August 27, 2019
This day had similarities to yesterday, with a few variations in the details of food and campsite services. We had beautiful beach walking, some awesome rocks, not so much roadwalking, and early evening arrival at South Beach State Park Hiker-Biker site.
My notes for the day:
7:20 away from camp at South Beach
8:40 stop to cook breakfast on beach; Potatoes onions garlic cheese
10:36 shoes off. In close view of Seal Rocks cliffs. I’ve been trying all variations of beachwalking: sandals, barefoot, shows and socks. All have pros and cons. The sandals work if I wrap my toes in gauze tape. Barefoot feels great – for a while, then my feet are tired. Shoes are most supportive – and get my shoes wet.
11:16 talked with Washingtonians
11:40 lunch at seal rocks before going up off the beach to get around Seal Rocks. It took just a few minutes to get around this time, and we were quickly back on the beach.
Lunch break included a quick drawing of Seal Rocks.
Seal Rocks Closeup
12:10 leaving beach again for walk on US101 to NW Coast drive. Back soon, this time for a couple of hours.
2:15 off beach at Bayshore Beach Club, Access #67B. We rest in the shade nearby an elegant pool, feeling the awkwardness of the homeless next to the rich. We walk on Westward Dr to Bayshore Dr to the beach on a bay. We have to cross another bridge, lver the Alsea River. We can’t tell if we can get up the dune right at the bridge. We ask a woman walking her dog. She thinks we can. She’s right! There’s a good trail winding up the hill next to, not through the KOA, with its No Trespassing signs. The trail goes right to a park with steps up to the bridge. This one is similar to the Newport Bridge – without the wind today! We are soon across and looking for our route to Ray’s Food Place, a half-mile away.
3:31 At Ray’s we engage our two-visit strategy. We are hot and hungry, so we get something to eat immediately. This time, it’s a box of greens, an avocado, and a tangerine. John goes for a 1.5 qt juice blend. The store has a welcoming section of tables at their deli.
We cross the street to Ace Hardware to search for a canister. They have an empty shelf where our product would be. No luck! However, the clerk digs in the cash register for something else we need – a safety for John’s button, which just popped off.
Back at Ray’s, we buy no cook foods: Frito’s bean dip, ramen, cheese, pears, red pepper, avocados,blueberries.
5:30 leave store, walk down the beach and exit at Beachside State Park.
7:05 Beachside State Park has a Hiker-Biker site conveniently located next to the registration office and bathroom. Alas, there’s no charging station. There is an outlet in the bathroom nearby. These are good sites in the woods. The Registration is closed when we arrive, so I dip into my stash of groups of 10, 5 ,and 1 dollar bills to make our $16 fee. We heat our ramen with the dwindling fuel and hang our food bags in a nearby tree. No other hikers or bikers arrive.