"I started photographing my domestic world and writing not just about what I had made,
but why I made it, examining the thoughts that accompany creativity and the act of making."
Jane Brocket from The Gentle Art of Domesticity p. 189 UK edition

Monday, September 3, 2012

Under The Blue Moon, 25 Rows From Home


Friday, thanks to the instigation of our family friend,  Grantie,
we piled into the white Dodge mini-van, 
and headed south from Portland toward the coast to  tour the 
Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon.

Just before we passed  the Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon,
we saw a very large USA flag at half-mast.
I Googled to find out why on my iPhone
and discovered that the Governor of Oregon 
had ordered the flag to be flown at half-mast in honor of
Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon
 July 21, 1969.
He died August 25, 2012, at the age of 82,
a man who lived out my father's dream.
[As a boy in the early 1900s, my dad bought a ticket to the moon from a comic book.]





We stopped for a picnic lunch at Lincoln City, Oregon, in the park by the beach.
Although it was sunny it was only in the 60s and windy so we were glad to
be wearing our jackets!  This was the baby's first time at the beach,
not that she was too impressed since she is just three month's old :)




A few people were bravely playing in the water and we saw several kites flying.










Back on the road we caught a glimpse of a lighthouse just before
arriving in Newport.




The setting of the aquarium is lovely and some of the trees there
are already starting to change into their autumn colors.





The girls enjoyed being able to touch and explore!





We thought these sea creatures were especially beautiful.





Looking into this aquarium tube made me think of spaceships.





But my favorite exhibit was this one.  The  tubes hold food for
seahorses.  My son-in-law pointed out to me that as the
seahorses ate it looked as though little puffs of smoke
came out of the back of their heads (manes)
as they processed their food.
Interesting!




After several hours of wandering through exhibits, it was time to
find a restaurant to have dinner before we headed home.





This family restaurant was just right for us, and aren't their
flowers spectacular?




The adults all ordered fish and chips, and the bigger
grand girls opted for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches :)





This fruit was fresh and fabulous! And those who had cake or pie
raved about whatever kind they chose.






It occurred to me on the way home that I could knit,
and I discovered that it took me the entire trip home to
knit a 25 row, dishcloth from corner to corner.




Visiting the aquarium and knitting this dishcloth were reasons for being cheerful
I recorded in my journal this week, along with some others
thanks to Kate's Challenge.






































Although I did not get a picture of the Blue Moon Friday night on the way home, [Make sure
you see Teresa's post because she has a fantastic picture of it!]
I dug through some of my scrapbook supplies and found a commemorative
newspaper from the Kansas City Star that I bought [for ten cents] in 1969, the year I
graduated from high school.
I was visiting some friends who were teachers and they had a little
black and white TV rigged up so we could watch the first man walk
on the moon.  We were so excited and amazed!!!

















Saturday night I took the following picture of the moon.
I did not see the Man in the Moon,
but I thought of the men who walked on the moon,
and the amazing cooperative effort by so many who
made that possible.
That cooperative effort led one man to take an amazing step,
and  mankind to leap forward
to higher goals as well...
the time is right...once in a Blue Moon :)




xxx from Gracie

12 comments:

  1. Gracie, lovely post today. It sounds like you had a fantastic day with your loved ones. I didn't get a picture of the moon either but it sure was beautiful.
    Have a wonderful day,
    Meredith

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  2. Sounds like you had an absolutely lovely Friday! Hard to believe the trees are beginning to change all ready. I keep a Thank You journal as well, but have never tried adding illustrations with it. Looks so fun!

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    1. It is fun to play with my pens and pencils...once I got over worrying what others might think of my scribbles and just enjoyed the process of noting cheery things through words and pictures :)

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  3. Wow, Gracie.. you covered a lot of ground on this post! It looks like you had a FAB trip to Newport! I love that town. We know it pretty well as my mom lived in Toledo up the hill from there for several years and even lived right in Newport, too. Next time you go there you will have to find Georgie's Grill, our fave place to eat.. it's RIGHT on the ocean with a fantastic view. Thanks for the mention.. I look forward to our next lunch visit! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  4. I loved this post too Gracie, the photographs at the beach and the aquarium are lovely. Happy Days. :) x

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  5. What a lovely day you had with your family! I didn't hear about Neal Armstrong...thanks for sharing with us! I didn't get a photo of the moon...but I did see it! Amazing! It's always nice seeing your reasons for being cheerful! Shari!

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  6. Wow! Looks like your day out was a lovely one :) I love visiting aquariums cos I love being by the sea, and the one you visited looked great :)

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  7. How cool that you were able to find those old newspapers you had stashed away.
    Thanks for sharing the photos of the ocean and the aquarium - I can almost smell the sea water through my monitor.
    Enjoy these lovely September days in the PNW.

    xxx
    Jenny

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  8. Thank you so much for popping over to " Chalky's World" and becoming a follower --- I am so glad you visited! I hope you soon get the finish you are looking for with my favourite Granny. There is a search button on my blog and a while ago I did a lot of tutorial posts about working a Granny square accompanied by pictures.Maybe they will help you, I hope so. Please pop back often.
    Kindest Regards Linda

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  9. We made a wish on the Blue Moon, though it was behind the clouds. I remember seeing the moon landing on someone else's tv as well, and I was sad when Neil Armstrong died.

    We visited the aquarium at Newport a few years back and were very amused by a sign on the otter enclosure. It explained that the otters keep cracking the glass with shells (to crack the shells I guess), and said that they'd replaced the glass already twice. It had been broken again and was awaiting replacement. The note ended: "Otters 3, Zookeepers 0".

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    Replies
    1. I did not see that sign, :) but we did note that it was difficult to get clear pictures of the sea otters because the glass to view them had so many water splotches on them :)

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  10. Hi Gracie!

    I loved your pictures in this post! Is that the D'River in Lincoln City where you had your lunch? It looks so familiar to me. The Coast Aquarium is beautiful and I enjoyed the times we've been there too. Thank you so much for this post. I miss the coast. Hopefully I'll soon be in Portland with a new baby, we're told it will be anytime now. We can have lunch with Teresa and meet "in person". I'd really like that.

    Blessings,

    Betsy

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