We read that Newport boasted a “Deco District“, so we had to check it out. Here we are driving on the Yaquina Bay Bridge, which does have a nice Art Deco look to it. I’ve always been a fan of Art Deco design and art.

We pulled over to the side of the road to capture the bridge a little better. I stayed behind the bushes…

…but Josh plowed right through to take an amazing shot of the bridge with his iphone. You can see it here.

This was probably the coolest Art Deco building down the main street of Newport. We were a little disappointed in Newport, overall–everything seemed kind of old and dirty, so we decided to drive down to the bayfront.

That was a good choice! It was quaint and full of character.

It had a “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” museum and even one of those creepy waxworks places, which I don’t have a lot of interest in. I think I’ve seen one too many horror films featuring waxworks.

We arrived after 6, so most of the stores were closed, but this cool little hippie shop was open, and they even let us bring the dogs in. We were the only customers! I bought myself a sheer purple paisley scarf and about 15 minutes later remembered that I’m not really a scarf person. I mean, I’ve tried. I have a ton of scarves. They’re just one more layer to remember, though. Maybe I’ll give it away, give it away now…(speaking of give it away now, I finally ordered “Scar Tissue” and I’m STOKED).

I love murals on buildings.

This place looked fun, too.

Love the bikestand shaped like a bike.

We followed the ARP ARP ARP ARP sound…

…to ooh and ah over the adorable sea lions!

Look at that one in the middle that is definitely braying. They were making a bunch of racket, just flopping around with their fat shiny bodies and flippers. They reminded me of big dogs, and I was in love.

Especially with this guy on the end. Would you look at him preening for the camera? TOO CUTE.

In San Francisco we saw/heard sea lions, but they were too far away to get a good look. These guys were right up close to the dock, showing off.

Maggie and Bear Cub were not particularly impressed. All that loud ARP ARPing made Bear Cub a little nervous. Heigh ho!

Side view of the bridge.

All in all, I’m glad we stopped by Newport. The bayfront was definitely worth a visit. We also shared some fish and chips at a busy little restaurant called the Newport Café, very tasty.

Driving back to Lincoln City, we stopped again to photograph the sunset in the stretch of land called the “Devil’s Punch Bowl”.

Brrrr. We also drove up to the lighthouse, but since I didn’t have my windbreaker with me or a warm hat (I didn’t make that mistake again for the rest of the trip!), I didn’t get out of the car to take any photos.

Beautiful.

One last shot.

Coming up next: Manzanita Beach! As for today, later on this afternoon I’ll be driving 17 of my paintings over to a coffeeshop in Ballard to hang them! SO excited…it’s been a while. I haven’t done a show since 2011! It’s tiiiiime. More about that later on.