June 7 - Jeff Reporting

Jack and Jeff got in about 10:00 on their flight from Cincinnati.  We rode Frontier.  Good experience.  Jerry and Sue picked us up, and we made the two hour trip to Astoria where they had already secured a campground.  We went out to dinner at a place called the Rogue where they had 9,193 beers on tap.  Had a great meal.  Everybody was able to finish their meal except Jack.  He needed help finishing his pizza.  A large pizza.  Jeff and Jerry and Jim Lubbers ( he and his wife Karen are along part of the trip) were more than happy to oblige helping Jack finish the pizza.  Hard to believe.  The Rogue was a very rustic establishment that I would highly recommend.  Great food, character and of course 9, 193 beers on tap.  Seas lions were in the bay outside the bar which used to be a cannery.  The odd thing about the bar was that there was no TV.  We could not watch the Reds/Cardinals game.  Across from the Rogue was the house that the Academy award winning movie, the Goonies was filmed.  And if I am not mistaken, I think the Kindergarten Cop was filmed in Astoria also.  Of course, we had a toast to the success of the trip.  Had a campfire and turned in early with time change in effect.

Big news.  Jeff developed a list of contacts, learned how to take a picture, send a picture , and reply to a text on  his new phone.  Those of you who know Jeff, know how big this is.

June 8

No flat tires today.  But last night we did drink a Fat Tire. 

Strange thing about the Transamerica Trial is that there is no official starting spot.  The map shows an address that is the Maritime Museum in Astoria.  So our original idea was to dip our back tires in the Pacific and front tires in the Atlantic.  No place to dip tires in water at the Museum.  So we started our adventure from the Museum location and rode to a city called Seaside where someone suggested there is a place to dip.  So we get to Seaside after traveling along the Lewis and Clark trail.  It is a low tide, so we had to carry our bikes to the water because we didn’t want to get sand on the bikes.  Sand is very very bad for bikes.  It was a distance of about 400 yards.  We carried them to make it official.  Not sure if we passed the IQ test on that one.  Got a picture and made it official.  On the way along Lewis and Clark trail, we stopped at all the Historical Marker spots.  Thus, the trip will be educational as well.  We will be experts on certain things when we get back.  We did have to consult the map on several occasions and get help from a young lady of about 58 who could tell we needed  help because we were riding in circles at a four way stop.  We crossed a sign that said Draw Bridge.  Big problem.  Nobody brought crayons or a pen.  So we continued on.    Jeff made the statement that the draw bridge looked exactly like the bridge that Jimmy Stewart jumped off of in the movie It is a Wonderful Life.  Jerry and Jack did not agree.

After Seaside, which is a great little resort town, we encountered ots of hills, lots of trucks, and lots of beautiful scenery.  Hills were very gradual.  We probably stopped about a dozen times.  If we stopped at every coffee shop or pub or restaurant that looked special.  We would have gone a total of 20 miles rather than the 75 we did the first day.  Oregon is a very very neat state.  I can say neat because I was born in the 50’s.

Met one lady who was pushing a stroller loaded down with her supplies.  She had begun in O’ Canada and was shooting for San Diego.  She was walking for Peace and children in Africa.  Met another guy doing the same trip as us only to Washington DC.  He was doing it unsupported while smoking an artificial cig.  Met a guy watching the waves in the Pacific behind the Catholic Church, St.  Mary’s of the Seas. I don’t know if he was sure about us.   Everyone was more than friendly.  Met a couple in one of the cool little town of Marinzata who informed of us that Oregonians are all very friendly.  Got sketched by some guy in Marinzata.  While in Marinzata, we stopped to check out the beach and take a short break.  Jerry and Jeff went to the coffee shop.  On the way to the coffee shop, Jeff spotted a picture of a Mudd Dog.  A version of the Chicago Dog.  It had a whole pickle, Vienna sausage, sweet relish, pepper, sauerkraut, and mustard.  I could not resist.  Road after Marinzata was rough pavement. Thank God for the Gators.   And lots of traffic.

Jack bought some cherries from a roadside stand giving free samples.  Attendant said Oregon has only 50 days of sunshine a year.  Ninety-four inches of rain last year.

We ended up in the city of Tillamook.  Well known for their world renown cheese.  Jack got free samples first before he bought some of their cheese.  Good cheese no matter who cut it.

On the way back to campsite, Jeff purchased a condo.  Well not like land but a tent.  Sorry Clair, but your tent made me claustrophobic.  So I bought a 3 man tent for me.  I figured that if I’m going to do this for three months, I’m not going to suffer.  Not sure how Clair slept in that tent for the months she was on the Appalachian Trail.

Tomorrow, we  head out early to avoid the traffic along route 101.  Hope to get in at least 60 more miles.  Depends on traffic and weather.

Got back and went to the beach in walking distance of our campsite.  Powerful waves.  Sue made  us a deeeelicious dinner of pasta with mett.  No leftovers.