Day 4: A wet and alternate ending for the day

Bryan got an early start this morning to try to get some distance in before the storm ramped up as forecast. Two hours later, he was wet but feeling good about the ride when I met him with a hot coffee. We commented on the piles of oyster shells we had seen. He added that the birds must have dropped crabs on the highway to eat them, since the smashed remains were everywhere. The tsunami evacuation route directions were frequent and there were also signs of  wind damage forestry. I enjoyed the Boston ferns that
lined the Lewis and Clarke Trail.



However, that was the end of the good times! Not long after I left Bryan to scout ahead, the rain and wind started in earnest. Each time he was out of the protection of trees, he was blasted with strong winds and torrential rain. When I reached the 5 km long Astoria-Megler Bridge, I knew that Bryan should't be on that bridge today. I scouted out Astoria, then returned to a rest stop on the north side of the bridge to intercept Bryan. These photos give some idea of the weather and the bridge. Some were taken after Bryan was in the car with me. The weather had worsened by that time.

When Bryan arrived, he was chilled to the bone, but dry clothes, a heated car seat, and some food soon stopped the shaking. He has never been so cold but the wind gusts of up to 60mph had something to do with that. The sign at the rest stop was a wry title for his day at that point. Why are the prevailing winds going the wrong way when he is biking?!  He would not be riding any further today so we packed up the bike and drove into Astoria. His total for the day: 83km.

In keeping with our hopes of exploring what the area had to offer, we chose to warm up with a tour of a very large and well-curated museum for close to 2 hours. It was a boost to our dampened spirits to learn about the history of the Columbia River bar (delta of the river). To date, hundreds of ships have been lost so close to land with the wild waves and tides and the Coast Guard currently is called out about 600 times per year.

At the end of our tour of Astoria, the rain and wind were just as strong, so we decided to drive to Tillamook. The purists may argue that Bryan is cutting into his mileage, but there is no discussion with the wind that rocked even our SUV as we drove. After all, we want to have time to enjoy the sunshine when it finally comes out, even if that is in California! We still have 273 miles to go in Oregon first though. The forecast is 

 little better for tomorrow so we will see what happens. But hey, supper tonight was great....seafood linguine and crab ravioli prepared by a chef who knows how to make a person feel the love. Oh yeah, it was followed by a hazelnut torte that melted in our mouths. Mmmmmmm!