There were patches of blue sky. And when the sun reached us next to the ocean, it lit up the rocks, glowed on the waves and warmed us with its rays. The day was full of promise.

The Oregon coast is littered with parks. Looking at the map, it is one long string of tree symbols designating continuous parks. When we reached one with an easily accessible beach, Rich declared it was time to dip our bicycle tires in the ocean. Making our way across the sand, we encountered a man with his energetic black lab, who became our spontaneous photographer. He snapped away as we danced with the waves, not realizing how quickly the tide was coming in and drenching not just our tires but our feet!

Our long string of dry weather didn't last much longer, however. I was sure we were out-cycling the rain clouds, but Rich knew better and gave orders to don the rain jackets. Just in time for a good solid rainfall. About 10 miles worth. And then it stopped. From then on we did a dance with the rain, putting on our jackets and taking them off again. Just when we thought we were clear of the rain, it began to fall again. But luck was still with us. Despite the fact that the prevailing winds are out of the Northwest, we had a marvelous South wind that pushed us all day long, and increased to quite a gale by mid-afternoon. Judging by the cyclists we saw going the other way, we had the much better deal.

We quite enjoyed the busy harbor town of Newport. It was clearly a working port, with fishing boats coming and going, and the smell of their fresh catch lingering in the air. The sea lions were noisily barking in the harbor, as they congregated near the docks. We found a wonderful breakfast place with a view of the harbor where we enjoyed a huge meal with the freshest ingredients while drying out and watching the harbor activity.

We were fortunate that with the constantly wet pavement, we had much wider shoulders and flatter terrain than yesterday. Still, whenever presented with an opportunity, we detoured onto local roads to escape the busy coastal highway. One such road took us to Cape Foulweather. Having just ridden out from under yet another spell of rain, we felt it was a most appropriate sight for the day! The views would have been spectacular in better weather, but I photographed them just the same.

Our plan for the night was to stay in Devil's Lake State Park Campground, in a yurt. With the soggy weather, we weren't too sure it was still a good idea, but decided to check them out anyway. To our surprise, they were not only spacious, furnished and well protected from the elements, but included electricity and heat! Sold, one yurt to the cycling Hoeg's. We far preferred the pretty, quiet environs of the campground to any motel room.