do no better than this section of the Oregon coast. There are vacation rental cottages aplenty, and lots to do ... Including whale watching and fishing charters.
People are friendly, and an occasional pirate can be found roaming the streets passing out pieces of eight.
One of those friendly people, Firefighter Dennis Knudson, was with us at the Tillamook event and invited us down. And so it was that we found ourselves at the Depoe Bay fire house right off the highway.
As this was not a traditional tour, we didn't have all of our little "toys" to play with tem. But we did have or new stunt bear, Ms Ineeda Medic, and she was jonesin' to play. but what would be her first gig? Hmmm, they looked around and came up with a few ideas, each better than the next, then decided that they would introduce her to the rope/line gun.
They rigged up a harness of sorts, and then we stood back and plugged our ears as they "launched" her. She flew a short distance and then landed in a rather undignified position a few feet from the beach rig.
We all laughed and watched as they tried several times to get the harness to give. Eventually she was freed with little damage except for a split in her little red jumpsuit. Dennis signed her, and they made fast friends.
It was a brief, unplanned visit with the DBFD, but it was fun, and we will put them on the map for an official visit on a future tour.
Thanks for playing with us, it was fun! And thanks for the invitation Dennis. Now, go to the website and Pledge up for this year's shirt drive. http://www.herothero.us/page/page/5746194.htm
And then it was time for a little R&R over the lunch hours. We'd heard the local whale pod was still around and there had been sightings earlier, so we did our first whale watching tour.
I was a little concerned that our fearless Leta might not enjoy this part of the trip after an earlier episode with an upset tummy on the road. And she did turn a quaint shade of green, but she held it at bay and manged to have a good time. Chani spent most of the time justtaking it all in, and Larry stood like the warrior he is, for the entire trip. They reminded me that they are "desert rats" and they wanted to enjoy every minute of the the ocean for as long as possible.
The whales were apparently in stealth mode, and no spouts were spotted. A local seal took pity on us, and allowed photo ops dockside. Whales or no, it was a nice side trip and we would all do it again ... Though Leta might do some Dramamine ahead of time!
We decided since were so close we'd slide down and peek in on our Newport heroes. More beautiful scenery, then the realization that this was not the time for them to play with us. As we drove down highway 101 through Newport, there were emergency response vehicles and yellow tape marking off a good block or more. Police officers were in obvious attendance, and over on the west side of the road were some of our Newport Fire friends, one in his IC vest. We were told there was a bomb scare at the recruiter's office. C'mon people. Really?
I drove the team down into the historic waterfront pointing out things we had seen on previous visits. Then we headed north to Cannon Beach, Seaside & Astoria before heading home.
It was going to be dark, and there lots of deer making their presence known so I was a bit concerned. But this was likely to be one of the only times that the crew could have fun at the beach before they move back to Albuquerque.
The tide was in when we got to Cannon Beach, and the opportunity to get out and check out Haystack Rock was getting less likely with each wave, so we headed on to Seaside.
Canes don't do well in sand, so I caught up on phone calls and video games while Larry, Chani & Leta laughed, played and frolicked like kids on the beach. It was good to see them enjoying themselves and I got to experience it vicariously ... without getting any sand in any nooks or crannies.
It was dusk as we left Seaside and nearly nightfall as we stood at the Astoria Column.
This had been a perfect day ... Especially after we received a call from Mark Torrance advising us that his plan for our presentation to the Pentagon was a go! We were stoked as we headed home ... tired, but stoked!
It rained to herald our return to Washington, and we were really tired. But it was worth every mile ... even at nearly $4 a gallon.
Thank you to everyone who made the trip so memorable.
lj & the road crew ... Larry, Chani & Leta
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