The next day we explored some of the dunes. The sand dunes by the Oregon Coast are about two miles wide and span maybe a quarter of the coast in the south, and some of them are up to 400 feet high. It was fun climbing the dunes and watching Ben roll down one, but there's not much fun to be had without an ATV.
A lot of the fun of our trip is being able to take our time sometimes and really enjoy the drive and the towns along the way. One town which we stopped in was North Bend. We stopped to look for coupons in the visitor's center, and the nice attendant informed us of a good seafood restaurant and some other fun things to do on the way to the Redwoods. The seafood restaurant was in Charleston, a harbor town which has "the freshest seafood in Oregon." We ate our fish and chips at the Sea Basket while gazing out over the seafood boats in the marina. While the fish was a bit too greasy, and the batter wasn't great, the fish itself was good. The clam chowder was very good. Being in a locally favored restaurant where the fish travels about forty feet to get to my table really made my Oregon Coast experience. There are few places in Mobile that can boast such fresh seafood, although it is a port city. Plus the seafood isn't as good anyways.
After lunch, we took a little scenic route to a marine life view point. There was a group of rocks covered in sea lions. They were pretty far out, and we ran out of quarters, so I didn't get to see them through the telescope. Even from 100 yards away, the noise of a few hundred sea lions can be deafening.
At the end of the day we camped at a state park right on the beach and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the Pacific. We woke up and went searching for seal pups which many signs warned us not to bother, but there were none to bother. We did find some very friendly and eager squirrels, though.
The Oregon Coast is so uniquely beautiful; I think it may be one of my favorite parts of the trip.
