Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon Coast Aquarium, and Dinner with Retama Friends

Hi all, Dianne here.  As we explained in our last blog, both of our Canon cameras went on the fritz (our fault), so all of these photos were taken with my iPhone.  Not bad, huh?   No color enhancing; the starfish and anemones were really that colorful!  

This was "aquarium day" for us.  After our beach time with Bandido and Tequila, we hopped in the car for the short 1.7 mile trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  As we drove up we said "Uh-oh...  a whole line of school buses."  We managed to time our visit during the end-of-school-year field trips!  

Oh well, we enjoy watching kids having fun and learning new things, like these kids who jammed into the hurricane simulator to experience what it would be like to stand out in a hurricane.  

We jockeyed for position with dozens of little kids around the various tanks to get photos of the exhibits.

 This eel made it easy by giving me the "evil eye" while staying perfectly still.  He was a favorite with most of the little boys in the school group.

The walk-through tube was suspended eight feet above the water floor, enabling us to look at fish swimming above, beside, and below us.

One of the most interesting things I learned from this visit is illustrated in this photo:  

It may not look very interesting until you learn that these halibut spend their lives swimming sideways to the point where the eye on the bottom side migrates to the other side of its head!  

 This placard explains the phenomenon better than I could.  The fish in the photo is showing his "blind side" toward the bottom, so the eye is gone and the color has turned white.  Next time I eat halibut, I'll remember these sideways-swimming fish with two eyes on the same side of their head! 

Another good photo taken with the iPhone, this one of the jellyfish tank. 

This sea lion was entertaining all the school kids by swimming up next to the tank to let them "pet" him:

We walked outside through the outdoor exhibits, including more sea lions  and a nature trail.  

I have trouble walking past brightly-colored flowers without a photo, so here are some poppies....

We were searching for the Giant Pacific Octopus exhibit.  Finally, in a small alcove, we joined a small group to view the octopus's antics.

We timed our visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium so that we could go directly from there to the nearby Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center for the 1:00 feeding of their Giant Pacific Octopus.

We arrived a little early for the feeding, so we walked around and viewed the exhibits.

Once again, the place was teeming with school kids, but we enjoyed watching them get hands-on experience using the Tsunami simulators.  

Soon it was feeding time, so we took our places and waited for the show.  While waiting, I snapped a shot of this sunburst starfish, who shared the tank with the octopus.

They explained to us that octopuses have the intelligence of a house cat, so to make feeding time more fun and challenging, they put its food into a toy for it to play with and eat from.  

Food is in the pink plastic toy

They also only live a few years, so each octopus on display is held in captivity for only a short time before being switched for another, to give that octopus a chance to mate and produce young in the wild. 

Despite the noise and commotion of busloads of school kids sharing the experience with us, we enjoyed our visits to the aquarium and the marine center.  Roger had spent so much of his working life participating in groups like this, either as a chaperone, teacher, or principal that he left with a renewed appreciation of retirement!

Each summer when we leave our winter home at Retama Village in Texas, we manage to cross paths with friends and neighbors from there. 

 This year is no exception, and after exchanging a few e-mails we met up with our friends Walt and Mary, who retired from the Newport area a few years ago and are back visiting their children.  We met at one of their favorite restaurants 
 (Arr Place) for a delightful meal.  We were joined by Amanda and Ted (Amanda is Walt & Mary's daughter).  What an impressive young woman!   I can see why Walt and Mary are so proud of her.

There might be a pause in our updates here, for Sunday we will move north to Nehalem Bay State Park.  We will be joined for the first week by our dear friends Jay and Nancy, who will fly out from Indiana to spend a week exploring the area with us.  We'll update when time permits! 

We want to welcome Greg and Diana Jones to the ranks of full-timers.  I've added a link to their new blog Keeping Track of the Jones' at the sidebar.  It's always fun to keep track of folks just starting out and follow their adventures.  Greg and Diana both graduated from the same high school that Roger did, Pendleton High School in Pendleton, Indiana.  We crossed paths with them at the RV Dreams Rally in Kerrville, Texas last spring.  It was one of those "small world" moments -- Roger had not seen them since high school.   Welcome to the ranks!

The pet photo of the day is one that we took when we were in the RV park at Winchester Bay.  I call it "basketing in the sun."

The Living Desert - Palm Desert, California

Roger here...  I am still missing Robyn and Atul, but the fun we had today helped to ease the withdrawal a bit.  Besides, we will get to see Robyn again in July, along with our other wonderful daughter, Amanda, and our beautiful granddaughter, Kaia.

Anyway, get a load of the great picture Dianne took of the Bighorn Sheep at the Living Desert in Palm Desert, CA.  We both love zoos and we both love landscaping.  This place had both.

The Living Desert was about 45 minutes from our campsite - actually our gourmet breakfast site (via the expensive car dealerships).  The overall theme of this working ecological park was life in the desert, particularly life in the deserts of North America and Africa.  

Prior to this visit, our favorite zoo was the Miami Zoo.  This place does not compare in scope, but it certainly compares in quality and excels in ecology.

Flora, fauna?  Let's start with the desert flora.   

Ok, this is obviously an oasis, but it is in the desert.  These groves of California Fan Palms only grow naturally in desert springs.  I have seen two of these now (Dianne has seen one).  It looks like another world.

Below is a view of another oasis with ocotillo (in bloom) and cactus in the foreground.

The blooms at the top of this saguaro were probably 30 feet above the ground.  We really like the quality of the zoom feature on our new camera. Notice the wasp?

Dianne really admired this arrangement of agave.  Maybe we could replicate it in south Texas?  Probably not, I think we have run out of room.  The picture below is of a Coral Fountain. We have two of these at our place in south Texas, but we call them Firecracker Plants.  While ours are beautiful, they are not this prolific, YET.  

The picture below is of a prickly pear cactus --- not necessarily an interesting subject, now that we have become accustomed to the desert.  However, we love the way light reflects off the green of the cactus.

Time for fauna --- the things that move.  Let's have a look at the animals of the African deserts; first, a couple of small mammals:

The fennec fox, below, is the world's smallest fox. It lives in the sand dunes of North Africa.  It has the largest ears of any fox.  The large ears aid in finding prey (insects and small reptiles) as well as dissipating heat.  Can you tell I used to be a science teacher? 

This little guy is called a Cape Rock Hyrax.  Never heard of it? He is about the size of a beaver, looks like a giant guinea pig, and is so unusual that he is in a scientific order of his own.  Can you tell I used to be a science teacher?  He and a couple of his friends spent their time hopping around their enclosure while we watched them.  Believe it or not, his closest relative, genealogically, is the elephant.  Yep, definitely used to be a science teacher.

Can't leave out the birdies.  Look at the outrageous colors of this parrot; and that creepy reptilian eye.

Ok.... On to the larger African desert animals.  Gee, I wonder what this is?  Well, the guy below is definitely a Greater Kudu.

The Kudu's large ears are extremely sensitive to sound, making them difficult to approach as they commonly sneak away when detecting a predator. If they are attacked, they can leap as high as eight feet!  More science teacher info.  What a magnificent creature.

The kudus and the giraffes lived in the same large space.  The kudu seemed to be longingly gazing at the giraffe during the entire time that we watched.  I wonder what that was all about?

We can't leave Africa without seeing a couple of predators.  Check out the Cheetah --- the fastest mammal on our planet.

This is a Madagascar Boa, nonpoisonous, a constrictor.  Dianne and I both touched it --- not slimy.  Felt like leather.  Always the science teacher.

Bandido and Tequila were disappointed that we did not get any pictures of the wild African Dogs or the Hyenas.  They were hiding behind the rocks in the shade.

Time to look at the desert animals of North America: 

This coyote is taking an afternoon nap.  It was warm on this day --- in the 100s.  

The bobcat also thought it was a good day to stay in the shade and lounge around, and the huge mountain lion had no desire to even move on this hot day.

The birds seem a little more active.  

We seem to find snowy egrets everywhere we travel in the southern climes.  They are still unique to us.  We definitely did not see them in Indiana, but we did see their relatives, the big blues.

These are night herons.  Striking large birds, that were breathing heavily, probably due to the heat.




The most active of all the desert animals on this day was a reptile --- no, not a snake.  This desert tortoise was on his way to lunch!

The docent said that these turtles can feel touches, much like we feel through our fingernails.  Dianne and I both were able to pet the tortoise.  We kind of liked him.   

Yum!  Is this a mixed green salad or a garden tossed salad?

It is almost time to leave The Living Desert, but before we do, it is important to note the good that the people at this fascinating place do for the desert animals of the California deserts.  

The Tennity Wildlife Hospital and Conservation Center rescues and rehabilitates the desert friends that live with us in our world.  This is a photo of one of their surgery rooms.  We saw several animals in the park who had suffered injuries that would have been fatal without these facilities.  The hospital is run by professionals and by volunteers.  A good place.

I could not leave Palm Springs without a few pictures from our site at the The Happy Traveler RV Park.  

View from couch

 This park is very close to the ritzy area of Palm Springs, walking distance actually (in cooler weather). 

View from door

 The sites are narrow;  however, due to the tall oleander hedges, they are extremely private.  We did not meet our friendly neighbors until the last day we were here.  The view from our front windshield is below.

This is the view from the back.  If we return to Palm Springs, we would, without a doubt, stay here again.

The pet picture of the day shows the ever-vigilant Tequila on guard at the campsite.  Even though we did not see any, there could be lizards.

Our next post will be from Twenty Nine Palms CA, at the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park.

Miami MetroZoo

Dianne here -- Yesterday we spent the day at the famous Miami Metrozoo.  It was incredible, as the photos will show.  All of you who know me personally and know what an animal lover I am, can just imagine the number of photos I took at the zoo!  I'll let Roger describe it in more detail as I'm worn out from just downloading them all!

First we made our morning trip to the dog park to wear out our "boys" so they would sleep while we were gone.  That being done, I turned Animal Planet on the TV for them (now that we have our cable channels) and zipped them into their crate. 

 The zoo was about  a 45-minute drive from our camp site.

  Just a note to all of Roger's co-workers who are following our adventure:  I know you remember how stressed out he was at work before he retired.  Check out some of his poses in the photos, and you will see that he has dropped his "grumpy old man" persona and has reverted to the playful Roger that I first met in 1970.  The transformation has been complete!!  :-)

Roger here...  Despite Dianne's comments about my playfulness, the practical side that my friends know is still very much entrenched.  I (with Dianne's input, of course) planned the visit on a weekday with record low temperatures to avoid the crowds.  I was right :-)  We had the place pretty much to ourselves, walking the six spacious miles on a beautiful, sunny, but chilly day (by south Florida standards).  At home in Indiana we would have considered the day balmy.  Please note the unnecessary playful risk that Dianne took with the hippo.  I tried to tell her that hippos are especially dangerous, but she did not listen.

The Metrozoo in Miami is without a doubt the best zoo I have visited.  The animals are all in the open in spaces that resemble their natural habitats, arranged logically by continents - appealing to my sense of order :-).  In most of the areas, it appears that you are walking right next to the animals without barricades.  In fact the animals are separated by deep trenches.  None of the animals are in cages.  Since it was not a hot day, many of them were very mobile.  It was great fun to wander from one area to the next and see the animals move and interact.  

Speaking of interacting, we timed a few of our arrivals perfectly.

  The zoo docent was feeding the three Bengal Tigers just as we arrived at that area. 

 She insisted that, by name, they sit in their assigned space before tossing them their snack of raw meat.

  We also were able to watch the dominant silverback male gorilla chase the other gorillas away from his drinking area.

  One of the younger gorillas climbed on his mother's back during their escape.

  I guess he wanted some privacy when he got his drink of water. 

 It was also fun to watch people feed lettuce to the giraffes.  You could walk right up next to them and look into their eyes - know that they were looking only at you and the food that they hoped you had.  

We saw many animals that I had never seen before, including a double-humped camel (huge)

 and an Indian Hornbill. 

 The hornbill, in the Asian aviary, (also very large and very strange looking) hopped from branch to branch and put on quite a show.  It was amazing that it was only a few feet away.  At the same location Dianne took a picture of a turquoise bird that had absolutely no fear of people.  We were able to walk to within a foot of it while it just watched us with curiosity. 

 Speaking of fear, the aviary was enclosed with netting - a good thing because high above several hawks circled the area hoping for a good meal.  I envisioned them thinking, "I am in the mood for some Chinese/Thai/Indian tonight."

One of my favorite areas was the Lemur exhibit.  The only place that they live is on the island of Madagascar off the coast of Africa. 

 The sable lemur was beautiful with one of the richest reddish-brown coats I have ever seen on an animal, but my favorite was one of the ring-tailed lemurs.  I was able to imitate the call that it made.  It responded to me every time - what fun!

Dianne again -- As Roger mentioned, the zoo is arranged by continent:  Asia, Africa, Australia, and a new Amazon exhibit that shows great potential.   Don't let the six miles scare you away; there are lots of choices to get around.   We chose to hoof it on purpose, in the hope of burning a few calories.  There are some really nice pedal buggies you can rent (especially nice if you are traveling with young children) that looked like the proverbial "surry with the fringe on top" complete with bicycle bells to warn pedestrians that you're coming through.   There is also a monorail, a tram, and for those techie-types even a Segway rental.   The only Segways I saw out and about were with a guide, so not sure if folks can strike out on their own on a Segway or not.  If I wasn't on such a quest to get back into shape, the Segway looked like a lot of fun.

There weren't just bears, but sun bears and koala bears.  There weren't just elephants, but both Indian and African elephants.  There weren't just camels, but both dromedary and double-hump.  Not just zebras, but "cloud" zebras.  Not just monkeys, but chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, gibbons, spider monkeys - the whole lot.  There were Australian singing dogs, hyenas, storks, geckos, and too many more to name.   If you get my point, this wasn't just a zoo, but an incredible zoo!!