I expected riding away today to feel like a rush. Like the weight of the world would be instantly lifted from my shoulders and I would feel the sensation of sudden freedom pumping through my veins and my soul flying free.
Instead, what I got was a slow – very slow – pressure release. My mind instinctively searching for a responsibility to act on or remember, and then constantly reassuring myself that there’s nothing left but to breathe in this open road. Slowly, I ease into what is about to be my new normal as my happiness turns from lukewarm to a low simmer. I’m content and peaceful, but haven’t truly accepted that I’m free.
The first day we rode from home to Lassen National Park. We picked out camp inside the park early in the day with plenty of time to eat at late lunch, set up camp, go for a walk and have some leisure time before dark. The temperature was perfect – the refreshing kind of chilly that comes with altitude and makes your coffee taste extra special.
We rode the twisty backroads to the California coast, experiencing a progression from a moody, whimsical mist to a soaking downpour that wore us all the way out. We got a cheap motel and dried our soggy gear over the room heater and our little Floof-sized hairdryer, grateful for this little luxury I brought along.
The Oregon coast was beautiful as expected. We hiked down to Natural Bridges, where the ocean has carved massive arches into the rock over thousands of years, then headed to Port Orford to let the bikes have a little excursion of their own to run free on the beach. It’s not every day you get to trade pavement for sand with the Pacific Ocean as your backdrop.
Coos Bay is home to a little food stand called Frying Nemo, which we had to go to just for the name. The fried Sole was fresh and delicious, and inside the bar around the corner I had the most excellent coconut jalapeño margarita.
We made a detour over to Eugene to visit with Donny’s aunt Rosie, who was kind enough to receive some packages for us. Rosie McGee is an OG Deadhead who has lived an incredible story. She is a self-published author who has documented the decade she spent living and traveled with The Grateful Dead in the 60’s and 70’s through her writing and photography. We spent hours in great conversation with Rosie, and her life is inspiring and full of perseverance.
Since this trip is 1/5th about the discovery of new good coffees, we also made our first purchase of a bag of beans in Eugene from Tailored Coffee Roasters to break into after we finish the bag of our favorite hometown coffee from Old World Coffee that we left with. A washed Bolivia, light roast of course.
No trip to Oregon would be complete without a pitstop at Tillamook Creamery for some ice cream.
Our last day in Oregon we stayed in an AirBnB inside an old victorian home in Astoria. We visited the spectacle of the Peter Iredale shipwreck, and I was honestly surprised by the lack of vandalism given how easy this relic was to access. The Peter Iredale was sailing from Salina Cruz, Mexico to Portland where it was supposed to pick up wheat destined for the United Kingdom. High winds and strong currents ran the ship aground here near the mouth of the Columbia River on October 25, 1906.
The next morning at a burrito stand, a curious stranger trapped me in conversation about the motorcycles and asked if Donny’s bike was called an “Africa Twirl.” I chuckled because this is the second time someone has made this observation about the bike – the first time was my best friend Jenny. We may be onto something here, and if it keeps happening the name might just have to stick.
