Hatfield Marine Science Museum. And Beer

We spent yesterday at the Hatfield Marine Science Museum in Newport, only about two miles from the campground. It is one of the research centers for Oregon State University, and is an amazing place, full of very well-done and interesting displays, many of them hands-on and/or interactive. We watched them feed their new octopus, petted anemones and urchins in their tide pool display, and watched a Coast Guard guy jump from a little orange helicoptor for a simulated practice rescue in the bay. Yesterday happened to be their annual "Seafest," so there was live music, food vendors, and even more hands-on stuff out in the courtyard. You could throw a life preserver to save a man overboard (a target, not a live person), practice casting with fishing rods, shake fins with a life-sized model of a newborn grey whale, and more. They offer a guided, mile-long estuary walk daily at 11 a.m. which I will definitely do while we're here.

The vendor lines were food were long, so we asked someone about lunch, and she recommended the Rogue Brewery, which was close by. You have to walk through the brewery, past stainless steel brewing vats a couple of stories high, to climb the stairs to the restaurant upstairs. They make something like 30 different beers and ales from pale to dark, and many of their beers have won international competitions. Steve chose a glass of their Dead Guy ale, which is their most popular, and loved it. I'm not a beer drinker, so I can't comment. I can, however, comment on their Wild Coho Salmon Sandwich, served on their homemade beer bread--awesome!!! They give brewery tours every day at 3 p.m., so we may be going back. Steve wants to try the Shakespeare Stout and the Cheddar Soup made with their ale. I want to try the Kobe Beef Chili with more of that great bread.