We made it to Newport, Oregon. Home of the Newport Aquarium, Dani’s home for the next four months. We arrived during a cold drizzling rain. Little did we know that it would be like that almost the entire time. We had a lot to get done before we could start enjoying the sights, the main being getting Dani checked in to her apartment and moving her belongings from Hector to her new space. We stopped at the Newport Marine Center and get the keys and made our way to the apartment where she would meet her new roommates. The accommodations were small, but adequate and, more importantly, affordable. Once we lugged boxes in and got her semi-settled, we left to check into the hotel where we would be staying for the next couple of days and go in search of food.
We drove over the Newport Bridge and stopped to take photographs of the bridge and bay below. It was such a little fisherman’s sea-side town and I thoroughly loved it. 
It was smaller than I expected and a lot more picturesque than I had imagined. I knew Dani was going to love the next few months, and deep down I was afraid she would decide to stay forever.
We made our way to the bayfront where we browsed a few of the shops and checked out the storefronts of a couple restaurants. Totally by accident, we found a very entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable sight. It wasn’t the last time we would stop to watch them. They were extremely addictive:
Sea Lions in Newport, Oregon from Dawn on Vimeo.
Toward nightfall, we were getting hungry. We had Googled Newport restaurants and tried to decide on a place to eat for dinner. Dani read about a place that had awesome clam chowder, so we headed to Mo’s Seafood. 
I have to admit, it was really good. It was refreshing to sit down and relax for a meal knowing we didn’t have to hurry and get back on the road. I enjoyed a nice Longboard beer while Dani tried a locally made beer called, “Rogue.” It was so good that I’ll have Dani bring some home! After eating, we noticed the town was closing down, so we headed back to the hotel–but not before going to see the sea lions again.
Saturday dawned, but not bright and shiny. It was another day of drizzling rain and it was COLD–the 40s is quite a change for this transplanted Florida girl, and the rain made it feel colder. We donned our coats and started our walk to the aquarium where Dani would be working. 
We stopped by a little antique shop where I picked up some inexpensive mementos, and then continued our walk freezing our butts off. The aquarium was very impressive. They had a lot of fish and sea life that were indigenous to the Pacific Northwest and it was very educational. A very nice aquarium to visit.
After the aquarium, we ran errands to help Dani get settled and went again to the bayfront where we ate at Rogue–a restaurant that is also a local brewery. They are well-known in the Pacific Northwest and have brewed a signature beer for Captain Sig on Deadliest Catch. We again enjoyed a refreshing beer with our delicious seafood meal, and, at my request, visited the sea lions–again. The long trip was catching up to both of us, so we went to the hotel early and spent the night in. We would explore more in the morning.
On Sunday, we were still a little tired and slept later than usual. I did a little luggage organizing to get ready for my flight early the next morning and Dani did some laundry. We finally got out and about and did more exploring that took us to the coastal side of Newport where we saw the beach with it’s enormous jutting rock formations. The cold wind and rain didn’t stop us from seein gmore of the beautiful fishing town. We visited a Viet Nam Veteran’s Memorial by the beach, a tribute to the whales sculpture, and generally just enjoyed the views. We ate at a local restaurant called “The Deep Inn” and headed back to the bay where we stopped at the wharf and looked at all the crab fishing boats. 
On Monday, we were up and out of the hotel long before the sun came up, so we got to see it on our drive to the airport in Portland. We talked on the way, but my part of the conversation was made over a huge lump in my throat. I suppressed my tears during that goodbye hug at the airport and broke down the minute I saw her drive away.
Thus, another beginning in the next chapter of our lives.
