Cycling, Cheese and Capes...Oh My!

Cycling:
Following breakfast we hit the sand on low rider, recumbent bikes from Family Fun Cycles for our morning cardio.  The rentals were good for 90 minutes and about 10 minutes in I was worried about how long I'd really be able to make it!  We headed south on the beach, staying on the hard packed sand, and I was determined to go straight for 40 minutes before turning back around.  Nathan made donuts and zig-zagged back and forth while waiting for me to get caught up.  We had a lot of fun...

On our bikes, enjoying the gorgeous views and sunshine.

At the conclusion of our ride we joined all the crowds of people surrounding Haystack Rock at low tide to check out the barnacles, starfish, crabs and other sea life exposed by the retreating water.

The purple and orange starfish - beautiful!

At Haystack with the crowds.

Cheese:
We were on the road and heading south to Tillamook by 11:30 AM.  On our way we stopped at several vista points to enjoy the sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean.  A sun soaked picnic table at Manhattan Beach made for the perfect place to stop and pull out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.

Tillamook is the second largest distributor of cheese in the US (if I remember the facts correctly).  We started the self-guided tour by going to the second floor viewing area to watch the cutting, weighing and packaging of one-pound loafs of cheddar. We then returned to the first floor to go through the tasting line.  We even purchased a variety pack before moving into the ice cream line, a line that had to be nearly 50 people long!  And it was worth every minute - so yummy!

The Tillamook factory and replica of the boat initially used to transport product.

Capes:
Once we'd had our fill of ice cream, reluctantly turning down seconds, we made our way to Cape Lookout State Park.  Cape Lookout is a rocky headland that juts out 2 miles into the sea.  We decided to make the 4.4 mile round trip hike out to the tip of the cape to check out the view.  While the sky above was clear and sunny, the fog rolled in swiftly, quickly covering the water below.

View to the south early in the hike.

A peak through the trees to the north, the fog way out in the distance.

When we arrived at the tip of the cape, there was nothing but a sea of white air in front of us.  Looking straight down we were able to catch the waves crashing on the rocks below.

The tip of Cape Lookout

Despite the fog blocking our view of the ocean, the sun thankfully warmed us on the trail high above.

Sunning hikers

With only a couple of hours of daylight remaining we were quick to hit the trail back to the car as we had one more cape to visit before heading back to Cannon Beach.  On our way again we headed north to Cape Meares State Park.  We were greeted with VERY cool temps and dense, soupy fog.  We had not packed extra layers in the car this morning, anticipating a very warm day, so in the midst of the chill, we caught the obligatory photos to prove that we had been there.

Kari at the Welcome sign.

The light house - no longer in use.

On a clear day the ocean would be visible behind us.

Artistic photography by Nathan - love it!

We climbed back into the car, fingers (and Nathan's ears) a little numb.  We were able to cram a lot into our day and by this point we were anxious to get back to the hotel to find some dinner.  The drive on Highway 101 took us about 45 minutes and we arrived on our balcony just in time to catch the last of a pink sky as the sun went down behind foggy clouds.

Fog bank on the horizon caused an early sunset tonight.