Monday, June 14 - Day 1 - 59.1 miles

We finally took off on our cross-country attempt. It was a breezy and cool morning when we left the campground to make our way to the shore. We did not schedule many miles for today (or the first week for that matter). We knew that it would take a while to get into the groove of packing up camp and with the first day pictures at the start, our start time would be a little later than usual.

Performing the Classic Dipping of the Back Wheel in the Pacific Ocean

Taking off From the Park at the Shore

The ride went well for our first day. We thought we were off course once, but we were not. The views weren't great and the traffic was pretty heavy. I think I got passed by more cars in one day than I get passed by in an entire summer back home. I think everyone felt real good all day. Bobby did claim once that he wasn't tired, he had only "used up all his energy". Evidently those are two different things in his eyes.

We made it to the hotel in Monmouth around 2:00 and got a bite to eat while we waited for Kim and the kids to arrive. They had an excellent day of sight-seeing. They traveled up the coast and saw a lot of beautiful sights. I will put a few pictures below. Kim is really getting into the tourist mode. She is taking the kids to an aquarium tomorrow back over by the coast. The kids are really looking forward to that.

Tomorrow we are only putting in around 60 miles again. We have some big climbs coming soon, so we are easing our way into things. We are camping for the next couple of days, so posts might be delayed for a couple of days. If we find service, we will get some posts up.

Here are the family's views for the day:

The Famous "Octupus" Sitka Spruce

Cape Kiwanda State Park


Cape Meares Lighthouse

Cliffs at Cape Meares State Park