Happy Halloween

Hope your Halloween is a happy one.  Here we celebrate Halloween on Saturday if it happens to fall on Sunday. I mean it's a state wide thing. Seriously. So we did all of our partying yesterday.  We went to the Mall to get my son a new winter coat. They were handing out candy there. We went to Home Depot to look for a new freezer - they had a scavenger hunt there.  Then we went to Aunt K*s house and rode on Grandpa and Grandma's homemade train behind their 4-wheeler.  They rescued us from the downpour and we visited with the neighbors.  My nephew K sat with me both times in the train. 

Of course, back on the 27th we woke up to snow. Let's just say we were all very excited about that!

And my kiddos made their mark in it. I stayed on the dry sidewalk.

Setting up your photoshop pallet:

go HERE to my photography blog and I'll show you in a video!

This will help all of those taking my class.  And there is still time to sign up. Just a few days left.

Blown Glass - Oregon Coast - Seal Rock - Vacation Photos

One of the last things we did before heading to Boise on our way home was to visit a glass blowing shop along the coast.  This shop is a husband and wife partnership with an employee or two.  He creates the vases, glass bowls, and sea floats.  She creates the jewelry, decorations, and other small glass items. They make a great team.

He constantly has to roll this.

Turning it into a vase

He is shaping the bottom and using that little tube to blow air into the vase.

He is changing the color of the glass here.  It has an iridescent coating of glass on it and this makes it really show up too.

These are decorative floats

And I would still love one of the short glass pumpkins with the swirly tops.

Believe it or not, my 4 year old son didn't want to leave.

And he loved the safety glasses. He watched him make 2 vases.

I purchased this and need to get a silk cord so I can wear it.

At first I wondered why glass blowing is so popular along the Oregon Coast.  It's a hot business.  There is no need for a/c here.  Just open the doors for a cool breeze year round.

So that's about it! Our one week vacation.  Now I just need to scrapbook it so we can enjoy it over and over again!

The Lighthouses

Yaquina Head Lighthouse about 15 minutes before the park closed.

I took this one because the grass and other plants looked almost red in the sunlight.

If you are lucky enough to be on the Oregon Coast on a sunny day - enjoy the sun setting.

It was beautiful!

Yaquina Head during the day.

A fun photo by Tyler with the wide angle

The stairs inside the lighthouse - starting outside there are 116 stairs to the top.

The light from that one tiny bulb can be seen 19 miles out to see because of the use of prism to concentrate the lights into one beam.

I love details - this was near the top where the other presenter spoke to us.

There were these cool little prisms in the floor above to let light into the area just below the top.  The light was shining through one onto this map - right on the spot - Yaquina Head.  Do you think someone knew that would happen and placed it there?  It was glued down to the table.

You have to be 42 inches tall so my daughter went up with me and then later with Tyler.  My son had to stay at the bottom with one of us.

Now here is the place that inspired this trip.  I only watch blogs of wedding photographers out of state.  One of them photographed a wedding at this bed and breakfast.  This was one of Tyler's favorite spots - the steep cliffs with beach below.  My daughter and I got out here and walked out to the spot where we could photograph the lighthouse which is to the left of this house - which, by the way, used to be the Lighthouse Keeper's home.

Here are the sea gulls looking for sand dollars as the tide rolls out.

And last of all here is Yaquina Head from Cobble Beach.  You have to go and listen to the sound - it's most unusual and fascinating.  We took this photo on Friday as we were headed back home.

Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon

Click on any of the images to see them larger.

PASSAGES OF THE DEEP

How cool is this? Wouldn't this make an incredible boys bedroom? All they needed were benches along one side so you could lay down and watch the sharks, fish, bat sting rays, etc. My kids avoided the glass floor in here.

For a lot of this trip I felt like a little kid!  I was so amazed at the aquarium. Part of it was indoor and part of it was outdoor.  If you go, bring a jacket or sweater.  We went on the warmest day of the year and it was chilly in the shade. 

The look of this one was  my favorite. You can see my children walked right on the glass floor here.

Broadnosed Sevengill

Bat Ray

Not as cool as the wide angle lens, but I had to get Tyler in there.

This ray of sunlight was filtering through and this shark swam through just as I clicked the shutter.

HAPPY HAPPY ECOSYSTEM - SWAMPLAND

We stood inside the piranha tank. There were so many things in this area that I photographed but here is my favorite photo Tyler took of us.

COASTAL WATERS

Sea Nettle

Moon Jelly

You can see how little the moon jellies actually are.

ROCKY SHORES

Basket Star

The sweet volunteer here was wonderful and talked to us about all the animals in this section.

My daughter said the sea urchin felt like toothpicks. Here it is giving her finger a hug.  

The Sea Stars and Bat Stars were all sort of hard on the outside.  They looked like they could be slimy but the were not at all.  The sunflower star was as soft as those new microfiber fleece blankets.  It's not as pretty but it was my favorite sea star. 

We also attended some feedings while we were there.

First the Sea Otters - they hid their food and rolled over to pull a piece or two out and eat it.

Then the sea lions.

I love a fun silhouette too!

And last the aviary - this one was 2 feet away and quite the show off!