The Oregon coast, Tillamook forest, and Portland.

After leaving the cozy little motel that I crashed in the night before, I continued my journey up the coast. It started out sunny, but soon began to grow cooler and greyer. The first sign of this was when I stopped to take some photos of the Heceta Head lighthouse. What a spectacular vista this was, with the lighthouse out on the point and this beautiful cottage just inland from out where the keeper must have lived. The fog hung over the little cove like traces of smoke, almost imperceptible at first glance. I'm sure my phone's camera won't do it justice.
Further north, the fog would continue to thicken until the road got downright wet. I didn't mind though, as the bike soldiered along without any sign of losing it's surefootedness. As I neared Tillamook, I stopped for fuel in the town of Beaver. If only there was a sign at the edge of town saying ” now entering Beaver”. That would have definitely been an opportunity for a thumbs-up photo. Yes, I am sophomoric. No, I don't intend to change :-)
At Tillamook, I hung a right and headed eastward toward the mountains on highway 6. Massive trees soon lined the roadway again as the topography became more three dimensional. I savored this section of road, knowing that out would flatten and straighten as I entered the Willamette valley.
Portland really snuck up on me, since you have to pass through a tunnel on the western side to get there. It also has a lot of bridges (which thankfully are toll-free unlike the ones around S.F.) Crisscrossing the Columbia and Willamette rivers.
After getting lost briefly, I found my way to Jeff and Kimberlee's home in SE Portland. Going around to the back to let myself in, I was awestruck by the amazing garden they had planted back there. Huge tomatos, eggplant, beans, cauliflower, sunflowers and more.
Jeff and Kim arrived home a bit later and after some initial catching up, we headed over to one of the local pubs for a light meal and a pint. After more visiting there, we decided to take a bicycle ride over to the bank of the river and along the many paths that Portland had to offer. After heading over Steel Bridge, I was given a brief tour of SW Portland's riverfront area before crossing the river again via the Morrison Bridge.
We stopped at a'biker bar' called Apex, which had numerous beers on tap. I had a delicious, dark Belgian style ale and listened to Jeff and Kim reminisce about some of the adventures they've had at Apex before riding home and calling it a night.
Today I kept with the cycling theme and pedaled my way along a similar route as that night prior. After checking out a couple of neighborhoods and picking up some stamps at the post office, I headed back over to SW Portland to meet Jeff for lunch. We grabbed some tasty gyros from one of the many food carts in the city. SW Portland seems a bit more Cosmopolitan than the other neighborhoods I had visited. More shopping and corporate buildings than residences. Tomorrow, I think I'll head out toward the Dalles and check out the Columbia River Gorge.
Rather than upload the lower quality photos directly to the blog, I'll put a link here to the better ones I've uploaded to Picasa.