Aaron and Sherri invited me to take a trip to Oregon with them so we could see Pat, Dick and my mom. They drove out and picked up Mason on Friday, March 27th, and I flew to Portland on Monday, March 30th and they picked me up at the airport.
We went to Multnomah Falls and then drove to Dallas and spent the night with Dick and Pat. Gary and Denise drove there and we got to visit for a couple hours with them. It was good to see my mom again.
We left Dick and Pat's Tuesday morning and took a scenic route along the coast down to Newport. We ate a late lunch, which ended up being our dinner, at a seafood place on the waterfront and then went and checked into our condo at Little Creek Cove. It was a lovely secluded place on the beach. Thank you Aaron for such a nice home away from home.
The weather forecast was for rain every day, and we got rain every day! Tuesday afternoon we were worried that our bottom fishing trip on the ocean Wednesday would be canceled but the boating company said it was a go, just no children allowed.
It was decided that Aaron and I would go fishing and Sherri and the boys would hang out at the condo until we finished at noon. We got up at 6:15 so we could be down to the dock by 7:00 a.m. I put on my shirt and pants, a fleece shirt and my parka. Aaron thought I needed a little more so he gave me a pullover hoodie. We arrived at the dock in a bit of a drizzle and donned our rain gear, both bib overalls and raincoats and rubber boots. I felt that I was prepared for any kind of weather. We each took a couple of dramamine tablets before we left the condo so that we could hopefully control the motion sickness.
After some instructions from the captain that were designed to scare off the weak hearted, we left the dock, idled out of the bay and entered the wide open ocean. It took us about 45 minutes to reach our fishing spot near some rocks some distance from land. It was hard to tell where we were because it was so rainy and foggy. The crew had placed fishing poles around the boat and told us to go ahead and take a pole according to our preference. One side had poles with lighter tackle and the windy side had the heavier poles. I tried a lighter pole for a couple casts and then moved to the larger gear. A bell would ring, signaling it was okay to cast our lines and if we caught a fish we were to yell out, "Fish On!" and a crew member would help get the fish in the boat because they had very sharp fins. Everyone around me was soon yelling "Fish On!" but I didn't get anything on my little line. When the bell rang again we all brought up our lines and they moved the boat a short distance and rang the bell a second time signaling that it was okay to drop our lines again. By the time I caught my first fish Aaron had deposited four fish in our box. For the next hour or so, we were so busy casting and reeling that we didn't really have much time to visit with each other. I just know that it felt awful wet and rough out there. Aaron was so good to check on me and make sure I was doing okay. Just once when we were moving to a new spot I had a sudden urge to heave ho over the rail but I fought it off and the wind in my face helped clear the wave of nausea that washed over me. A couple hours and several fish later, the crew told us that we had nearly caught our limit and it was time to head in, as the winds were approaching gale strength. On the way back we had to stop to pick up the four crab pots that had been dropped off on our way out to fish. Aaron had paid for two pots so he helped bring the pots in and and we got to keep half the catch--at least half of the keepers. We had to throw back all the females and any males under 6 inches.) It was while we were bobbing around on the ocean while picking up the crab pots that I finally lost my breakfast bagel. The captain said be sure to check the wind direction if you have to lean over the rail, but I didn't have time to do much checking and adjusting, just heaved and hoped it didn't come back in my face. So much for dramamine!
We ended up with 5 crabs to take home along with one ling cod and 10-12 sea bass. We ate the crabs for lunch and had some of Mason's sturgeon for supper that night. The next night we ate sea bass. I didn't get a chance to try the cod, but the sturgeon and bass was very delicious thanks to the cook--Sherri.
Wednesday afternoon we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and hung out a couple hours. Then Aaron went out on a pier that he had discovered Tuesday night and tried his luck at crab fishing with a couple of crab rings--smaller and a bit more portable than the pots we used on the boat. He brought home a few more crabs, not Dungeness like we caught earlier, but red rock crabs that allowed smaller ones to be taken. After cooking and eating them we decided that the next day he would only keep larger ones, since only the claws were worth eating. He caught several Dungeness but they were about 1/8" under the limit (a $250 fine if caught with an undersized Dungeness).
Thursday Sherri and I enjoyed some quiet time in the condo while Aaron took the boys out on the pier and let them do some fishing and crabbing. They had a good time but didn't come home with anything. Thursday evening after we ate yet another fish dinner, we had an early birthday party for Mason.
I think the best part for him was that he would not have to eat any more fish on the trip. He is such a trooper. He really enjoys fishing but knows that if he catches fish he has to eat them and they aren't really his favorite meal. I was impressed that he persevered.
We started for home on Friday. We drove through some beautiful and diverse scenery, a little sunshine, an amazing amount of moss on the trees.
A few minutes later, we were driving in snow!
We drove as far as Winnemucca, Nevada and spent a short night in a hotel there and then drove the last couple hours to Carlin to take Mason home. I got home about 2:00 p.m. Saturday and Aaron and Sherri and Morgan drove on to snowy Big Piney.
