Day 3 (7/13) breakfast from the bin (cereal, bagels, etc.) and then some failed stops. No one wanted to walk the half-mile from the parking lot to see the Port Orford lighthouse, so we skipped it. We intended to stop at the Vines Art Glass gallery, but it was closed. We did pull over at “Something Awesome” but it gave off the vibe that someone with 5 teeth might come out and point a shotgun at you. It’s supposed to be a wood mill with sculptures. There were some sculptures visible, they didn’t seem to be in good repair.
So we continued on until we passed through Bandon and took a break at the Coquille River Lighthouse. The girls spent some time watching the waves crash over the rocks and then we walked along the beach a bit.
Lunch was further along in Coos Bay at a DQ Grill & Chill. This was when we discovered Oregon’s obsession with one-way streets. I expect to find one-way streets in cities, but Oregon seems to use them everywhere. In this case we were leaving the DQ and I made a right turn to head the direction we came from back towards 101, but on a different street than we had entered the parking lot. Neither the parking lot nor the road itself has any indication that the road is one way when entering it from the parking lot. So, I was going the wrong way. Thankfully there was no traffic for several blocks and it was immediately obvious I was on the wrong side and was able to turn around. If you’re going to use one-way streets you gotta keep them clearly labeled at all entrance points. So that was fun.
Continuing on, our next stop was the Darlingtonia State Natural Site. This is a prime home of Darlingtonia Californica, also known as Cobra Lilies, one of the few carnivorous plants. They’re pretty unique. They’re a pitcher-plant style trap in which insects get stuck in the digestive juices at the base. I managed to snap a picture of a wasp being lured into one. Following along with imitating the dinosaurs at Prehistoric Gardens, the girls gave me their best imitation of the Cobra Lilies.
7 minutes up the road from the Cobra Lilies is Sea Lion Caves (this is all just north of Florence, Oregon). They claim to be the largest sea cave in the United States and it’s home to sea lions. Take the elevator ride down to the viewing room and check them out.
Our stop for the night was Seagrass Oceanfront Inn in Newport, Oregon. We first headed for Oregon Coast Glassworks, but they were locking up early just as we pulled into the parking lot. So another glass-art facility missed. We checked into the hotel and then walked up the street to Yummy Bowl. It was delicious Chinese food with way-too-large portions. Even anticipating this and ordering only 2 entrees to share we had to leave a meal’s worth of food behind.
View from the hotel room:
