Newport, Oregon Farmers Market
Newport, Oregon: What? Are they still in Newport? Aren't they ever going to go home?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Just kidding. We are going home Monday. There is just too much to do around Newport this weekend. It is raining here. It is raining at home. May as well just stay here.
It - guess what - rained again overnight and most of the morning. At around ten o'clock the sun broke through the clouds and it turned out to be a pretty nice day. We started our morning at the Newport Farmers Market. This is the second time we have visited this great little market and found it just a little larger and in a new location.
We bought a dozen eggs from the free-range chickens at Pioneer Mountain Farms - which included one green egg!
We bought a basket of Oregon strawberries from Boone's Ferry Farm in Hubbard, Oregon.
We bought two loaves of bread from Katie (in hat) of Pacific Sourdough. Katie is so friendly and loves to talk about her fabulous breads.
Why didn't we buy a few of these savory pastries?
We bought pea shoots and radishes from Gathering Together Farm in Philomath. Gathering Together grows around 100 varieties of vegetables - all organic! Pea shoots are the tender tips of snow pea vines. Quickly stir-fried, pea shoots are one of our favorite greens and only available for a short time in the spring.
We did not buy carrots - but they were beautiful.
We did not buy these babies either.
The sky continued to clear - it was just a gorgeous day - and we had lunch plans. My Dad, sister and niece were joining us in Newport for lunch! We took them to the Rouge Brewery restaurant along the wharf in Old Town Newport.
Of course - we had fish & chips! Just yummy.After lunch, we took our niece, Carla, down to the dock so she could see the sea lions. Many sea lions were sleeping on the dock today.
Curious about the "cage"? This metal trap has recently been placed on the dock. Occasionally an injured sea lion shows up to the dock and scientists would like to help but it is nearly impossible to capture a sea lion. If the animal were to be shot with a tranquilizer gun, it would most likely retreat into the sea, fall asleep and drown. So... they have placed this cage on the dock and will leave it there for several months, hoping the sea lions will become used to it and unafraid to enter. If, by chance, one of the injured sea lions goes inside, the door can be lowered and the animals will be trapped inside. The injured animal will be shot with a tranquilizer gun and after she falls asleep, the door will be opened and the other animals will hopefully abandon ship, leaving the doctor to safely treat the injured sea lion. Isn't that just clever? Hope it works too, as now there is a poor critter amongst this group with a rope around her neck - slowly eating through her fur as the animal grows larger. So sad.
I couldn't resist the opportunity to take more sea lion photos.
Sea lions just love paparazzi.
My own personal paparazzi snapped this windy photo of me with Carla (our niece) and Renee (my sister/Carla's Mom) on the wharf in Newport.But wait, there's more. After lunch we went to the 4th Annual Brewers Memorial Ale Fest at the next-door Rogue Ale Brewery. Billed as the "largest dog-friendly beer festival in the world", the celebration honors Brewer - a black lab who rose to the level of CEO of Rogue Ales (I kid you not). Brewer passed away a few years ago, and now Rogue Ales invites other micro-breweries and dogs to a big party to raise money for Oregon animal charities! Admission is $10, which includes a souvenir beer mug and tickets for four beer samples. Rogue Nation provides live music and all sorts of crazy contests - owner/dog look-alike, best beg, best trick, best Brewer look-alike, etc.
Dogs everywhere. Every breed of dog. Purebred. Mutt. Old dogs. Puppies.
The police K9 unit did a demonstration for the crowd.
Plenty of big dogs.
Plenty of little dogs.
Of course, there was a beagle. Sigh.
And all sorts of mixed-up breeds rescued from the pound.
Water bowls were provided for thirsty non-beer drinkers.
Lady, get me out of here. Too many people. Too many dogs. Too much noise. I am out of my comfort zone. No? Okay. How about a cookie?Later, we walked down to the marina at the RV park and talked to the fishermen as they were cleaning their fish.
Off shore these days you can catch halibut or sea bass (rock fish), but you can't have both on your boat. Limit is one halibut or seven sea bass per person. Every boat seemed to be very lucky today.
It was such a lovely day! We set lawn chairs outside our RV and enjoyed the view, until a cloud came and hid the sun. The weather on the Oregon coast is hopeless.
The last two photos were taken about thirty minutes apart (and no, the lower photo is not black and white).Until my next update, I remain, your tired correspondent.
RV Park: Port of Newport RV Park. Large paved sites, pull-through and back-in, wifi, cable TV, bathhouse and laundry. Directly on the marina with views of the bridge. Walk to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Hatfield Marine Science Center - and the Rogue Brewery and Pub. We are paying $35 per night.