Friday, August 27, 2010

Day 81

Stats
Around in Brookings, OR on our rest day
Net Elevation gain: 0 ft.
Average Speed: 8.9 mph
Top Speed: 21.6 mph
Time spent biking: 30 minutes
Miles biked today: 4.5
Total for trip: 3976.4 miles

Last night we had tossed about the idea of making today a rest day. When we woke up, we talked about it again, and after looking at the maps and the mileages, decided that today was a good day to take off. We would rest our bodies, take care of things for back home, and try to catch up on the blog. Joe and Giana stopped by on their way out this morning, and we gave them hugs in case we don't see them again, though we hope we will. It was hard to let go of the feeling that we should be out there riding, too.

It took most of the morning to really get going, so that was part of the resting. We had been told the beach was amazing at this park, so we were eager to go down and walk along it together. Since it took so long to get ready, we ended up just snacking a bit for breakfast, and then biking into town for brunch at Mo Joe's, a cafe with a wireless signal. Brett got the Belgian waffle with strawberries and whip cream, while Jenny enjoyed the Southwestern Caesar salad, and we split a yummy “frozen chocolate milk.”

Breakfast, lunch, and frozen chocolate milk!

The food was good, and we felt like we accomplished a lot on our to-do list while sitting in the cafe. We posted two entries, talked to family, read a few comments, sent an email or two, we dealt with issues that had come up with the rental property back home, and Brett made a work-related call. He also ran over to the post office to buy an envelope so that we can mail a copy of last year's tax return to MassHealth, which takes care of our health insurance.

After the afternoon was spent at Mo Joe's, we stopped at Fred Meyer again to pick up some groceries for the next few meals. For dinner we got frozen sausage and pesto to go with noodles Brett's mom sent. For breakfast we got yogurt and some fruit to go with the dry cereal and the few blueberries that are left. For lunch tomorrow we bought sandwich meat, sliced muenster cheese, a small head of lettuce, and a red pepper to go with the bread and hummus we already had. Then we took the bike path back out to the state park where our tent was still set up. It felt very strange to “come home” to our tent already set up someplace. That was a first on this trip.

The wind was very strong today, blowing from the north or northwest as it almost always does here from May to November. It was so strong and blustery at the campsite that we decided to switch our dinner meal with tomorrow's lunch meal, and we made up some of the best sandwiches we've had in a long time! Good bread, spicy hummus, lettuce, muenster, red pepper, ham, and pepper turkey created a
nice blend of tastes and textures.

These were the BEST sandwiches!

At last, we were ready for the beach. Oh, but not yet: we had to layer up. The wind was so strong and the sun was hidden behind the clouds that covered the sky. Both of us bundled up with just about all the warm layers we have. Brett, who is usually so warm had on two pairs of pants and a pair of shorts, three long-sleeve shirts and a short-sleeve one, plus his hat. In the end, walking to the beach was enough to warm us up with all those layers, and we didn't have to worry about being cold at all.

We took so many pictures at the beach! The camera filled up and we had to delete a few blurry photos in order to take all that we wanted. The ocean, the rocks, the sand, the waves: they are all so inspiring. We're looking forward to being home, but it has been so nice to see the ocean every day this week.

That's Brett way up there at the top.

Climbing down to the ocean.

Want to play hide and seek?

Ah, the beach. There weren't many rocks to look for, but this was a very nice beach.

Many colorful starfish. We just stood and watched this place for a long time. The waves flowing in and out around the rocks were mesmerizing.

A little bit "washed out", but a shot of us together on the drift wood further up the beach.

Back at the campsite, we sat at the picnic table without being cold because the wind had died down, and we wrote some for the blog, as well as transferring the pictures from the camera to the computer. We talked for a while with other bikers who came into the hiker/biker area. Wim from Belgium has pedaled 6,500 miles since May 9th, hitting New York City, Buffalo, Chicago, Phoenix, Wyoming, Portland, Seattle and points in between, and he's on his way to San Francisco and some more. Two others are on a week-long trip staying in their home state of Oregon. We all had questions for each other and stories to share.

Before we went to sleep, Brett read chapter three of The Incredible Journey aloud. We're glad we took the day off, and we hope we sleep well so we feel more rested for the next section of our trip.

A favorite picture from our stay at Harris Beach State Park.

3 comments:

  1. Such different rock formations on the west coast! I love the starfish picture. And the one of Jenny peeking from the rocks. And the one of Brett climbing up that strange slanted rock. Great photo day.
    Love and hugs, Mom

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  2. I am glad to see more entries going up. These beach pictures are lovely. It sounds like it was a wonderful day. I hope things are good in present time as well as in blog-entry time.

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  3. Wonderful blog entry. Having been on that coast I can easily picture what you are seeing (even without the great photos). The day just isn't complete without your latest entry. Ride on......

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