Chicken Turtle?

This weekend was just what the doctor ordered. 3 day weekends are awesome. This was one of those weekends that's so good, you seriously consider calling in sick when you have to go back to work....then quitting when they catch on that you're not really sick.

Rachel and I headed to the beach right after work on Friday. After a quick stop at Quizno's for dinner, we made it to the house around 9:30 or so. Watched a little tv and went to bed. Nothing big.

Saturday we got up and went to Newport to see the turtle exhibit at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. As always, we spent a majority of our time watching the puffins. By far my favorite animal. Those little bastards are so funny. In order to spread their natural oils all over their feathers and fluff them up to keep themselves warm, they engage in this sort of dance that is looks like they're being attacked by a swarm of bees. Lots of flailing and flopping around in the water. I also learned that because they spend a majority of the year out at sea, they have a gland in their beaks that converts sea water to fresh water. It's basically like having a Brita in your nose! Pretty sweet.

The turtles were cool as well. The chicken turtle looks nothing like a chicken, and even less like the cartoon chicken turtle on the billboard. However, the pig-nosed turtle is aptly named, as is the snake-necked turtle. That thing was crazy.

After the aquarium, we drove up to Depoe Bay and walked around. Contemplated taking an hour long whale watching tour, but the sign said "beautiful views and even the occasional whale to boast about." I'm not paying for an occasional whale. You get that damn thing close enough that I can pet it, and we'll talk. Depoe Bay is a quaint little community, but extremely touristy. Every shop has gimmicky t-shirts that say stuff like "If you can read this, pull me back in the boat" on the back or ridiculous driftwood carvings of a whale that cost $100. It's driftwood!

We left Depoe Bay behind and headed to Mo's in Lincoln City for dinner. Our boycott of Mo's only lasted until we got hungry. It seems Mo's is suing Moe's. Mo's is an Oregon original, with seven coastal restaurants. Moe's is a chain out of Atlanta or something that just opened a restaurant in Wilsonville. Apparently Mo's thinks that Moe's is trying to captialize on the Mo's name. Apparently the fact that they're not on the coast, spell their name differently and serve and entirely different style of food means they're trying to trick people into thinking they're somehow related. Give me a break. Rachel and I were both mad about this lawsuit. Just not mad enough to pass up Clam Chowder and Fish n' Chips.

This pretty much concluded our Saturday. All in all a good day. We did go for a walk on the beach as well, but that ended early due to high winds and lack of sweatshirts.

Sunday we tried to walk down to the end of the spit to look at the sea lions and seals that typically sun themselves on the mouth of the Siletz. Unfortunately, the seals decided to go on vacation as well, because there weren't any on the beach. A few popped their head out of the water as they floated by on the current, but all in all it was a failed endeavor.

After the walk, we drove into town to catch a matinee of Bewitched. Will Ferrell was hilarous, and Nicole Kidman was extremely likeable, yet the movie didn't really grab me. There were a few hilarious scenes (Where art thou, DOG?) and if the whole movie had been geared towards scenes like that, it might've been better. Still it was enjoyable.

We left the movie theater, picked up a pizza at Papa Murphy's and some pop at Safeway (5 12-packs for $10!!!!!!) and headed home. We cooked pizza, watched Black Hawk Down, one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen, and then walked down on the beach to watch the sun set and see if we could catch the fireworks they were shooting off in Depoe Bay. We could, but being 10 miles away made the show less exciting than usual.

Monday we drove to Portland and hung out with Dad and Grandpa for a while. Grandpa's turning 93 (93!!!!!) in a few weeks. He doesn't like it when we bring it up. At least twice yesterday I heard him say "I'm so damn old." It's pretty humorous to me, but I'm sure he actually means it. Like he's pissed he isn't dead. Maybe I'll feel the same way when I'm 93, if I make it that far.

After hanging out with Dad, we headed to Joel's new house to check it out. It's pretty sweet. We showed up and Joel gave us a tour while his mom was using a bleach pen on the shower and his dad was working on something in the kitchen. I can only hope when I buy a house that I have family members that help out as much as his family was. So they worked while Joel entertained. Pretty sweet deal.

Then it was off to the Portland Beaver game. We met Dad and Micki outside the stadium and sat through one of the most boring baseball games I've ever watched. Tacoma won 10-0. The Beavs never even had two runners on base. They hit into four or five double plays. It was weak. But the fireworks after the game were enjoyable! Then we drove back home and were so tired that we just threw everything on the floor and went straight to bed.

Now that's a good weekend!