Beaches, Berries, Bridge Pedal

Sadly, I must now say goodbye to Oregon.  I could really see myself being happy here, yet I know I must come full circle to home.  That being said, Oregon will always be here if I change my mind. 

I've gotten closer to Andrea and Omar during my stay here and have gotten to know their group of friends better, who have taken me in with no questions asked.  We've had one final jam packed weekend and I've embraced every last second of it.

The Oregon Coast

Andrea and I started our beach cruise early, stopping in Tillamook State Park to wander in their incredibly modern information center.  It must have some wealthy donors.  We then popped out onto the coast first stopping in the town of Tillamook to check out their farmers market (yeah pigs in a blanket) and the cheese/ice cream factory.  They have the BEST ice cream and we definitely got our fill of dairy.  Thank God we're not lactose intolerant!

We stopped at a few beaches and had some good talks.  Suddenly, both of us were overcome with sleepiness, and luckily we just happened to be cruisin' in my new Honda Element, fully equiped with seats that fold all the way down.  We slept for an hour.

Refreshed and ready to eat, we stopped at Cannon Beach (where the famous Haystack Rock from The Goonies is located), got some grub and checked out the tide pools.  Then we headed home.  It was a great day.

Bridge Pedal
Portland is awesome in that it loves its bikers.  Every year the city shuts down its major roadways (including I-5) and lets the crazy pedalers take over town!  Omar's parents, Chelsea and I participated in the 10 bridge pedal and it was so much fun!  We got great views of the cities, tons of free clif bars and owned it all on our bikes.   I have to say that is one thing I will really miss going back home: commuting on my bike.  I tried to get a good fill of it while here in Oregon.

Berry Picking

So berries are everywhere in Oregon and it's a must to go berry picking at a local farm.  I was lucky enough to have the queen of berry picking, Andrea, show me exactly how it's done.  She picked twice as much as me in an equal amount of time!  Very cool to pick your own food.

So tomorrow I start my journey back east.  The plan: Olympic NP, pick up Matt Fay in Spokane, WA, Glacier NP, meet Matt's friend in Missoula, MT, Yellowstone, Tetons, Denver to meet with dad and attend a wedding, Kansas, Home.  The Element is packed (mostly) and I'm ready.  Really gonna miss Oregon though and all the awesome, incredible amazing people here.  

GOODBYE OREGON =(