Bend, OR

I love this place! The mystifying moments of the deep where one can walk through, under and over all those creatures we never see, those that swim in the depths of our vast Pacific Ocean. The tunnels of glass allowed me to see, in a 360 degree view, the different species of fish, sharks, starfish, eels, stingrays and a bunch of other species of which I have no clue as to what they are. What I do know is that being inside this glass tunnel was mesmerizing. You can reach out and touch all these creatures or so it seems. It is also amazing to watch these creatures cohabitate the way the do. I do know that I want to go back to get a glimpse of their newest exhibit called Oddwater, coming Memorial weekend. This will be another live aquarium full of the odd fish of the sea.

There is more than one tunnel. Each different tunnel holds a different habitation of fish. Then there are the sea otters and they will play with you. It was awesome. While I found one that was asleep and wouldn’t wake up to leave his den, there were half a dozen more already out playing so of course I wandered to the outside part. Due to the reason I was there I had special privileges that allowed me to climb upon the rocks for photography reasons though I did not get any good photos of these creatures I learned real quick that they like to play hide and seek. Now this game can be played with the otters without having to climb upon the rocks.The Oregon Coast Aquarium also has one of the largest aviaries when it comes to the different sea birds. Some of them I recognize from my numerous visits to the coast, others I’ve seen but only from afar and then they have the ones that I’ll describe as grumpy old men but that’s only because they looked like it. The aviary is a totally open air exhibit, so don’t be surprised if a bird may swoop down in front of you. I almost landed in one of their pools when this happened. The black Oystercatchers and Puffins were my favorite. Maybe this is because I am not used to seeing them up close. It was a few of the puffins that gave me the old man reminder with their tufted feathers.

One of the indoor tanks had jellyfish. Now it is my assumption that most of us have seen jellyfish out of the water, on the sandy beaches and probably dead but those that are alive are absolutely beautiful. If you have never seen a jellyfish up close and almost personal then this is the place to go. They emit their own radiant glow that even my hi-tech camera couldn’t catch and they are so awesomely graceful. It is hard to imagine that these delightful creatures sting like they do. From what I hear it is a very painful experience.

This is just a very small insight to the Coast Aquarium, home to Keiko, the (not so) Killer Whale. The aquarium is also in Newport, right off the bay front, right around the corner from the OSU/Mark Hatfield Science Center. Once you are in Newport, there are several signs for this great attraction. Keep in mind to give yourself at least 1 ½ hours to wander through all the exhibits. Also, all the exhibits, they way they were done, made me stop and look. This is an awesome trek and a great experience and the closest one can ever get to the lives of the sea unless you are a diver.