The ride to the coast was uneventful. The weather was pleasant but the scenery was undemanding. They call it the Evergreen State for a reason. Every once in a while a view of the Olympics would peek out from between the trees, but I knew that we weren't going to get any closer. Even when we reached the western limits of Washington the views were hampered by more trees. Finally near Raymond, WA, we saw the ocean, tucked darkly underneath constant clouds. But the temperatures were warm, the sun shone through occassionally and traffic was not a problem. We continued south to Oregon.

In Oregon we found some more sunshine and, more importantly, the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Yum! Dan and I stopped, gawked at the people cutting endless loaves of cheese and then had to buy some for ourselves and our hosts in Eureka.

Because we had left so late in the day we didn't have time to stop in McMinnville to see the Spruce Goose and even without that detour we were only able to get as far as Lincoln City before calling it quits for the day. We walked around the town quite a bit, enjoying the chance to stretch our legs after a day in the saddle.

The next morning brought the storms that had been threatening on the weather channel for the past few days. It wasn't a hard rain by any means. But what it was was a drenching mist, a blowing wind that pushed each water droplet against every surface that it could. It wasn't long before Dan was soaked through, his gear better suited for the drier climes of California. A relatively quick stop for hot chocolate in Waldport didn't help us warm up much, so we took a much-needed stop in Reedsport in order to dry off in the only way possibly at this point. Forty-five minutes and untold number of quarters later, we were both dry and ready to continue on.

Eventually the rain gave way to reluctant sunshine and we got to see the rest of the Oregon coast. I missed quite a bit of it due to the rain, but I can still say that now that I've done it, I have little need to do it again. Oh well, it was still a good ride and we still had more to go!

Friday night we had made arrangements to stay with our dear friends Gil and Becky in Eureka. We were right on time, as Gil was just lighting the grill for the burgers and Becky was showing off their homemade french fries. And to top it all off, there was Gil's homemade blackberry cobbler - yum! It was so good to visit with them and spend a relaxing evening with them.

The next morning was a slow one and Dan and I eventually headed south to finish our ride down 101. The heat increased dramatically as we passed by Laytonville and continued to rise until we were near the Golden Gate Bridge. It was an easy day's ride and we had plenty of time to enjoy a dip in the pool when we arrived. And not to be outdone by our friends in Eureka, we went out and got our own nifty grill the next day. Unfortunately I had to leave before we got a chance to try it out, but I hear that it cooks chicken quite nicely. I'm excited to go back in a couple of weeks, this time for good.