Day 2 - Newport to Brookings, OR

Today was a great day! It was a little rainy at first, but it shaped up to be a fantastic sunny day on the Oregon Coast! We stopped at some very cool places along the way from the LaQuinta Inn in Newport to Brookings, OR! After a good night's sleep we were all ready to hit the road once again!

The first sight that we stopped to see was at Heceta Head Lighthouse. Besides the gorgeous view of the lighthouse itself, there was a cove of about 75 to 100 sealions! It was an amazing sight & when we got out of the car to take pictures, we could hear all of them barking!!

Heceta Head Lighthouse - Florence, OR

Sea Lions at Heceta Head's Sea Lion Cove

Kylie LOVED seeing & hearing the sea lions! It had to be the coolest thing we've seen so far! Since leaving the hotel this morning, Kylie was asking to "go to the beach." So, we were constantly seeking an area where there was beach access and we found it at Oregon Dunes State Park. We climbed a huge sand dune to get to the actual beach & ocean, but it was well worth it! Kylie loved playing in the sand and the water! Mom-Mom got to put her feet into the Pacific Ocean and was walking along the water looking for seashells & sand dollars. Jillian wasn't as excited about the beach, freaking out when her little toes hit the sand. She warmed up though and ended up loving every minute! We could've stayed on the beach all day, but we still had about 3 hours left to our trip so we had to say good-bye to the beach....for now!

Kylie running down the sand dune to get to Daddy & Jillian.

Kylie & Mom-Mom playing in the Pacific!

The Thayers at Oregon Dunes Beach - it's almost impossible to get all 4 of us to look at the camera at the same time!

Jillian enjoying her feet in the sand at last!

So our day has now come to an end, but what an enjoyable day we had! Tomorrow we leave Brookings, OR and head to Redwood National Park in California and eventually to Arcata, CA. It's a bit of a shorter day in travel time, but we plan on spending lots of time exploring Redwood National Park! We definitely recommend, if you ever get the chance, to drive down the coast of Oregon - you will not be disappointed! Till tomorrow..... ~The Thayers & Mom-Mom