Oregon Coast Aquarium: Newport, Oregon

Today I travelled north up the coast to the town of Newport to visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The aquarium sits on 23 acres along Yaquina Bay near the Pacific Ocean. The focus of the facility is to educate people about the Oregon coast, including the animals who live there such as fish, rays, jellyfish, sharks, sea lions, seals, otters, and sea birds. My favorite two areas were Passages of the Deep and the otter enclosure. I enjoyed seeing the sharks and rays up close as they swam over and under the tunnel I walked through. I also was interested to see that someone was participating in a recreational dive in the tank. That was tempting as it certainly would be an opportunity to view lots of fish and sharks up close. My very favorite part was visiting the otters after they had been fed. They were snoozing in the sun and were just so cuddly and cute. They reminded me of my dogs! This was a great stop and most importantly the aquarium educates people on the care of our oceans and its animals. I wrapped up the day with a long walk down a sandy beach with the pups. It was a wonderful day! 

Sweet, sleepy otter! 

Three leopard sharks passing by in the tunnel!