We were up early this morning and took advantage of the slim breakfast offered by the hotel (well Adam did, I had bananas, coffee and juice as the other options were soy-laden). We set off in the sunshine 🙂
Armed with our “Cycling the Oregon Coast” map, we headed out.
The bridge out of Astoria was far less intimidating than the one into Oregon and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the white line had actually been moved out to give cyclists more room. We took a slight detour up to Warrenton and Fort Stevens and were surprised to find ourselves on a bike path the entire way. We headed out to Fort Stevens State Park to check out the shipwreck on the beach. The tide was out and you we were able to walk right out onto the beach and check it out. It was gorgeous and we would have been there almost by ourselves except for a group of schoolchildren on a fieldtrip.
We headed south from there, stopping to check out the washrooms in Seaside and the views at the beach in Seaside and Cannon beach. We loaded up at Safeway and ate lunch there.
At Ecola State Park, we took one of the recommended side trip up a very, very steep hill. After cycling all the way in, the first thing that occurred was the host at the park drove up in their golf cart and informed us that “there is NO camping here”. We had not even thought of camping since the sign said “day use only” but now thought that yes it might be a nice spot to camp. It was an interesting moment for us, coming from fairly responsible positions in our professional lives, to be assumed to be the type to break out the tent at a moment’s notice. We really enjoyed the view in the area and left to enjoy the downhill out of there.
After Ecola, we passed through touristy Cannon Beach and cycled through the first tunnel on the Pacific Coast. We found it quite tame compared to the Rockies, as it was straight and equipped with a push button for cyclists to slow the traffic.
We camped in Nehalem Bay State Park that night. The extremely nice host at the park was easy to find and we discovered that Oregon State Parks have yurts that you can usually rent on a walk-in basis during the week during the off season! These are plastic shelters with a wooden frame, lighting, mattresses and a heater, all for only $36! We throughly enjoyed the yurt and got all warmed up and were able to see to cook our dinner outside (you are not allowed to cook in the yurts but you can eat in them). Also, the host informed us that Oregon parks have free hot showers! What a well organized bunch of people! We have found a way to survive Oregon!
Trip Around The World 
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