I found it hard to leave Itty Bitty Inn, in no small part because of the comfortable bed. But the central coast awaited, and the first stop was Umpqua River Lighthouse, the first lighthouse on the Oregon coast. It’s situated next to active Coast Guard barracks and is supposed to be a good spot for whale watching. We didn’t see any whales, and so continued on to the Sea Lion Caves. I still feel cautious being around people, so I stayed in the car at this crowded tourist attraction while Jeff toured the facility and took some good pictures of the animals and Heceta Head Lighthouse in the distance. We attempted to drive closer to that lighthouse, but Google took us to a private driveway, and we had to move on. The next several places seemed to run together in the area between Neptune Beach, Cape Perpetua, and Otter Rock. There were incredible rock formations and treacherous shores that surely made this a prime area for shipwrecks before the myriad lighthouses were built. With names like Thor’s Well, the Devil’s Churn, and the Devil’s Punchbowl, it’s clear the locals know how dangerous the features of this coast are. For lunch, we stopped at Newport Cafe. This diner’s claim to fame is an eight-pound burger. We certainly didn’t try to tackle such a monstrosity, but the burgers we did order were pretty big and filled us up well into the evening. One of my favorite spots we visited on this leg of the trip was Yaquina Head Lighthouse. We thought it was going to be another quick hop out and back in the car, but we discovered that it’s part of the National Park System as an “Outstanding Natural Area.” Not only was the lighthouse very picturesque, the wildlife sanctuary afforded us the opportunity to see seals, sea lions, and sea birds. We made our way to our room in Lincoln City at Siletz Bay Beachfront Hotel. Directly beside it on the beach was Mo’s Restaurant, where Jeff went to bring supper back to our room. Included with our meal was marionberry cobbler. I had been wanting to try this uniquely Oregonian fruit, and I liked it better than a normal blackberry. While the cobbler was seedy, I enjoyed the sweet-tart taste. I’ll have to find a souvenir shop that sells the jam to take home.