Under the sea

Since home base is the High Desert, going to the coast is like taking a walk on the wild side.

It takes only about 3 1/2 hours to get there from here, which always amazes me given the polar extremes of climate and landscape. It seems that west of the Coast Range, there’s not a square inch of ground that isn’t taken up by one kind of plant or another. It’s a pleasant contrast, the luxuriant rain forest marching clear down to the beach. Then there’s the ocean itself, which puts a more austere foot forward, at least on the face of it.

What you don’t readily see is a world so foreign to the average landlubber that its difficult to fathom when you finally can observe it right there in front of your eyes. Diaphanous jellyfish pulsing and undulating in an involuntary dance with the tides. Wolf eels tucked away into tight crevices, their disembodied heads presenting a menacing face to the underwater world. Sharks and rays cruising just overhead, the smaller schooling fish keeping a healthy distance.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport is a place of wonder, where you can eavesdrop on our bizarre and beautiful neighbors without feeling guilty. For $13.25 adult admission, you can watch pelagic predators of the open ocean rocket past on the sides, above and below. You can touch a starfish, see a decorated warbonnet go from rock camouflage to fish reality before your eyes, and observe a black oystercatcher with its long red bill scuttle along the shore looking for fish.

From my high and dry desert perspective, the animals that live under the sea are nothing short of weird.

But my favorites are the seals and sea otters, the mammals that live a double life, both of the sea and (only occasionally in the otter’s case) of the land.

Especially the sea otters.

Hunted to near oblivion for their pelts, sea otters are now protected and found in small numbers off the coast of California and Washington. They are extinct in the waters off Oregon.

According to Defenders of Wildlife, sea otters are the top predator in the kelp forest ecosystem where they play the role of an indicator species; as the sea otter goes, so goes the overall health of the kelp beds.

Like the river otters of Central Oregon’s waterways (and the High Desert Museum), the sea otters at the Oregon Coast Aquarium are a playful bunch. They plunge and roll and dart through the water, then stop all together, turn on their backs and either crack open a shellfish or lounge a little.

Again, the aquarium gives curious visitors the opportunity to see these remarkable animals up close in a habitat that’s surprisingly close to the real thing.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium features a bird aviary (check out the puffins), the sea otter viewing area, a live sea lion and harbor seal exhibit, several underwater windows, the Passages of the Deep exhibit (in which visitors walk through corridors with fish and other marine life all around them) and the fascinating Claws! exhibit that puts crabs and other crustaceans in the spotlight. There’s also a beach habitat that’s home to several snowy plover, which are an endangered species.

Behind-the-scenes tours are also available.

Close by, Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center is a heavy-on-the-oceanography adjunct for many an aquarium visitor.

After all that, I was hungry and nothing but seafood was going to do. So we drove over to Newport’s historic waterfront district and paid a call at Mo’s for some world-class clam chowder and fresh fish. It’s one of those places you can just tell has a legend attached to it and you just know the food’s going to be good. There are photos inside of presidents and other dignitaries and celebrities. Outside, there’s often a line of hungry tourists and locals waiting for a table.

The legend is attached to Mo Niemi, who started the business in 1946. So the story goes, one morning in the early days, a woman returned to her car parked outside the restaurant, put it into drive instead of reverse and crashed through the front of the cafe. Instead of getting mad, Mo put her arm around the woman and said, “Well, we’ll just put in a garage door so you can drive in any time you want.” They did and the garage door is still raised on nice days to bring the outside in.

A visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium (and the waterfront for lunch) makes for a long but doable day trip or a leisurely overnighter. Lodging is ubiquitous in the area, with everything from motels to bed and breakfasts and ocean-front splendor to choose from.

if you go

Getting there: From Bend, drive west on U.S. Highway 20 through Corvallis and on to Newport. Turn south on U.S. Highway 101. The Oregon Coast Aquarium is off Highway 101 at the south end of the Yaquina Bay Bridge.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Admission: $13.25 adults; $11.25 seniors 65 and older; $7.75 youths 3-12; children younger than 2 get in free.

Contact: 867-3474, info@aquarium.org or www.aquarium.org.