16. Day 11 - Prineville, OR to Port Orford, OR

This was our push to the coast day.  We took the Over the River and Through the Woods scenic route and just made the miles to the coast.  We hit the coast in Florence (my mom's name), OR.  101 is pretty inland so we did not really see the coast until we got to Port Orford.  We generally try to find sleepy towns and Port Orford fit the bill.  I read about a place online called the Castaway By the Sea  where it said all the rooms had views of the Pacific.

We pulled in around 6PM and got our ocean view.  We were able to walk down to the docks to a restaurant called Griff's where we had some fresh caught Ling Cod.  I also had some yummy banana cream pie.

If you like a quiet and charming town I highly recommend this one.  We liked it so much we decided to extend out stay by one night and take  much needed rest day.  I have noticed that while we usually ride 100-120 mile between breaks/fuel/bathroom/food we had been stopping between 70-90 miles.  Some stretches were longer but I think we are getting a bit road weary after 11 days.

Some of the locals at the restaurant told us about some nice places to explore on or day off.  Apparently, Port Orford is turning into a big retirement community.  Since it is well known that I keep the hours of the elderly (awake at 4am and asleep by 8PM) I fit right in. 

We will also spend our rest day catching up on HVMP business and trying to plan a few routes ahead since we officially bagged our southern return.  The Grand Canyon will still be there and I'll get there some day.  Our goal to be in Johnson City, TN on 6/16 so I think we are doing well for time.