Oregon Coast - Newport to Brookings

I started this day warning Matt and our kids that it was all about the journey and not the destination.  We had four hours of driving to do, but there was no rush.  I wanted to stop and see everything along the way.  We were on the road by 10.  I was excited to see more of the coast, and I read that it got prettier the farther south you went.  I think I agree.  The drive was beautiful and our stops were fun. 

Our first stop was Willa Street.  Clark wanted to know where Clark Street was.  And we actually passed one a few hours later, right after Lewis Street in North Bend.  But we kept it a secret because Oliver was napping.  And when a baby is napping in the car, we don't stop.

 

Our first real stop was Cape Perpetua Scenic Area.  This is best seen at high tide when the waves are crashing on the rocks and putting on a show.  We were there at low tide.  We saw a few spouts of water, but mostly we saw more tide pools.  We hiked around a bit, took a few pictures, and then got back in the car because of the wind.

 

 

Next we stopped at Heceta Beach below Heceta Head Lighthouse.  This wasn't a planned stop.  We just realized that we needed to make lunch before Oliver fell asleep.  After Cape Perpetua, we were planning to drive 2 hours without stopping in hopes of Oliver getting in a nap.  It actually worked.  Oliver napped right on schedule.  I loved Heceta Beach.  I wanted to stay longer.  It was so peaceful and beautiful.  But because of the wind, we made sandwiches in the parking lot and ate in the car.

 

 

 Oliver napped, Clark and Willa watched movies, and Matt and I oohed and awed over the scenery.  Our kids were quiet.  Matt and I talked.  It was lovely.

 

We stopped in Bandon for a beach hike and ice cream after Oliver woke up.  Another beautiful but windy stop.  Bandon Beach was covered in sea stacks.  I love sea stacks.  We sure don't have any sea stacks on the beaches in Florida. 

 

Willa loves hiking and was excited to hike.  Every time we got back in the car after walking along a beach or a path on a cliff, she would say - I thought you said we were going hiking.  To her, hiking takes place in the woods, climbing up a mountain.  I learned I had to start calling the beach hikes, walks so Willa wouldn't be disappointed.

 

  

 

 

The kids and Matt climbed on the rocks and jumped off.  We hung out in the shelter of the massive rocks and played in the warm sand.

 

 

We went to Face Rock Creamery after the beach.  This was so fun. Willa wanted dessert at dinner the night before and I told her we'd find a treat on our drive to Brookings.  The creamery sold huge cups of ice cream for $2.  It was yummy.  But the best part was all the free cheese samples.  I love cheese.  I'd choose cheese over ice cream any day. 

 

 

The seating was upstairs in an open loft.  We enjoyed our ice cream and eyed all the cheese samples down below.  I actually threw some of my ice cream away because I was so excited to sample the cheese.  They had all the typical flavors and then unique flavors like pizza, vampire slayer (garlic), in your face (pepper jack), and cranberry walnut cheddar.  There were also cheese curds.  Matt and I had never had cheese curds before.  We really liked them.

 

 

 The drive between Bandon and Brookings was gorgeous.  I remember loving the areas around Humbug Mountain and Port Orford but we didn't stop.  I want to remember that in case we visit the Oregon coast again.

 

We made another quick pull off before Brookings - Cape Sebastian State Park.  It has beautiful panoramic views of the area.

 

We made it to our condo in Brookings in time to see the sunset.  We picked up some to-die-for Thai take-out and called it a night.