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Oregon Coast Aquarium - Newport, OR - August 10, 2009 |
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Twenty-two HPREC Club Members had lunch at Local Ocean in Newport before taking a behind-the-scenes tour of the Oregon Coast Aquarium. At one time, we had a waiting list of 6 with others saying they would like to go but had conflicts. This is an activity we should do again with the help of Chris Mann. It was a beautiful summer day in Newport.
We had a great lunch at Local Ocean and a fantastic behind-the-scene tour of the aquarium. Most of us got our fill of seafood at Local Ocean. The favorite was fish and chips with wraps a close second. It was great to sit together in the warm sun and socialize and take in the view and odor of the bay front. Some walked the water front before having lunch. I am sure there was some shopping.
Chris Mann organized and guided the behind-the-scenes tour of the Oregon Coast Aquarium with help from Donna. Chris volunteers as a diver at the Aquarium which made him a very knowledgeable guide. We went behind the scenes to visit the nursery and holding areas in the main building which included an octopus and moon jellies; off course we saw all the obstacles of pipes, pumps, stairs, hoses, and equipment; viewed the "At the Jetty" exhibit from the public area and from above; took a break in the Passages of the Deep (POD) Gleason Event room to view the pelagic exhibit from behind closed curtains and then explored the POD from the top; and finished with watching a feeding of the harbor seals and California sea lions that included a special sea lion encounter. We got a treat at the feeding of the sea lions where our own Karen Daniels got "kissed" by her boyfriend, the sea lion. Thank you Karen for "volunteering.” Safety was discussed at the start of each segment of the tour as this was of prime importance. This tour took two hours.
Everyone enjoyed the tour. It was nice for me to see and talk to fellow retirees that I had not seen for years. These events are great for reminiscing the "old" days. Thanks to Chris Mann for organizing the tour and Donna for helping him out.
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Kimhoa’s Social Lunch - September 3, 2009 |
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Our club had 11 members join in for lunch at Kimhoa’s restaurant in Corvallis. This restaurant is owned and operated by an HP employee and serves delicious and reasonable Tai, Chinese, Japanese, and/or Vietnamese food of appetizers, soups, meats, and vegetarian dishes. We each ordered our own dishes and enjoyed them. We had a great time socializing and talking about challenges facing HP retiree’s. We shared our experiences and knowledge on the retirement trail.
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United Way Day of Caring - September 25, 2009 |
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The annual United Way Day of Caring began at Parker Plaza with Corvallis Mayor Charlie Thomlinson kicking off the day in front of about 500 students and volunteers. We had 24 HPREC members sign up to help at the Benton County Fairgrounds set up and serve the lunches to all the volunteers (the students were fed on campus). We served about 300 lunches. What a sight to see with all the orange shirts! After serving lunch which consisted of sandwiches, cookie, chips and an apple (and having a free lunch) our members cleaned, and put all the tables and chairs away. This year Sheila and Walt Tomschin drove to Monroe, and Steve Naberhuis drove to Alsea to provide lunches for the volunteers that were spending all day on projects. Sheila Tomschin and Sharon Butterfield took the remaining lunches to Jackson Street Youth Shelter and the Community Outreach Center located off 9th Street. Both places had crews working on projects such as: painting, cleaning carpets, sanding and staining playground equipment, trimming and hauling away debris and building fence. It was a wonderful sight to see with so many volunteers from our community helping with nearly 100 different projects on the Day of Caring.
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Birding in Willamette Valley - November 5, 2009 |
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On November 5, 14 HPREC members went on a Birding expedition to the Philomath Treatment Pond and McFaddin Marsh led by Audubon Society field trip leader Rich Armstrong. Considering it was November, we had good weather with a few sprinkles. We saw lots of different ducks, Canada/crackling geese, some hawks/eagles, herons/egrets and some little birds like sparrows. At each stop along the way, Rich used his expertise, spotting and explaining each species of bird we saw, he and Carolyn had high powered scopes to look thru so we had “a birds’s eye view” of each bird. As we arrived at the Philomath Treatment Pond we were greeted by seeing a beautiful bald eagle land and perch in a tree close by.
We ended the birding activity with lunch at McGrath’s and had some nice social time. It was a cool day so many people had either stew or clam chowder.
I want to thank Rich Armstrong who did a fantastic job leading the activity and Carolyn Bales who suggested the activity to Judy Thompson and helped on the activity with her expertise and scope. Rich also sent to me and I distributed to the group information on the Corvallis Audubon Society, mid-valley Birding Society, recommendations on reference on birding, and an extensive (33) list of birds that we saw.
Those attending were Carolyn Bales, Neal and Linda Meyers, Kathy and Rich Amos and friend (Marisa), Dick and Julie Oughton, John and Jodi Altendorf, Sharon Butterfield, Margaret Watson, and Ken and Joanne Imamura.
CLICK HERE to see more photos.
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