Well, if you read yesterday you saw that I survived the ride! Did pretty darn good actually! And my gorgeous wife was there to pick me up and take me to hotel.
So this time we didn’t skimp I booked us at the Inn at Spanish Head in Lincoln City.
It is built on the side of a cliff and every room has a great view.
We went to the top floor to eat, and I had the BEST Pesto seafood dinner! Even after the ride, I was finally full! Plus, with both of us eating, and a glass of wine apiece, it was only $60!
We went back to the room, opened a bottle of wine we purchased in Walla Walla last weekend, and hung out in front of the sliding glass door to watch the ocean and the waves.
Now Northwest Beaches are not like other places. On the east coast, California, the South, and Hawaii, I hear legends of people who lay on the beach to get a tan, and who go swimming in the water to cool off… That is not our beaches! We have cold water beaches. With the winds off the water, it’s a rare day the temp hits 75, and the water is never over 50 degrees. It is no exaggeration that a person who falls into the ocean from a boot, in the middle of August, can quickly suffer hypothermia!
And I LOVE our beaches! Especially Oregon. There are sandy beaches perfect for long walks, building sand castles and flying kites. There are rocky beaches with crashing waves, sea stacks and incredible tidal pools. If you like to watch birds, you will see herons, pelicans, eagles, and yes even these guys
The best part, though, is the proximity of the hotels to the water. In some, like this one, they are close enough to get spray from the big waves. (In Washington, where I live, they are at least a half mile from the water) Being this close means you see everything that goes on in the waves in front of you. That night, Michelle and I saw 3 or 4 gray whales swimming by the hotel! Nothing could be cooler!
We slept with the door open and the sound of the waves crashing. My only gripe is we only had one night!
Now my wife was born on the Oregon coast, and grew up for a bit there. One of the treats for her was going to Sambos. Well In Lincoln City, Sambos is still operating, so guess where we went for breakfast?
Yep we were the first customers! Pretty damn good breakfast too! Then of course a stop on the way back at Starbucks!
We loaded up the car and heading north. We decided to go back to Pacific City, to see what the town was like when the cyclist left! The beach was taken over by Sea Kayakers and Surfers (all in wet suits mind you!)
And it was just plain gorgeous!
The next stop was the Tillamook Cheese Factory.
Here on the west coast, there is NO better cheese than from these guys! We did the self tour, ate the free samples (including cheese curds (Squeaky Cheese! (It Squeaks as you chew it)) Then we brought home some garlic cheddar! DAYAM it made a good grilled cheese!!
We drove north along the rest of the coast, and through Cannon Beach (Michelle had never been on the north part of the coast) She loved it! She is already looking for a place for us to stay for a long weekend in Cannon Beach!
Once we hit Washington it was a bee-line home! We got lucky with traffic, and where we didn’t I had a few tricks I learned in Pullman to get around it! We were home and unpacked before 5!
The bike was cleaned and lubed, all sand and grime is gone, I packed for today’s bike commute home. (It will be a slow one). All in all a great weekend! perfect ride and some relaxing at the beach! Too bad its back to work!
Related articles
- “See that Rock… Its the ocean!” (mountainstroh.wordpress.com)
Oregon Coast Cyclist 