Day 1 - To our surprise, we woke up to blue skies and sun, with an occasional cloud. However, the clouds always seemed to be in front of us and the boys and never on top of us. The Lord is good! After the boys took off from Ft. Stevens State Park, Shannon and I took nice warm showers and got ready for the day. Before fully leaving the park, we stopped by the Battery Fort monument and walked through and took a few pictures. I think we would have done more exploring if our husbands would have been with us; it was a bit creepy in there. We then started driving and meet up with the boys a few spots along the way. But, to our surprise, we spent almost as much time driving as they did riding. We thought we would have tons of free time along the way. We did meet them in Tillamook at the Cheese Factory for a very late lunch....and lots of cheese and icecream. We just couldn't resist! We then did some searching for a camp site as we weren't sure what the weather was going to do over the night and into the morning. At first we reserved a few cabins after there weren't any yurts available at Cape Lookout State Park. After chatting with the boys, we wanted to give it a shot because this state park was so nice. Are we glad we did! We found a great site that we were able to squeeze all 5 tents onto. As soon as the boys were done riding, they went into the ocean to cool off and ice their bodies down after a hard workout. They got showered and then we waited for the rest of the crew to join up with us - the Rollingers and the Binghams came after work on Friday. And boy did they make an entrance....windows down and the radio blaring! Dustin and I made tacos for dinner and it was delicous. We had a perfect evening around the campfire and then all went to bed. A funny story - well, now it's funny but wasn't at the time - Alex got his tent collapsed by a couple of twirp teenage boys in the middle of the night. Then they had the audacity to walk back into the camp and he caught them! Ahhh...the look on their faces I am sure was priceless. We all heard about it in the morning after not being sure who Alex was yelling at in the middle of the night.
Day 2 - The Lord is awesome! We woke up to gorgeous, clear, blue sunny skies and could not have asked for better ridding weather than what we got on Saturday. We somewhat took our time getting ready and packing up camp today because we were on no one's schedule but our own. We all ate breakfast, did a little bit of individual reading from the bible, and packed up camp. After the trucks were packed and the boys were off, the girls took showers, got ready, and relaxed a bit. We then took our time driving down Hwy 101 while the boys were riding. We met up with them in Lincoln City at the outlet stores for a picnic lunch provided by the Rollingers. Meghann and Trevor did not skimp on getting the good fixin's for the sandwiches. They were definitely ready for some food by this point. After lunch, we jumped in the trucks and drove to Beverly Beach State Park where we were able to score yet another sweet campsite. And - another great blessing from the Lord - the first Saturday in June happens to be free tent camping night. So tonight we didn't have to squeeze all 5 tents onto 1 site so we got two...for FREE! The girls were able to have camp 90% set up by the time the men arrived on the bikes - tired and sun burnt. What a great day of riding....And thankfully this site did actually have some tree cover because it was raining most of the night and the entire morning while we packed up. The Binghams had dinner tonight, which was absolutely delicious - sausage kabobs with all the veggies, rice, and a tasty salad. Thanks Chris and Nichole! Then we hung by the fire until it was bed time. Ahhh...got to love camping!
Day 3 - Our poor men...this day was so cold, windy, and wet. But like the strong manly men that they are of course they pushed through it and rode their final 60 miles from Bevery Beach State Park (north of Pacific City) to Honeyman State Park (south of Florence). To say the least, they were ready for their hot showers and dry clothes by the time we met up with them at the finish line. And as you can see below, us girls were entertaining ourselves in the rain while waiting for them to arrive. This was the "universal sign" in campground lingo for a shower facility. We finished out the trip with a tasty lunch - thanks Alex - at Abby's Pizza in Florence. After 200 miles on a bike in 3 days, I'd say they deserved it.
