Newport Fun

We stayed at the Port of Newport RV Park located near the south jetty on Yaquina Bay. This location offered us a unique experience. Many of the people at this park were recreational fisherman. Their boats were docked at the marina and their trailers tucked next to their rigs. As we got settled at our site we could hear the faint barking of sea lions hanging out at the commercial fishing marina on the other side of the bay. This noise might be a nuisance to some, but for us it was soothing background noise. We enjoyed being in a different element. We were in another city that offered a new way of life and livelihood.

Newport is home to one of the largest and most productive commercial fishing fleets on the west coast. According to commercial-fishing.org: “Oregon commercial fishing includes fisheries for pink shrimp, crabs, clams, sea urchins, tuna, salmon, sardines, Pacific whiting, and several other species of groundfish. Oregon is the top producer of Dungeness Crab worldwide” Crabbing is popular in this area for both recreational fisherman as well. The south harbor crabbing pier runs out into the jetty which offers a popular spot for locals and tourists alike. It was enjoyable watching the process. In the evenings you could find many people enjoying Crab Boils at the park.

We were a stones throw from The Oregon Coast Aquarium. This provided us with an enjoyable day of entertainment. Aquariums allow us to get up close to underwater nature. Watching the grace with which these species move is always soothing to admire. The stunning beauty of the underwater tapestry never gets old. This aquarium included underwater species as well as marine mammals and water fowl. One of our favorites was the Puffins exhibit. We first learned about Puffins when we used to travel to the coast of Maine for vacation. There are a four breeds of Puffins, three of them native to the west coast and one to the northeast coast. They are: Tufted Puffins, Horned Puffins, Rhinoceros Auklet and the Atlantic Puffin. You can probably guess which one is found in the northeast. It was quite a treat to observe all of them here. Apparently only the Tufted and Horned Puffins were feeling photogenic on this day.

During our last few days in Newport the air started to clear so we visited the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. This is Oregons tallest lighthouse standing 93 feet tall. The view of the sea from this basalt peninsula is pretty spectacular. There were not many people around on this day, but there was one professional photographer. She told us she drives up and down the coast taking photos stopping here about once a month. What a spectacular job to bask in this beauty throughout the seasons.

Although our stay in Newport offered a few unpredictable challenges, we made the most of it as we always do when we are thrown a curveball. We have learned to embrace the unpredictability of life on the road. Most of the time this unpredictability opens us up to experience interesting places and people we had not planned. Other times we have to look at the unfortunate situation in a different light, pivot and enjoy what the circumstance offers us.