Monday 15th July.

Pacific city to Nehalem Bay State Park .  54 miles.

  I am now cycling up the coast to Astoria, the official end point of the Trans American cycle route. After that I have a further 200 miles north-east to Seattle! So the blog and cycle ride continues!
     I cycled along the coast, and then over forested hillside to Tillamook, home of American cheese (please can somebody tell Ray that!). After a visit to the Blue Moon Café, I did a spot of sight seeing. First I visited the more up market small blue cheese/wine tasting outfit, which was really a shop. I did not have the courage to ask to wine taste. It all looked very posh, people in suits were sniffing and swilling and I was not dressed for the occasion
     I then visited the very large Tillamook cheese factory, along with hoards of other people. Lots of free nibbles of cheese. I looked down to the factory floor where large blocks of industrial looking cheddar were being cut into slabs. Extra note here On my second day of cycling I met Emily and camped with her for the night. At that time I thought it a bit strange that she had got a special cheese shop in her home town to vacuum pack 14 bits of cheese for her-one for each day of her trip. After over 10 weeks in the U.S.A. I understand why!
    I then cycled on, passing the old port of Garibaldi, where there was a steam train, passing an oyster processing plant and then cycling through Rockaway - a large resort, with lots of motels, Captain Dan's Amusements, Grumpy Jacks Café, and the like.  The main 101 coastal road then took me through the up market antique village of Wheeler, where I had a coke (yes I have descended to that level), on the veranda of the restaurant. Then it was on to Manzanita and into the state park, to camp in the 5 dollar hiker/biker section. There are a lot of strange cyclists whom I do not know!  But Thane, Bobby and Ruffie were there,  a long time before me as usual.
   Great sand dunes and very white sand, but windy so did not spend long on the beach. I did not see it but they have a horse section, in case you have ridden there.