Capes and Coastlines

Odometer as of Newport: 893km
The Oregon coast is beautiful! Although it seems to be filled with large hills every 25km or so, the views from the top make them well worth the climb.

On Saturday, we hiked 8km up to the top of Mt. Neahannie, which is the same hike that I did with Jessie, Jenn, and Jessi during our Spring Break adventure last year. The view from the top is absolutely incredible (and is the 3rd most photographed place in Oregon according to the local propaganda).

On Sunday, we completed our first 80+ km day which included a visit to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Since it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the parking lot was crammed full of RV's, campers, and even school buses (I'd estimate that 15 school buses unloaded dairy-deprived teenagers in the hour that we were there). The ice cream at the end was top-notch and the enormous bag of "poorly-shaped" discount garlic cheese will keep our neighbours angry with us for a week. It was so warm and sunny, that I actually got a sunburn (not that it takes a lot to burn me). Despite a minor lecture from Chloe about the importance of sunscreen, I'm considering this training for Africa.

The Cape Meares Lighthouse provided a fantastic lookout for birds and we finished an 8km hike out to Cape Lookout yesterday. We got there just in time to admire the view before we watch ed the fog roll in from the ocean at a shocking speed. The next few hours were spent in a grey mist which seems to be continuing today. My thighs are warning me that no hills will be tolerated until they get a rest, so we are looking forward to a relaxing day in Newport tomorrow (which will likely include another exciting game of travel Scrabble!)