Day 59: Tide Pooling, Scenic Overlooks, a Good Lunch and Sea Lions
Florence, OR through Cape Perpetua and Newport to Tillamook, OR
131.79 Miles | 3:40 Riding Time
It’s Saturday, June 8, 2024, and it’s Day 59 of my cross country motorcycle trip.
Not a lot of miles, but a whole lot of cool stops. The first was at Bob Creek Beach, where I spotted a bunch of folks tide pooling, and I joined them. It was perfect conditions for it. Super-low tide and early in the morning (about 8:30). There were thousands of little tide pools with all kinds of critters in them. There were crabs, anemones, juvenile halibut, mussels, barnacles, and i’m sure lots of other things that I just didn’t spot. I ran into a couple with two young daughters that were excited to show off the “baby halibut” and tiny little crabs. It was great to see the amazement and spirit of exploring the two little one had. Hope they never lose that. Another couple was looking for Oregon Agate, and finding lots of it. I had never heard of that, so the mom said, “welcome to Oregon. Here’s your first piece of Oregon Agate.” There are some nice folks in this place.
After that, it was over to Cape Perpetua, “the highest viewpoint accessible by car on the Oregon Coast,” at 800 ft above the water. The views were amazing in spite of (actually probably because of) the fog. As I was wandering the trails, I met Jonah and Nicki. She was from Brooklyn and was driving pretty much the same route as me, but in the opposite direction. We exchanged suggestions of places to go. Then Boone walked up with Penelope and Sasha (his two doggos), and we all just chatted for a while.
The next stop was in Newport, OR. lunch at the Clearwater Restaurant (I’ve also heard that Cafe Stephanie and Local Ocean are good as well) on the water, overlooking the pier where the sea lions hang out. I had some fish and chips and chatted with a guy from Cupertino who was moving up to Oregon and looking to figure out where he wanted to be.
Back on the road, it was a pretty ride up to Tillamook, where I would have dinner, throw in some laundry, and spend the night.
These random interactions with people a highlight of the trip for me. Everyone has an interesting story of where they’ve been and where they are going. And being on the road, really opens me up to asking and hearing about their adventures. And, locals almost always want to tell you about why they like living where they live. I’ve gotten a lot of advice on this trip, and it has made this adventure better. Flipping the introvert switch to extrovert, isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it.
