Meet the Newlyparents!

When I arrived at Nehalem Bay park I rode to the washroom before heading to the hiker biker sites. I met John first.  He asked if I was looking for the hiker biker sites, and directed me on how to get there.  I thanked him and almost sprinted the few feet to the washroom.

When I got to the site, I started to eat and began with the 2 lbs bag of carrots and passed them around the fire.  There was John, and his friend Tom.  They met on the Peace Corps back in the 70s and were doing a tour down the coast.  There was also Daniel and his daughter Mikaela from Ottawa.  David was on his way down the coast to Fort Bragg. Judy and Mike were from New Zealand and on a $50/day budget.  

I kept passing the carrots around and also passed around some of the smoked salmon I had bought at Josephson's on Astoria.  Not long after we all hit the hay.

The next morning I got up early enough to ensure I got to the Tillamook Cheese Factory in time to meet Luke, Sarah and Jeff.  I was excited to meet Luke and looking forward to hanging out with Sarah and Jeff again.  Even so, I had lots of time to enjoy the scenery along the coast.  I dipped into residential streets to get a better view.  Seeing the water never gets old.  I even turned around to take a picture of a house, or not-so house I wizzed by, as it was mostly missing.

Even though lunchtime was only an hoot or two away, I couldn't pass by my first taco truck without ordering something.  Even though fish tacos were not onthe menu, I ordered 2 fish tacos.  They were $1.50 each.

I forget the name of the guy who served me, but his mom's name was Josephine, and I thanked her for the delicious tacos. 

They were really fresh and delicious, and fairly light so I would still be able to eat with the newlyparents.

Not far after the Mexistand I saw Mike, Judy and David.  I took a picture of David  in front of these small but beautiful haystacks just off the coast.

It wasn't long after that I got to Tillamook and saw the can't-miss-it cheese factory.

They had free samples of ice cream and the flavour was one of my faves, mint chocolate chip!!!  David rolled up and I watched his bike as he toured around.  He journaled and watched my bike after Sarah, Jeff and Luke came by and we ate.  Meeting Luke was great, and from what I understand, he loves the beaver I got him. Sarah wrote, "His eyes got all big and he started kicking his legs and flailing around... it was hilarious. Anyway, he loves his beaver and is very happy playing with it at his high chair."  He's definitely a happy kid! 

After we ate Jeff got the address to the Airplane Museum.  It was 6 miles away and a mostly downhill ride.  It was hard to miss.  I could see it from at least 2 miles away!

The place was so incredibly huge, I just marveled at it.  Even without planes, it would be worth the entry fee.  It was a massive hanger made of wood, as Sarah said, like a roller coaster.  I image the top of the hanger would be about 10-12 stories high.

Jeff was enjoying himself immensely, as were the rest of us, but he seemed to enjoy it the most.

I liked some planes more than others.  Roses Raiders was pretty awesome.

But this makeshift helicopter was too cool!

They had all kinds and sizes of planes.

And this is a shot of when it was used for blimp production.

After our time at the plane museum, where we spent a few hours at least, we decided to pack my trike in their SUV and  head out to the lighthouse at Cape Meares.

The red and white glass of the lighthouse was cool to look at, even though it wasn't on.  

The next stop was a restaurant to eat.  Jeff was driving up and down the hills like he knew where he was going in a hurry. Sarah commented that he was driving like a roller coaster to which Jeff replied, while getting into a hunch behind the wheel, "Roller Coaster!  Roller Coaster!!  Na na na na na...!!!" He handles comments just like me, not taking the hint as intended.  I'm pretty sure we have the same blood somewhere down the line.

I finally took a family shot.  It was great to just hang out and chat.  Jeff and Sarah mentioned that they needed the break, and I was happy they came out to hang with me.  They are salt of the earth folk and I know we will be friends for the long haul.

The clam chowder was really good, which made our main meals substandard after that setup. 

I also had a beer called Fat Tire, and when it arrived and had a picture of a bike on it, I thought how perfect it was.  Specially considering the spare tire I bought was fatter than the ones I got originally.

It ended up being just a 30 mile ride with the lifts I got, and I found out Cape Meares was closed off to the other bikers.  The rangers let me be dropped off but technically you're supposed to ride in, not get dropped off.  Lesson learned.  I said my goodbyes to Sarah and Jeff and Luke who was sleepy from the long day.  I was glad we had spent as much time together as we did.  And I was off to the hiker biker sites.

The family, all on bikes, next to me proved you could travel by bike no matter your age.  Mohave wanted to try out my trike.  He had to recline to sleeping position to reach the pedals.

The gang from the night before were all present.  They laughed when I passed around the carrots again.