Day 8: The Central Oregon Coast

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse

Brett and I with the Newport Bridge in the background!

A beautiful morning in Newport! We made a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon and hashbrowns.....YUMMY! Then we went to Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. This one wasn't open that early in the morning, so we took pictures out front and enjoyed the views from there! We then hooked up the trailer and headed South. We knew this would be a LONG day of driving so we were glad to get an early start.All the girls at Cape Perpetua!

Brett at Cape Perpetua

Our first stop was Cape Perpetua at Devil's Churn. This was amazing. We hiked down the hillside to a place were the ocean comes back into a deep rock crevice. The power behind the waves was unbelievable. It was such a beautiful location and well worth the hike down. We then went to Cooks Chasm where there was a Spounting Horn, also a part of Cape Perpetua. We did not capture this amazing sight on camera, but we did see several small and one HUGE display. The force of the ocean's waves sounded like thunder as they slam underneath these rock formations. Occasionally the formula is exactly right and water if forced through a small hole and shoots a spray about 20 feet into the air. I was immediately addicted and didn't want to leave for fear of missing another beautiful plume!

The girls at the bottom of Heceta Lighthouse
All of us to the top of Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse as we drove away!

Next we stopped at Heceta Lighthouse. There was a beautiful beach at the base of this hike. We climbed just over 1/2 mile up to the lighthouse. The girls were getting a little tired and whiny towards the top (We figured we had already walked close to two miles before this one!) Needless to say we took a long break at the top and waited for our personal guided tour. The guide was very informative and the girls listened VERY well. We learned about the history of the land, the lighthouse and what they hoped to do in the future. The views were amazing and the girls were rested enough to make the easy hike back down!

Ice Cream Time!

Norah is a MESS!

Abigail enjoyed EVERY bite!

After all that hiking we had to stop for a delicious ice cream cone! We stopped at BJ's Ice Cream in Florence. Abigail enjoyed rainbow sherbert, Norah had smores and Brett and I shared Grasshopper.......YUMMY! Then we continued South........

The Umpqua River Lighthouse

We made a quick stop at the Umpqua River Lighthouse. This one is not open to the public during the time we were there and you even enter the area right close to it, so we made a quick stop and got a picture before continuing the journey.

The Girls are ready to play in the sand!

The view from the Beach at Sunset Bay!

Aww....LOVE YOU BABE!

We made it to Sunset Beach State Park just in time to get a full hook-up site. This campground came recommended by several people and we were hoping to be able to stay here! It is beautiful! We are looking forward to walking on the beach in the morning and enjoying a few more hours here before a shorter trip tomorrow! Ready for a good night sleep =)!