Forever Newleyweds: Ocean Shores

We went to ocean shores for a long weekend the first weekend in June. It was so nice just to get away for a little bit with Mike and spend some time togethr. We stayed in a really great condo really close to the jetty, so we were able to walk down to the jetty whenever we wanted. It was a different experience because we always stay in town where everything is in walking distance. On our first evening we took a walk down the beach toward the jetty and encountered some really cute (and not so cute) wildlife.
The first thing we saw was a really cute little bird. He looked like a mini seagull.

After watching him for a little while we realized he only had one leg and yet he was running. His balance was amazing. When the waves would go out he would run in and pull things out of the sand that he ate. Then when the wavew would come back in, he would run away and wait until they went back out.. It was Amazing how he was able to adapt to life and Run with just one leg! If you glance at the second picture it looks like he has a second leg while, but if you look closer it is actually water splashing from where his foot had been because he is running! Anyway, I thouht he was pretty cool! :)
The second thing we encountered was really gross!! It was a dead adult sealion that looked like it had been bitten in half. In any event, only half of it was on the beach. ICK!! We gave it a wide birth. The third thing was very much alive though and totally cute!!! A baby harbor seal (or maybe a sea lion, I'm not sure). In any event he was really cute! I called the animal rescue place in Ocean Shores though because I was really worried about him being on the beach like that all alone (espically in light on the de-capitated adult down the beach). He also seemed sick and lethargic looking. Anyway, they said not to worry, that their Mamas leave them on the beach while they go hunting. They have less predators on the beach. The important thing was to not get too close to them or touch them, because the mother would abandon them if they smell like a human. I mentioned the dead adult down the beach and she said it was most likely not the mother, but they would put a 24 hour watch on the baby just to be safe. She also said there are great white sharks far out and that bitten in half by a shark and the rest of the body washed up. First off, Gross!!! Second, umm, are there really Great White Sharks out there? I thought they lived in warmer water. And, I am Totally terrified of sharks as it is. I actually rarely swim in the ocean because of it. The only exception is I have swam a couple of times in Hawaii, but mostly I just waded. In any event here are pictures of the cute little baby. They look like I am much closer to him than I actually am. I just have a really great zoom! :)

The next morning we went for a walk down the beach again and he was gone, so I am hoping that his mother came back for him. That morning we went out to breakfast at the Quinalt Beach Casino. My breakfast was terrible, but the reataurant was pretty. :)

After breakfast we did some window shopping and then went for a walk on the beach and just had a nice time being together. We found a sea star out on the beach. We took a couple of pictures of him before tossing him back in the water so the seagulls wouldn't eat him :)

The jetty in the evening

That evening I wanted to go out and take some pictures of the sunset since I had missed my opportunity the night before with the baby seal drama. So we left our condo and I captured some shots of a beautiful sunset.

The view of our condo from the beach.

Mike and I trying to get the sunset in the background. It didn't work. Mike is bearing the aftereffects of his close encounter between a hammer and his face in this picture. Poor guy! :(